A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 baby spider plant didn't make it

Well, I have had my first plant casualty. I had a baby spider plant that was given to me from the mother plant i put it in soil in a small pot and watered it. Than I only watered it when it was dry but my apartment uses electric heat it is very dry and warm. I live on the third floor of a complex and I get all the heat. I had water set up to keep moisture in the air, but at last the leaves started turning brown from the soil and than spread to the tips. I finally pulled it up last night and there were no roots there at all. CAn anyone tell me what I did wrong so I don't do it again.

I like to root my baby spider plants in a vase full of water until they have a good root system, and then pot them up.

Myrna, have you already thrown the baby in the trash? If it's not dried up & DEAD, put it in water now... it'll still perk up & sprout some roots! (Just the bottom in the water, you know... if the leaves sit in water they deteriorate.)

Spider plants can LIVE in water, as long as you change it out every week or so! I've tried to stick the babies in the pot next to the Mommies, but it doesn't work that way... I'd either have to keep the soil wet enough to let the baby throw some roots out, which would kill the plant that already has roots, or keep the soil dry enough to keep Mommy happy... which does nothing for the baby! Good luck

thanks so much I did throw the baby away but I think I am going to get a spider plant tonight. I had a long hard day today and I am going to buy myself something to make me happy.

Well, I bought a Spider last night and already have a few babies that I am trying to root now.

I leave then on until they are at least fist sized, then cut them off and stick them in the vase of water.

Does that help?

I am wondering why you want to take off the babies so fast? Heck they will survive on the momma, for a long long time.. Gives them a nice trail.
dodge

hey ya'll!! myrna I just wanted to say good luck with the babies :-) oh yea and I also wanted to say that when I went to walmart the other week they had nice sized spider plants with TONS of babies on them for 50% off! they were like $3.84 or something like that!

Thanks for this posting, folks - we've been trying to bring a discarded spider plant around - it's sitting there in the office, dead in the water (if ya' know what I mean).

I'm going to retrieve it - the roots and all and try to bring it around in some water.

Thanks again.

I usually leave my babies on their mommies until they start getting nubby little roots on their bottoms. They'll last on the mommy even like that for quite a while, but that's a pretty good indication that the time is coming. I also root in water, usually until all of the roots have some tertiary (branch-like) roots. I've had the best luck with babies grown in quite a bit of sun, as opposed to low light. And they're almost always able to be salvaged if something goes wrong-my cat dug my babies up and then batted them around on the floor-that was about a year ago, and you would never think so from looking at them now---good luck!

thank you all my babies are rooting well in some water as we speak,