Your Guide To: Spider Plant
Everything you need to know to care for a spider plant.
Green and white striped spider plants quickly fill out any hanging space. With flowering shoots that look like stars spreading out in all directions, spider plants give lush and vibrant energy to low-light areas of your space.
Spider plants add a grassy layer of dimension wherever you hang them. They look lovely when placed high in kitchen corners, looming over shelves and living room spaces, or stacked along with other houseplants that thrive in low light settings.
How to Keep a Spider Plant Happy
Spider plants will grow best if they are kept in bright, indirect sunlight with a consistent environment. They're native to tropical and subtropical regions, so they enjoy the warmth and a spritz or two from a mister. Spider plants are known for being easy-to-please, low-maintenance houseplant companions.
How Much Lighting Does a Spider Plant Need?
Spider plants can adapt to low or artificial light settings. The ideal light setting is somewhere where bright sunlight can reach the plant without burning it. Whatever light setting you to choose for your spider plant, try to keep the light level consistent.
How Do I know When To Water My Spider Plant?
Spider plants won’t do well if they are watered too much or too often. Every week, test the soil by feeling the top inch of dirt with your fingertip (or better yet, take all the guesswork out of watering with a Plant Moisture Indicator from our accessories shop).
When this top inch of soil is dry to the touch, take your spider plant down from its hanging spot so that you can water it at an eye-level. Saturate your spider plant’s potting soil with water from a small container or watering can. Pour water out slowly, moving in a clockwise motion so that you can evenly water your plant’s roots. Any excess water will drip into the tray at the bottom of your plant. Remove this water before returning your plant to its place.
How Do I Use Plant Food for My Spider Plant?
Plant food is an important part of fostering new leaves as your spider plant gets used to its new digs.
For a hanging-size spider plant in a container that's between 5 and 6 inches in diameter, insert 3 new plant food spikes (included with your plant purchase) into the soil once a month during the spring, summer, and fall. During the winter, when the plant is experiencing less growth, you can cut back to replacing the plant food every two months. Plants experience seasons, even when they're growing indoors.
What Is a Spider Plant's Ideal Environment?
How Do I Prune and Maintain My Spider Plant?
The maintenance of this plant is simple. Spider plant flower stems can grow several feet long if they produce plantlets. These plantlets can be pruned with shears and rehomed in containers of their own. If your spider plant is in a hanging position, remember to rotate it a quarter turn every time you water it to make sure that light is being distributed evenly to each part of the plant.
Addressing Common Spider Plant Issues
The most common spider plant issues are the result of low humidity or too much fluoride in the water.
- Brown leaf tips can mean that your spider plant is reacting to over-fluoridated water. If the tap water where you live is treated with fluoride, try allowing the water to sit out overnight before you give it to your spider plant. This will evaporate some of the fluorides and give your spider plant a break from chemicals. If that doesn't solve the problem, start to mist your plant more often to increase humidity.
- If your spider plant isn't producing plantlets, it could be because artificial light is keeping it up at night. Make sure that your spider plant has several hours of darkness each night.