Spider Plant (Does whatever a spider can't)




Chlorophytum comosum, or, as most people know it, Spider Plant, is one of the easiest to grow yet one of the least demanding houseplants that I know of. It is very hard to kill, incredibly low-maintenance, and at the same time, its elegant beauty and curious habits are absolutely fascinating. Below is everything I've learned about this lovely plant over the years. 


Perfect for Beginners


If you're just starting out your own home jungle, it is probably a good idea to choose a plant that's easy to grow and not too easy to destroy. Well, spider plant is both! It doesn't require any special conditions and will forgive a lot of mistakes before giving up completely. It is, however, very rewarding, and if you give it just a little bit of attention and love, it will definitely prove to be one of the best plants to adopt for your home. There are a few general tips on how to purchase and grow your spider plant: 

  • When purchasing a plant, make sure it looks healthy. Some yellow or brown tips here and there won't necessarily mean anything bad, but if the leaves are mostly yellow and wilted or dry and crunchy - you'd probably want to look for a healthier one unless you're confident enough that you can bring it back to life. Make sure the soil isn't swampy and doesn't smell bad. Normally, a spider plant doesn't have any smell at all, but if it suffered from overwatering and the roots began to rot, it'll have a distinctive smell that you'd want to avoid. You probably won't see any of the above if you're purchasing the plant from a good nursery or a flower store, or a friend that propagates them at home.
  • Make sure to quarantine your plant to avoid any possibility of pests or disease (put the newly adopted plant away from the rest of your plants if you have any, and watch it for a few days). 
  • Give it a week or two to adapt to its new home, don't rush to repot it right away - that would only stress it out. 
  • Don't fertilize the plant for a few weeks after repotting, the soil you moved it into has enough nutrients to keep it going for a while. 

Generally, a spider plant doesn't require any special care other than the usual rituals such as watering, misting, occasional fertilizing and repotting once it outgrows its old home. I've had one sitting in the same pot for about three years before I moved it to a bigger one, and only after it began to literally crawl out of the pot (there wasn't enough room for the roots, and they started pushing the plant out!). It survived that and a few other disasters and it's still thriving and making me proud. 

It needs plenty of watering during warm months and a moderate amount of water during winter time. Either way, don't flood the soil and don't let it dry out completely. Between those two extremes, overwatering is worse; spider plants can forgive the occasional lack of water, however overwatering may result in root rot, so less is more in this case! If you still manage to overwater, first stop watering completely, make sure the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot aren't blocked, and loosen the top layer of the soil gently to let the air in. The danger of overwatering the soil is mostly in preventing the root system from breathing, which if done systematically may eventually kill even the toughest plant. Loosening the top layer of the soil not only helps it dry faster but also lets some air in. Another thing that I found helpful is watering (as silly as it sounds in this case) with hydrogen peroxide solution. I've touched on that in my previous post - basically, you just need water and a 3% HP from your local pharmacy, a weak solution is enough to add oxygen into the soil, letting the roots breathe even in thick, overwatered soil. After that, of course, you'll need to stop watering the plant until the soil is mostly dry. You can also put a couple pebbles in the tray and place the pot on top of them - this will help the soil aerate and dry from the bottom. Needless to say, you should not let it sit in a tray full of water. Don't forget it's always better to water the plant thoroughly once every few days rather than add a little bit of water every day! 

Spider plants love misting. They don't require it, so if you only remember to do it once in a while - it's no big deal. They will, however, be very thankful if you do it regularly! Fertilizing is also appreciated, but again - don't worry if you forget to do it for some reason, spider plants aren't needy, they'll forgive occasional neglecting and lack of scheduled procedures. More so, overfertilizing is bad for the plant as it is capable of storing nutrients, so, again, less is more!

The very name "Chlorophytum" suggests that the plant needs lots of light to thrive. However, just like in everything else, spider plants are very forgiving in terms of lighting, they can grow both in bright light or shade, as long as it's not too dark. If anything, direct sunlight is something that you should protect it from, as bright sunshine can sometimes burn the gentle leaves. Growing in the shade for a long time, a spider plant often loses the lush green coloring of its leaves, but it only reflects on its decorative value, not its health. Of course, it's best to have it enjoy as much light as possible, but if you need to move it into the shade for a while - don't worry, it can handle it!





Baby Plants!


Of all the wonderful features of this plant, the ability to literally grow new plants on itself is the most fascinating one, in my personal opinion. Spider plants produce tiny white flowers that bloom on thin hanging stems that the plant sprouts every now and then. After it's done flowering, baby plantlets are formed on the nodes, and the best part is - they are all you need to have even more spider plants! 

Propagation by plantlets is extremely easy. Cut, or pull off a plantlet, and... put into the soil. Yup, that's it, easy as that. Don't have a pot with soil at hand? No worries, just put the plantlet into the water before moving it to a new pot! You can even just clip the stem with a plantlet on it to some soil and it'll root just as easily. The only thing I'd recommend is waiting until there's plenty of little plant babies and cutting off those that already started to poke out new roots. After that, stick one into the soil and wait for the magic to happen (or even stick a whole bunch of them in a bigger pot, that's also fine!). Apply the same rules as you would to the momma plant - there's no difference at all. And just like that, you have a virtually endless supply of spider plants at your disposal! 


Conclusion


As you can see, I'm absolutely in love with Chlorophytum. Who wouldn't be, after all, it's not only beautiful but also incredibly beneficial especially if you're concerned about the condition of the air you breathe. It's known to reduce indoor air pollution and clear it of formaldehyde, which, for those of us who live in big cities and apartment complexes, is an important thing to consider. Spider plant is extremely low-maintenance, very forgiving, pretty during any stage of its life - from a cute little copy of the mother plant to a bushy cluster of leaves with multiple stems bearing dozens of green babies. It is a breath of fresh air (quite literally, I might add!) in any interior, and a perfect starter plant for anyone who decides to try out home gardening. As always, any comments and questions are most welcome, and thank you to everyone who read all the way to down here! 



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