Spider plant care: light, water, brown tips and babies
A spider plant grows well in bright indirect light, in a general-purpose potting mix that dries slightly between thorough waterings. Brown leaf tips mostly come from what is in the water: fluoride, chlorine or salts. This page covers placement, watering, brown tips, getting plantlets, which variety to buy, growing it outside and pet safety.
- Bright indirect light, out of midday sun, which scorches the leaves.
- Let the mix dry slightly, then water thoroughly.
- Rainwater or distilled water keeps fluoride and chlorine from browning the tips.
What a spider plant is
The spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum, is a clump-forming perennial in the asparagus family. NC State gives its native range as tropical West Africa to Cameroon and Ethiopia to South Africa, and Wisconsin Horticulture says it grows wild in coastal South Africa. It makes a clump of narrow, strap-shaped leaves 30 to 45 cm long, plain green or striped white or yellow, and NC State and the ASPCA also list it as ribbon plant.
Wisconsin says the name comes from the small plantlets on long trailing stems, which vaguely resemble spiders. It also explains the plant’s tolerance: thick, fleshy roots and rhizomes evolved to store water, so it survives inconsistent watering. That puts it among the easy house plants that forgive neglect, and the plant care guide has every other species on the site.
Spider plant varieties, from Vittatum to Bonnie
The varieties differ in stripe and leaf shape, not in care. Clemson calls Vittatum, with a creamy white stripe down the centre, the most common variegated cultivar. Variegatum is the reverse, green with white edges, and Clemson gives it the longest leaves, 25 to 40 cm. Bonnie is the one with curled, twisting leaves, and NC State says Hawaiian’s variegation fades as the leaves age.
Every one of them suits a hanging pot or a wall pocket. Mandaianum, which Clemson describes as a dwarf with leaves 10 to 15 cm long, is the one to pick where there is little room below the plant.
| Variety | What the leaf looks like | Light it needs | Suits a pocket? |
|---|
| Chlorophytum comosum | Plain green, strap-shaped, 30 to 45 cm | Medium to bright indirect | Yes |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum’ | Green with a wide creamy white centre stripe | Medium to bright indirect | Yes |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’ | Green with white edges, 25 to 40 cm | Medium to bright indirect | Yes, with room below |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘Milky Way’ | Green edges, broad white to cream centre | Medium to bright indirect | Yes |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘White Stripe’ | A narrow white line down the central vein | Medium to bright indirect | Yes |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘Picturatum’ | Green with a yellow centre stripe | Medium to bright indirect | Yes |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘Bonnie’ | Green leaves that curl and twist | Medium to bright indirect | Yes |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘Hawaiian’ | Variegated, fading with age | Medium to bright indirect | Yes |
| Chlorophytum comosum ‘Mandaianum’ | Dwarf, dark green with a yellow stripe, 10 to 15 cm | Medium to bright indirect | Yes, the smallest |
Where to put a spider plant: sun or shade
Put it in bright indirect light. Clemson says it grows best there, and Wisconsin grows it indoors in medium to bright light all year. The sources differ on sun: NC State calls it intolerant of direct sunlight, while Clemson says it can take some direct sun but midday light may scorch the leaves. A spot back from a sunny window, or beside an east-facing one, keeps it out of midday sun.
It copes with far less. NC State says it prefers medium light and tolerates deep shade, which is why it appears among plants for a low light room. It keeps going in a dim spot; bright indirect light is where Clemson says it grows best.
Cool rooms suit it. Wisconsin says it does well at cool to average temperatures, Clemson gives 18 to 24°C by day and 10 to 13°C at night as ideal, and NC State keeps it above 7°C. Wisconsin says average humidity is enough.
How often to water a spider plant
Water thoroughly, then let the mix dry slightly before the next watering, rather than watering on a set day. Wisconsin says exactly that, and Clemson lets it dry out briefly between waterings. Push a finger into the mix: when the top has dried, water until it runs from the drainage hole.
The fleshy roots are why it forgives a missed watering, and also why too much hurts. NC State says it grows best in moist soil and tolerates drought, while Wisconsin and Clemson both warn that overwatering or a mix that drains slowly leads to root rot. Never leave the pot standing in water.
Why spider plant tips turn brown
Brown tips are the spider plant’s best-known problem, and the sources give several causes. Wisconsin names low humidity, soil left too dry, salt build-up and chemicals in tap water, particularly fluoride and chlorine. NC State names chlorine and fluoride, and Clemson too much fertiliser or water high in soluble salts.
Missouri Botanical Garden names spider plants as one of the few plants harmed by fluoride, which causes brown tips or brown spots, and says it cannot be removed by letting water stand. If your tap water is fluoridated, Wisconsin’s answer is distilled water or rainwater. Leaving tap water to stand overnight does nothing about fluoride. Chlorine, Missouri adds, browns the tips of some plants only over long use. What yellow leaves are telling you covers the other ways a leaf changes colour.
How to get a spider plant to make babies
The plantlets come after flowering. Wisconsin says the plant sends out wiry stems up to 60 cm long, flowers at the ends with small white stars, and then grows new leaves there that form the plantlets. Both NC State and Wisconsin say the stems form in response to short days and long, uninterrupted nights, less than 12 hours of light a day, for at least three weeks.
Two things stop it. A room lit late every evening breaks the uninterrupted night the stems need, so a spot away from lamps helps. And NC State and Wisconsin both say heavy feeding reduces plantlet formation. Wisconsin adds that it forms plantlets best when slightly pot-bound, so a plant in a pot too big for it may hold off.
Soil, feeding and repotting a spider plant
A general-purpose potting soil is enough, Clemson and Wisconsin both say, as long as it drains well. Feed lightly while it grows. Wisconsin says feeding every three to four months is usually enough, or more often at half strength, and warns that too much feed leads to brown tips and fewer plantlets. Clemson uses a water-soluble or slow-release houseplant fertiliser during active growth.
It outgrows its pot. Wisconsin says the roots easily become too crowded and the plant needs frequent repotting to do its best, while still growing and producing plantlets best when slightly pot-bound. Repot when the roots start lifting the plant out of its pot, and divide a large clump at the same time.
Can a spider plant grow outside?
In a mild climate, yes, in shade. NC State rates it for USDA zones 9 to 11, and Wisconsin says that in warmer climates it is used as ground cover in partly shaded areas, and grown as an annual in cool ones. Keep it out of full sun, where Wisconsin says it can burn, and bring it in before temperatures drop below the 7°C NC State gives as its minimum.
Is a spider plant safe for cats and dogs?
Yes. The ASPCA lists the spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum, as non-toxic to dogs and cats, under common names that include ribbon plant and spider ivy. That makes it one of the safer choices for a home with pets, alongside the Boston fern.
Non-toxic is not the same as unappealing, and a chewed plant looks chewed. Hung on a wall or a high shelf, the leaves and stems stay out of reach. Not every hanging plant is as safe: the ASPCA lists the Philodendron Brasil as toxic.
A spider plant on the wall
NC State says it does particularly well in hanging containers where the leaves and stems can cascade down the side, and a wall pocket is that at eye level. Leave room below: Wisconsin says the flowering stems reach 60 cm, and Clemson gives a hanging plant 60 to 90 cm of length. Hanging plants that last indoors covers where a trailing plant keeps its leaves, and living wall systems, compared the other ways to put plants on a wall.
A pocket stands proud of the wall with air on every side, so the substrate dries from more directions than a pot on a shelf does, which suits a plant that wants to dry slightly between waterings. The Medium pocket holds 1.8 litres of substrate, about what a 15 cm pot takes. The fleshy roots fill it in time, and a crowded root ball is when to lift the plant and divide it.
The board hangs by a slot near its top on one wall hook, so the wall side is one screw, one plug and one drilled hole. Treat the filled weight like a heavy framed picture: plasterboard takes an expanding plug, brick a standard one, and a tiled wall needs a tile bit before the masonry bit. The mounting guide goes through it step by step.
- Fill the pocket a third full with a free-draining general-purpose potting mix.
- Ease the plant out of its pot, keeping the fleshy roots whole.
- Set the crown level with the surface, then top up and firm gently.
- Water until it drains, then let the mix dry slightly before the next watering.
Spider plant problems and how to fix them
| What you see | Why | The fix |
|---|
| Brown leaf tips | Fluoride, chlorine or salts in the water, too much feed, or dry air | Water with rainwater or distilled water and feed less. |
| Scorched, bleached patches on the leaves | Midday direct sun | Move it back from the window into bright indirect light. |
| No flowering stems or plantlets | Too much feed, or nights broken by room lights | Feed less and move it away from lamps used in the evening. |
| Limp leaves and soft roots in wet mix | Root rot from overwatering or poor drainage | Repot into free-draining mix and let it dry slightly between waterings. |
| Roots lifting the plant out of its pot | The roots have filled the pot | Repot one size up, or divide the clump. |
| White cotton, sticky bumps or fine webbing | Mealybugs, scale or spider mites | Wipe or rinse the leaves and keep it apart from other plants. |
How to propagate a spider plant from babies
Wisconsin calls it extremely easy to propagate from the plantlets, and Clemson starts new plants from them at any time of year. Wisconsin names scale and mealybugs as its few pests, so check the plantlets before they go into a new pot; how to get rid of mealybugs covers the white cotton in the leaf joints.
- Pick a plantlet that is starting to grow roots at its base.
- Set it, still attached to the stem, on the surface of a pot of moist potting mix.
- Leave it attached until it has rooted into the mix, then cut the stem.
- Or cut off a plantlet that already has roots and pot it straight into moist mix.
- To divide a large plant, take it out of its pot and pull the clump apart, each piece with roots and leaves.
Should I cut the babies off my spider plant?
Only if you want new plants. Clemson says the plantlets can be detached to make new plants or left on to make a very full basket.
Should I cut the brown tips off my spider plant?
You can, for looks. A brown tip does not turn green again, so trimming it with clean scissors tidies the leaf, and fixing the water or feeding keeps new leaves clean.
Does a spider plant purify the air?
Not measurably in a real room. The figures quoted come from sealed test chambers, and the air exchange in an ordinary home outweighs anything a potted plant does.
Why is it called a spider plant?
Wisconsin Horticulture says the name comes from the small plantlets on long trailing stems, which vaguely resemble spiders.
Does a spider plant need different care in winter?
Water it less. NC State reduces watering in winter and keeps the plant above 7°C.
References