Spider Plant Care

Spider plant care

The spider plant is a plant that propagates through stolons. I explain thoroughly this propagation strategy in this article.

If we want the smallest of the house to be encouraged to cultivate and care for different plants and start as soon as possible in the world of gardening, it is most appropriate to start practicing plants that have results as soon as possible . That is, plants that do not require much care and that are easy to reproduce. A good example of this is the snake plant : a plant that is very resistant and the results of transparent or reproductions appear immediately. In this way, you will not get bored waiting to see changes in your gardening creations.

If there is a popular indoor plant, this is undoubtedly the spider plant . It is tremendously decorative, so much so that it looks good on … anywhere! Yes, yes, you can have it both in the living room and in the kitchen, since your lighting needs are not very high unlike others that you find in nurseries.

They are very grateful plants, because with very little dedication they are always pretty. They adorn many bathrooms, as long as they have plenty of light. In kitchens they are also usually used, in offices, public establishments.

It is a perennial plant . It forms a central rosette of narrow and long leaves between 20-40 cm long and 5-20 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, parallel and with full edge. At the point where a leaf develop a node, adventitious roots are produced, both underground and aerial and stolons of emerging tillers and tiny flowers hermaphrodite white, actinomorphic, superior ovary consists of three carpels soldiers with one stigma and six stamens . It has a stalk insert that is petiolated and the arrangement of its stem is basal.

The spider plant is a hanging plant very easy to reproduce and care, with long and very bright leaves. They are ideal for decorating bathrooms or kitchens as they love humidity. The spider plant develops stolons and tiny white flowers on the leaves.

In South America and Southern Europe, it is called the “ribbon plant”: there its name comes from the Latin Cincta  and there are more than 200 different species.

this perennial plant belongs to the family of liliaceae. Its origin is found in the tropical forests of southern Africa and there are currently more than two hundred different species. The best thing about this plant is, undoubtedly, that it renovates environments affected by carbon monoxide and formaldehyde present in varnishes, aerosols and cosmetics.

it is original from the jungles of South Africa and was introduced in Europe in the 19th century, it can measure up to 1 meter, it is another of the most resistant, adaptable indoor plants and easy to care for and no doubt advisable as a first plant for novices because of its rapid growth, it is used as a hanging plant and among its faculties are the good combination with other plants and its great longevity since it can last more than 10 years.

Now, what care does this magnificent plant require? And, what varieties are there?

The spider plant are little plants that have always been decorating homes. They belong to the botanical genus Chlorophytum, of the family Agavaceae. They are native to the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, where they live in areas protected from the direct sun. With a height that does not exceed 60cm, they have leaves between 15 and 75cm in length, and between 0.5 and 2cm in thickness. The flowers are small, usually white in color. Some species, such as C. comosum , produce offsprings which are very easy to carry out: they simply have to be cut and planted in a pot with a substrate composed of black peat and perlite in equal parts.

The spider plant has very small flowers that appear between March and August in hanging stems of up to 75 centimeters in length, these stems have small stems that can be used to extract new plants, we must remove the leaves and dried flowers and it is good to change pots or soil every 2 years, the pots should be wide but not deep.

Its cultivation is very simple, being able to live in low light conditions. Of course, we must bear in mind that watering must be frequent , especially in summer. Thus, we will water 2-3 times a week in the warmer months of the year, and 1-2 every seven days the rest.

Most Chlorophytum or spider plants are very sensitive to cold, with an ideal minimum temperature of 10ºC. However, I can say that the C. comosum and capense C. are grown outside in sheltered areas where the thermometer drops to -2 ° C for a short time, and do not suffer damage. Even so, it is a very grateful plant that will look great inside your home.

In addition, it is very resistant to pests . In fact, the only potential enemy that could have are snails. 

Its leaves, which are born from a basal rosette, are elongated, pendulous, sharp and green with a white band . Its white flowers are small and from them new rosettes are formed which are like perfectly formed miniature plants and which, when properly transplanted, are transformed into adult plants.

To preserve the beauty of its leaves, the spider plant needs a lot of light and moisture . If the spider plant does not have enough light and moisture, its leaves become pale, narrow and visibly wrinkle. The ideal thing is to water them moderately every ten days in winter and a couple of times a week in spring or summer, always trying not to form puddles. However, although the lack of irrigation disfigures the plant, it can be revived when it is irrigated again, since its tuberous roots are able to store water and endure droughts.

The indoor plant can adapt to various temperature conditions, supporting even a low light area or a cold room. Outdoors, it prefers indirect or semi-shaded light , since direct contact with the sun causes the leaves to turn yellow, dry and burn, something that can cause the plant to die. It is important that in order for the spider plant to survive well it does not drop below 7º C in temperature.

Having these plants inside the home will make the air purify, but also the spider plant is a very decorative plant, whether they are in a pot on the ground or placed as hanging plants .

Spider Plant Care

it is very, very easy to care for. With a little water and light, she lives several years at home, and can even do it outdoora if the weather is not very cold.

For this reason, if you do not have much experience with the plants or you would like to start on the right foot, the spider plant plant is your best option since I will also tell you everything you have to do to keep it perfect .

Watering and Irrigation

It likes humidity, so it is advisable to spray the spider plant from time to time (especially in summer). The spider plant holds minimum temperatures of -2ºC and maximum of 30ºC .

The watering should be more frequent in summer, two to three times a week , and reduced to once a week in winter. To improve the development of the plant it is better to fertilize the spider plant every two weeks in the spring and summer seasons with liquid fertilizer in the irrigation water.

The spider plant is one of those plants that, although it is necessary to water in a regular way to avoid that it dries, it does not tolerate the puddling . In fact, it is common for her to die of excess watering, since in addition as he is usually put a dish underneath, the roots are in direct contact with the precious element, which will do much damage.

Therefore, it is necessary to water about 3-4 times a week during the warmer months and every 5 or 6 days the rest of the year , and always taking into account that the water is removed from the dish within ten minutes of watering.

Although the temperature conditions of indoor plants do not change as much as we can find in the garden, we have to water differently in summer and in winter. In winter it is sufficient to water the snake plant once every 5 days or every week . However, in summer you have to increase the irrigation frequency to 2 or 3 times per week . We can realize that watering is insufficient if we see the tips dry or pale.

Exposure to Sunlight

They look according to the intensity of the light, it is preferable to avoid the dark areas, although they are considered as indoor plants are also planted outdoors (be careful because due to its rapid growth they can become invasive),

It needs a good dose of light but without exposing it to direct sunlight . Being inside the house, it is easy to move it or move it away from the window during the hours of greatest solar radiation. However, it is a resistant plant and will not give problems in this regard. If the snake plant has dry tips, it may be due to lack of moisture or excessive sun.

Resilience and Resistance

The ease of cultivation has turned this species into a popular indoor plant , although it can also be cultured outdoors in hot climates as it supports up to -2 ° C. Due to its rapid spread in some areas it is considered invasive. Cultivated in interiors it needs medium light, in shade they can get to lose the white band that characterizes it and if it is located in direct sunlight it can be burned. It requires medium humidity, it is convenient to spray water on the leaves. 
It tolerates water scarcity because it stores it in its thick root system. However, in summer the frequency of irrigation must be increased. 
It requires a biweekly fertilizer in spring and summer and a transplant to a larger pot twice a year due to its rapid growth.

Although the spider plant  appreciates the light it is better not to place it in direct sunlight to avoid burning the leaves. In addition, this plant tolerates places in shade or semi-shade.

can be adapted gradually to direct sunlight exposure but not with hot summers and in the central hours of the day, they cannot stand the frost although they can hold a temperature of 0ºC, they like the humid environments and if the humidity drops by 20% and the temperature is high they start to dry the tips of the leaves, we will have to be careful with hard water with lots of lime and cold air currents, it is resistant to drought but in summer you have to water it every week and spray your leaves from time to time, for the Winter once a month will suffice because the plant enters a period of rest.

For indoor growing it will grow without problems while it has light and medium humidity and if you spray water to its leaves, it will be happy. It is resistant when you forget to water it periodically, thanks to its roots that keep water, but in summer, the spider plant will not forgive you. He also does not like the direct sunlight because it damages his leaves. It can be grown outdoors while maintaining a warm climate, in winter it does not resist temperatures lower than -2º. In the summer we must take care not to burn the leaves because of excess temperature, it is best to locate it in semi-shade and thus also lose the white stripe due to excessive shade.

Pests And Diseases

The spider plant are affected especially by cochineal and aphids , pests that can be solved quickly with an insecticide. If the leaves look dull or gray they may be affected by the red spider . Other problems that may arise are the heat waves , when the leaves are wrinkled or dry tips, which we can solve by taking it to a colder place. Also do not use brighteners for the leaves because they can produce brown spots.

Spider Plant fertilization

All plants need ‘food’ while they are growing, including our protagonist. Although it can live relatively well only with the nutrients of the substrate, it will do much more and better if it is paid in spring and summer . For this reason it is highly advisable to use an organic fertilizer that is quick effective, such as guano in liquid form that you can buy easily online.

When choosing the substrate that we will add to our container or pot, we will choose peat , or a mixture of peat and sand in equal mixtures. It is important to choose the flowerpot well because the tape has a great capacity for growth and often you will have to split the plant because it does not fit in the container. The best thing is to look for a deep and wide pot.

Spider Plant Propagation

The truth is that it is a precise plant for those who just learn to do tasks in the garden. It is very simple to reproduce and maintain, you just have to take care that it does not invade areas where you do not want to be covered with this noble little plant.

it is so easy to reproduce, that people who have small children or grandchildren, will enjoy a good time with them making new copies, they will love it, they will be their pots and they will take care of them, a nice way to instill love for plants and nature, and those pots, you can have them in your room, since it is one of the plants (according to studies carried out by NASA, it is one of the 16 plants that purify the air by cleaning it of small contaminating particles, so, for the children above it is It is beneficial to have them in your room while you sleep). This type of plants are used in the space stations to purify and thus improve the environment. As always, Mother Nature offers us natural methods without resorting to sophisticated artifacts. The normal thing is that we all know how to reproduce this plant, but in case someone does not know it or has any little doubt, we explain it below. It can be done in several ways and all are valid for any type of plant with these characteristics.

As the spider plant is a very appropriate plant for the little ones, this time we are going to focus on seeing how it reproduces. The reproduction of the spider plant is characterized by its simplicity and speed. These plants usually have stems with small flowers, which after the flowers, usually appear small plants. These are the plants with which reproduction is carried out, since they have an upper zone with leaves and a lower zone with small latent roots .

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When fertilizing the spider plant , we will use those shoots and introduce them in soil or substrate. You have to press lightly, place the shoots in a bright place and keep the substrate moist, but not excessively. Thus, the root will be activated and after about 15 days, we can begin to observe the changes and the growth of the spider plants . Soon larger leaves will start to appear

As these small plants grow, we will begin to perform the transplants . We can place the plants in small containers so that the youngest can observe the growth process of the spider plants.

The spider plant produces offshoots at the ends of a white and elongated stems, easily transplantable and it is also convenient to do so and if not interested, they should be cut, because the plant devotes a lot of sap to the feeding of these shoots and this makes the spider plant does not receive enough food and look bad.

– Hives are buried in a pot with a mixture of river sand, universal substrate in the proportion of 1-4 by volume. 

– But they do not separate from the mother plant until they have taken root.

– If the white stem that joins the sucker is not long enough, a base is placed, in this case an empty pot, to raise the pot with the sucker.

Spider Plant Cats

We have to be careful if we have cats at home because for these animals the tapes can be harmful however not for other types of pets, (I have already warned on other occasions that we should avoid that our animals consume plants that are not indicated ). We find another air purifier especially with carbon monoxide, another plant studied by Nasa that used it in space capsules tests for air cleaning, can filter 96% of the harmful pollutants in a room, it is recommended in Gas cookers and are ideal for offices or places where there are meetings of many people.