A classic among office plants, the good old spider plant was the first houseplant for many. And it deserves every bit of the credit: easy to care for, tough as nails and quick to multiply, you can almost never go wrong with Chlorophytum comosum.
Origin
Whether you call it spider plant, spider ivy or airplane plant (which I’ve personally never heard, but there’s probably someone somewhere who does), this houseplant is native to South Africa. Faced with so many possibilities, we’ll stick with “spider plant” in this section, a name that’s evocative enough in itself. It belongs to the Asparagaceae family, which also includes dracenas (now including sansevaria) and indoor asparagus. The Chlorophytum genus contains some 200 species, but in today’s column we’ll be talking about just four – and mostly about C. comosum.
Description
Chlorophytum comosum grows to around 60 cm (24 inches) in height. Its long, pointed leaves, usually two-tone for ornamental cultivation, are ensiform (sword-shaped) and organized around a central tuft. As it ages, the mature plant tends to divide naturally, creating leaves from several growth stems that merge together.
This herbaceous plant, which never produces bark, reveals a “tender” trunk over time, bearing the scars of old leaves. That said, most plants will resemble a clump for the rest of their lives, with leaves that seem to emerge from the ground.
The plant’s root system is particularly impressive. The plant creates many long roots, some of which are tuberous and white, resembling an elongated potato. The smallest roots appear to be covered in hairs (rootlets) and serve to nourish the plant, absorbing water and minerals from the soil. The tubers, for their part, act as a water reserve for the plant, to combat drought. Finally, long roots have another role in nature: to anchor the plant so that it doesn’t blow away in the slightest gust of wind. Obviously, such roots are less necessary indoors.
Reproduction and Flowers
The spider plant is particularly well known for its asexual reproduction: like strawberries and saxifrages, spider plants easily produce long, straight, then arching stolons, on which first the flowers and then the marcottes line up.
The flowers are white, in the shape of a six-pointed star, relatively pretty in their own right, but insignificant overall: they grow far apart, don’t live very long and follow one another over a period of a few weeks. When they die, they give way to small seedlings, which grow rapidly and take on the form of miniature chlorophytums. Eventually, they even begin to form small, swollen stems at their base: the future roots.
With age, the seedlings that remain attached to the mother plant may eventually produce stolons in their turn, to create a veritable cascade of foliage.
C. comosum also produces black seed capsules, which are viable even if they don’t necessarily produce true-to-type plants (meaning that the mother plant with two-tone foliage will probably produce an entirely green seedling).
Varieties
There are a few cultivars of C. comosum that are frequently found on the market, and a few other chlorophytum species that can be grown at home.
The “natural”, all-green version is relatively rare, in favor of two-tone variegated versions deemed more attractive. C. comosum ‘Variegatum’ (with green runners) has a white stripe along the leaf margin. When the center of the leaf is variegated with cream, it’s called ‘Vittatum’ (and the stolon is also creamy white).
Some spider plants have curly leaves, giving them an original shape.
Another cultivar that can be found is C. comosum ‘Hawaiian’, whose leaves grow a soft, light green which, over time, becomes darker. Without new growth, this cultivar is indistinguishable from the “natural”, all-green C. comosum.
Original new cultivars
Of course, as is the case with all plants, new cultivars with fanciful names often appear, creating a great deal of confusion: ‘Atlantic’, ‘Ocean’, ‘White Lightning’, ‘Silver Surfer’ and so on. It’s possible that these cultivars are easy to distinguish when placed alongside ‘Vittatum’ or ‘Variegatum’, or that some aspect of the plant is singularly improved with these new cultivars… just as it’s plausible that they’re simply names to boost sales!
Trois autres espèces de chlorophytums sont parfois cultivées à l’intérieur:
- C. macrophyllum, a species with broader leaves, somewhat reminiscent of dracaena fragrans, growing in clumps;
- C. laxum, which closely resembles comosum and is sometimes used in terrariums;
- C. orchidantheroides ‘Tangerine’, which deserves its own section.
The Orange Spider Plant
Although there’s eternal confusion about its names, it’s easy to spot Chlorophytum orchidantheroides ‘Tangerine’, also known as C. amaniense, C. orchidastrum, C. filipendulum amaniense and ‘Orange Mandarin’ or ‘Fire-flash’.
Its broad, dark-green leaves are attached to an upright stem by bright orange petioles, making this plant particularly unique among houseplants. It flowers happily indoors (even if the flower spike is rather insignificant) and can be propagated by sowing. However, beware of wounds: scars from damaged leaves quickly turn a particularly conspicuous black. It’s best to place it in a low-traffic area and not move it around too much.
The care required is essentially the same as for C. comosum, except that it is a little less tolerant of mistakes. Nevertheless, it remains an “easy” plant, very tolerant of varied lighting conditions (except for the strong summer sun) and spaced watering. You can apply the following advice and grow this beautiful orange spider plant without any problems.
Growing Tips
Light
C. comosum prefers bright light conditions with a little direct sun and, if well watered, can withstand direct midday sun, even in summer. Medium light is sufficient to grow it and it can survive, at least for a few months, in low light, but its growth will be stunted.
Watering
Watering really depends on light. During the summer, a plant that receives a lot of light can be watered generously, but beware of medium or low light conditions.
Thanks to its tuberous roots, this plant tolerates drought well at all times. On the other hand, it is quite sensitive to over-watering and tends to turn yellow when over-watered.
The easiest way to do this is to follow the golden rule of watering.
There’s another watering peculiarity, especially for larger plants. Because of its expansive root system, the spider plant compresses its soil, which is therefore less inclined to retain moisture. With less water available, plants are constantly thirsty and, although they can survive these conditions without too much trouble, they tend to suffer aesthetically, notably by having dry leaf tips (more on this common growing problem later).
Potting
In the right light, spider plants grow very fast, and it’s not unusual to have to repot them more than once a year. Traditional houseplant potting soil will do the trick. For larger plants, don’t hesitate to prune the roots when repotting.
Atmospheric Humidity
Spider plants benefit from increased atmospheric humidity, but also tolerate dry air.
Fertilizers
C. comosum can be gently fertilized at half the recommended dose. Note that C. comosum is not a greedy plant, and browns easily if fertilized too generously. A plant that is frequently repotted in new potting soil (i.e. already fertilized, at least lightly) does not need additional fertilizer.
Temperature
The plant prefers between 18°C and 32°C (65 to 90?) to grow well.
If you forget the plant somewhere, you should know that it can survive short periods down to 2°C (35?), as long as it doesn’t freeze. However, these are not conditions to be maintained for too long.
Maintenance
Spider plants are easy to care for. Apart from frequent repotting and soaking overgrown specimens, you can go to the trouble of cutting off the tips of damaged leaves and pulling out completely dry ones.
But How Low-Maintenance?
A friend of mine once said, “It’s pretty hard to kill one. The worst you can do is just disappoint them a little bit.”
This is the story of my poor spider plant. It was my first plant, beyond a two-week flirtation with a grocery store basil. When I moved to Montreal from Quebec City, I left it with a roommate while I looked for an apartment. He left it in a room, curtains closed, without watering for two months. When I got it back, it was completely yellowed and more “flat” than “plant”.
A few hours after watering, it straightened up and, after a few days in the light, took on a less sickly hue and even had a new leaf. Resilient, little plant!
PS: and two years later, I watered it too generously in winter and killed it. I’m adding this passage for all the people who have problems with spider plants and who spend their time, online or in person, being told how ultra-easy they are and that you have to be a real dope to kill one. Don’t worry too much: the only gardeners who haven’t killed a “very easy” plant are those who only have plastic plants!
Multiplication
What could be easier? A plant that creates its own spiderettes (planlets, really). Simply wait for the little roots to sprout before placing them directly in the slightly damp potting soil. You can also put them in water first, but that’s an intermediate step that’s not necessary. Finally, you can leave them attached to the mother plant until they have developed their independent root system, to greatly limit the (already low) risk of the planets drying out before they can develop their roots.
Problems
- Insects: C. comosum is not very prone to insects, although it is occasionally affected by mealybugs, spider mites and thrips. C. orchidantheroides ‘Mandarine’ is particularly prone to the latter.
- No flowering: we don’t exactly know the mechanisms that stimulate stolon growth in spider plants. It’s likely that simply giving it more light is the way to get the chlorophytum to flower. More light… and a little patience.
- Yellowing of the plant: it has been over-watered. Allow the potting soil to dry out completely before watering again. If the plant has started to lose its roots, remove the rotten roots and repot in fresh potting soil. In good light, it should quickly put down new roots. If the plant doesn’t survive the shock, remove a marcotte.
- Brown streaks on the leaf: this is caused by over-watering. This problem is particularly frequent in winter. In low light, water plants more lightly.
- Pale plant, stunted growth: the plant doesn’t get enough light. Although they’re sometimes sold as plants of darkness, chlorophytums are not plants that survive long without at least average light.
The Problem of Browning Leaf Tips
One of the most common growing problems with C. comosum is that the leaf tips dry out. This phenomenon is known as “burnt tips”. Other houseplants are also affected, such as dracenas (Dracaena), cordylines (Cordyline) and privet plants (Calathea, Marantha).
Plusieurs raisons sont à blâmer. Les voici, par ordre de fréquence en ce qui concerne la plante-araignée:
1. Contaminated potting soil: C. comosum is particularly affected by excess minerals in potting soil. We recommend regular leaching of potting soil for houseplants, particularly in the case of C. comosum.
2. Chlorine in water: contrary to popular belief, chlorine in water doesn’t bother houseplants too much. For most plants, there’s no need to let the water stand before watering. But there are a few plants that are more sensitive to chlorine – and C. comosum is one of them. If you have access to rainwater, it’s a good candidate to use this precious commodity.
3. Lack of water: despite its resistance to drought, the spider plant still prefers not to be under constant water stress. This risk is greatly reduced by watering large plants or those in hanging baskets, as explained above.
4. Atmospheric humidity: in plants with delicate leaves (Calathea, Marantha, Cordyline), it’s often the atmospheric humidity that’s too low. This is certainly an important factor for the spider plant.
5. Too much water: beware of overwatering spider plants! If the soil is constantly damp, the roots are eventually suffocated. Leaf tips turn brown… followed by the whole plant!
6. Too much fertilizer: beware of over-fertilizing. That said, since C. comosum grows fast, there’s less risk of over-fertilizing this plant.
I can see the alert readers coming. A “very easy” plant, but one that needs to be placed near a humidifier and watered with rainwater? Certainly not that easy! The truth is that, unlike other plants that can suffer from dry leaves, spider plants are very resilient. They produce enough new leaves to replace the few unfortunate inches affected. So it’s not a problem for them: it’s a problem for the gardener.
The laidback gardener’s technique is to leave the plant without a humidifier, water with tap water… and ignore the brown bits!
Toxicity
C. comosum is non-toxic. It is particularly popular with cats, who sometimes nibble its leaves. Some scientists suggest that the plant even has hallucinogenic properties for felines, due to one of its compounds being similar to opium, which explains why some pussies return to it again and again. C. comosum can cause mild digestive problems in animals, like other types of grass that cats eat, but this is a problem that is very rarely seen.
Air Purification
Ah! that good old NASA study. It’s been trotted out again and again.
So, for my fans of plants’ purifying properties, C. comosum filters formaldehyde and xylene particularly well.
Of course, the most skeptical will ask: do plants purify the air? And the answer is: maybe they do… at least, in a controlled environment. In the home, we don’t know.
Presentation Tips
Spider plants are often presented in hanging baskets, from which the plants are left to hang higher and higher until they touch the floor. Beware of such displays: plants in hanging pots are almost always too big for their potting soil supply – and this is even truer for C. comosum, with its massive roots. Watering in basins is absolutely essential for large plants in hanging baskets.
Conclusion
Chlorophytum comosum is often the first plant for tomorrow’s gardeners. It’s easy, recovers well from shock and multiplies quickly, making it a great gift for friends, especially those with cats. It may seem banal to some, but it has the charm of a sure bet!
Interesting article and more or less corroborates what I’ve learned from growing spider plants over the years, except…. my last two (in different rooms!) were overtaken by scale insects. I had to throw them both out because with a big spider plant with lots of “babies” It’s just too hard to clean each leaf with alcohol repeatedly! Any advice? No idea where the scale came from. A pothos that spent years right next to one of the affected spider plants remains scale-free (as far as I can tell).
Pothos are generally more adapted to dry conditions than spider plants. It’s possible that your spider plants were infested due to being weakened by the dry conditions, whereas the pothos remained unaffected.
This article sounds like I’m really listening to someone explaining and demonstrating all about these plants. It covers everything and I learned a lot from reading (hearing) this article. Thank you and appreciate you sharing your knowledge.