SPIDER PLANT, Chlorophytum comosum
Spider plant in a hanging basket.
Whether it was in our grandmother's hanging baskets or even at the grocery store, chances are that you have seen this plant. Chlorophytum comosum, native to Southern African is most commonly know as Spider Plant, Airplane Plant, or Ribbon Plant. They are most distinguished by their long branched inflorescence that grow up to 30 inches long, and produce plantlets. Plantlets can be rooted and will eventually grow into another spider plant!
Spider Plant plantlets or spiderettes.
These plants are extremely easy to grow and propagate and is definitely one of my personal favorites to have around the house. This would make a great plant to use to teach kids how to take care of and propagate plants! It is also a plant that will help the air quality in your house and in addition to all these awesome qualities: it is non-toxic to humans, cats, and dogs!!!!!*
CARE & WATERING:
Sun
I have read many recommendations on the sun for spider plants. I have found that they get by just fine in indoor fluorescent light if natural light isn't available. The spider plant prefers getting filtered sun throughout the day and the more sun it gets the better it grows. If left outside during warmer months you should take precautions to acclimate it to the sun gradually to prevent sunburn.
Watering
Once established the spider plant can stand drought conditions better than some other house plants. When watering your established spider plant water until it runs out of the bottom of the pot. I take my hanging baskets down and sit them in a tray and let them soak for about 30 minutes before removing the tray. I normally do this about once per month in the winter and about once per week in the summer. In peak growing times (Spring and Summer) my larger basket gets a drink every few days in addition to the soakings.
You do want your soil to dry out completely in the top of your pot in between waterings. If you don't let it dry out it makes the plant more susceptible to pests in and around the soil. (that being said be careful not to let it dry out too much as it could cause brown tips)
You may have noticed the brown tips and leaves on the pictures of my spider plants. This is from hard minerals in the water and were present when I brought this plant home. After 6 months of using rainwater and distilled water on this plant he still has brown tips! So if you want your plant to be very nice and green this plant prefers distilled water or rain water. (Placing a mason jar of water in in sun in your window for a full 24 hours will be just fine if you don't want to buy special water!)
You will be most happy with your spider plant if you re-pot it every spring with a good potting soil. It prefers to stay root bound so you can keep it in the same size pot or you can split up your plant into several smaller plants! (Take care not to damage the roots when separating.)
Fertilize once per month in the Spring and Summer with a balanced fertilizer according to the label for best growth. Take care to only fertilize the soil and do not over fertilize!
*Although the Spider Plant is listed as non-toxic to dogs and cats I have found some places online that have said it induces vomiting if consumed by dogs. According to the University of North Dakota this plant has mild hallucinogenic properties to cats and I have found personally that my cat likes to take a few bites of this plant on occasion!
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