A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Spider Plant Watering Question

Hi Everyone...

How often does everyone water their spider plants? I have quite a few now...solid and green and white. They do wonderful at work under the fluorescent lights.
At home they grow much slower and i seem to under or over water them.
They seen to get brown tips and it goes all the way up the stem. I started using distilled water.
Maybe i just fuss over them too much!

Thanks for the help!
Greg

Greg, I only water mine when the soil feels dry. (About every 10 days, but I don't think you can go by that, as homes in different zones probably differ in humidity & evaporation rates, & also, our plants might not be the same size.) I think they might like to get fairly dry between waterings, but I know for sure that they DON'T like to stay real wet... in fact, when I was gone for 2 weeks, my husband 'faithfully' watered mine every-other day & killed them off!

Yes, I think that you just might be right..."fussing over them too much"! I don't think Spider plants appreciate us as much as we do them, cuz they seem to be happier when they're ignored. (So, maybe you should pretend that you don't like them!!)

Hey Greg....I have a ton of spiders...was sending them to everyone in the world a few weeks ago when we were moving. I do not claim by any means to know the gardening "correct" care for them....I just know they are the easiest plant I have. Mine seem to like a lot of water..as a matter of fact, when in a hurry, I stick my babies in water and they root & grow in there fine..and I don't pay a lot of attention to them either...so you may be right about babying them a little too much. and mine LOVE a lot of sunshine....I have never had them under flouresent lighting so I don't know how they do in that situation.

This is one I had in my moving sale

This is all the pretty little babies that I had just cut off of it...

They have those babies when the plant gets very rootbound in it's pot. When I want to start another pot, I snip the babies off and put a bunch of them in the same pot so they will get rootbound faster and bear shoots.
Hope this helps.

Sure would have liked to come to your sale! Its hard to find spider plants that big around here!
That one you have is beautiful.
Mine are in a north and west window. My apt. doesnt seem to be plant friendly..lol
I would like to find a big one like that...maybe i would have better success..
Thanks for the help..!
Greg

I ignore my spider plants. I have them in the bathroom so they do get humidity. I water them when I remember sothey do get dry. They are beautiful! Some plants like you to ignore them I think the spider plant is one of them. I will also add that when I mist all my hourseplants I do mist thm.

Awesome Spider, 4Ruddy!
I've heard that the variegated Spiders have a more massive root structure than the solid dark green ones, but am not sure if that would mean they require different care. I've never been able to keep the variegated ones alive! Which type do you have, Greg?

I have the variegated and the solid...
I noticed that i have a green with white edge and a white with green edge spider plant..
The variegated do seem to grow slower...
I want to find some more of them...Maybe WalMart still has some left...

Greg

Let me tell you they are a booger to seperate! I seperate them in the spring...and then they are huge by fall...mine grow pretty darn fast and like I said before, I plant several (a lot) of babies in a pot so they will sprout more babies quicker.
Greg, I would be more than happy to send you all the babies you want...I could send the "bigger" babies and I think they would do fine for you. PM me your address if you want some.
I have two more that are bigger than the one in the pic and then 3 ot 4 more in smaller pots and they all have a million babies on them.

So I've always wondered-is it OK to leave the babies on the mommy? Or, at some point do they need to be separated, and if so, when would that be? Thanks!

Rozy, it's OK to leave the babies on the runners... they look cool there, so I don't rush to cut mine off & root them unless somebody asks for 1!

Can't tell you how long they'll stay OK on the runners, but I think I've seen other people's runner babies start to turn brown & sicky looking ...which, I think is a definite clue that they want to "leave home"! Sometimes they start looking like they want to throw roots out, cuz they'll grow sort of nubby looking bumps on their crowns (where they're attached), & that's probably another clue. You can snip them off any time, however, & just poke 'em down in moist dirt, as they'll take root in short order, at any age!

I also don't think the Mommy Spider minds having the babies hanging there, cuz she manages to stay healthy, which must mean that they're not sapping her energy.

I find the best way to determine whether it is overwatering or not is to take the plant out of the pot (just for a minute) and check the status of the roots.. if your over watering the root color will be a yellowish to brown color... if they are healthy they will be very white. hope this helps

Many of the previous posts have good advice about watering. I live in Wisconsin and have reverted to indoor gardening, with all my plants under florescent. My spiders like about 8 oz. of water every other day. This is good for a full plant in a 12" diameter pot. Also, I have found that standard florescent lights work just as well as "grow-lights". Plus, full-spectrum lights are good for the human organism as well.

Hi everyone....

Thanks for the help! Im trying to ignor them...lol
I peeked on them today and the varigated one has some yellow leaves beginning on it and the solid has brown tips...
Ok..i peeked!
Greg :angel:

Greg, I also water mine when they are pretty dry and I do think you can neglect them more than most plants. I have heard that the brown tips are from low humudity. But I have never heard of rooting the babys in water, I'll have to try that.
Mine get a lot of indirect light.

Have a great day!

*****Steph

i have a glass full of babies right now that need a pot, gotta do that this weekend :rolleyes: