Tender Love and Care: Your Spider Plant Care Handbook

So you want to become an owner of some spider plants? Well you have came to the right place. Spider plants are very easy plants to care for, as well, as propagate. Plus owning a spider plant comes with many benefits. Not only are they great at purifying the air, they help regulate humidity. 

Now it’s time to address the question I’m sure you are asking. How do I care for my new spider plant? There are 3 main things you need to know…

1. Watering
2. Ideal Growing Conditions
3. Trimming and Maintenance

Watering:

To keep your new spider plants thriving, water is a necessary component. Spider plants don’t like the water too wet or too dry. To ensure that you aren’t overwatering or underwatering, you will want to check the soil. When you stick your finger in the soil, go to a depth that is about halfway up your finger. If it is dry, go ahead and give it a good soak. Spider plants should only need to be watered once or twice a week.

Ideal Growing Conditions:

Spider plants aren’t super picky but you do want to ensure that a few of their needs are met. Unlike some plants, spider plants don’t like being directly in the sun. You will want to make sure that the plant is in a location that has access to sunlight, but is not directly in the sun. Keeping them in a room that is moderate to bright indirect sunlight will be the key to keeping them healthy and happy. When repotting, make sure to use a well draining soil based mix to ensure that the spider plant doesn’t develop root rot. Spider plants like to be in rooms where the temperature is somewhere between 70° F and 80° F.

Trimming and Maintenance:

Overtime, you may notice that you spider plant has started getting brown spots. This could be caused by many things, such as underwatering or direct sunlight, but don’t worry just yet. Your plant just needs a little trimming. Go ahead and trim any leaves that have turned brown or dried out. You may also notice that you have some babies growing off. Go ahead and cut these off as well once they get to a size of your liking. We will come back to these a little later. If you have noticed brown or yellow leaves, you need to figure out what could be causing them. Some other things that could be causing these issues could be root rot, spider mites, or temperature. You will want to ensure that none of these are the case.

Propagating:

Now I’m sure you are wondering what to do with your spider plant babies after you remove them from your main plant. You can propagate these plants in two different ways. One way is to take the babies you just cut off and put them in a container of water. This is personally my favorite way to propagate. Being put in water will help the roots grow longer and you can then proceed with potting your new plants. The second way is to put the babies straight into a pot. Now you will want to make sure that you are using a well-draining soilless mix in a container with drainage holes. Then you can plant your new baby as normal and wait for it to take off. Whichever way you choose is completely up to you.

Benefits of Spider Plants:

Spider plants can be very beneficial. They help purify the air by absorbing chemicals in the air that can be harmful. They also assist in increasing humidity in your house. Spider plants have also be said to bring good luck, which if you are like me, you need a little bit of that. Overall having spider plants brings some peace to the home, plus they help give the house a nice decoration

“Free potted Spider Plants image“/ CC0 1.0