Everything You Need To Know About Growing Spider Plants Indoors

Many people are interested to learn about growing spider plants indoors. These plants are known to produce a gorgeous rosette of long and arched foliage that looks great especially when placed in a hanging basket. You can hang it on your patio or inside your home. You can also grow the plant in a pot or container and place it in one corner of your home.

Learning how to grow spider plants should be easy. Even if you don’t have that much knowledge in gardening, you should be able to successfully grow spider plants in your home.

Types of Spider Plants

There are several different varieties of spider plants that you can grow at home. But the most common of these are the following:

1. Zebra Spider Plant

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The zebra plant is a popular variety of spider plants to grow indoors. It grows very quickly and is recognized for its arching leaves. Around summer and spring, the trailing stems will start producing small white flowers along with tiny plantlets.

2. Bonnie Spider Plant

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The Bonnie spider plant is recognized for its bending and curling leaves. Some people would refer to it as a curly spider plant. Compared to other spider plant varieties, the bonnie plant is usually more compact.

3. Vittatum Spider Plant

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The Vittatum Spider Plant is one of the most popular varieties of a spider plant. It is recognized for its broad white stripe with slightly curved leaves with medium green shade. This is a great choice if you intend to hang your spider plant indoors.

4. Varriegatum Spider Plant

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Spider plant is also known as reverse variegated, this spider plant is also a popular variety. While vittatum has white stripes in the middle and dark green edges, the varriegatum has dark green stripes with white edges. This spider plant looks truly attractive and can make for a perfect decoration at home.

Also Read: 21 Exotic Tropical House Plants

Requirements for Growing Spider Plants Indoors

Growing spider plants is easy for as long as you know proper spider plant care. This hardwearing plant can tolerate abuse, which makes them perfect for first-time gardeners. Here are the requirements for growing spider plants indoors.

1. Use well-drained Soil

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One of the most important spider plant growing tips is to ensure that you provide the plant with well-drained soil. You can purchase a general-purpose potting soil from your local nursery or garden store.

2. Plant in a Container With Drainage Holes

To ensure that your spider plant can grow successfully, place it in a pot or container with several drainage holes. Since spider plants can grow best if they are a bit pot-bound, choose a spider plant pot that’s one size up or about 2 inches bigger in diameter.

3. Place under Bright, Indirect Sunlight

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Spider plants can tolerate a wide range of conditions for growing. However, they would be able to flourish more if you place them under bright indirect light. Thus, one of the most important tips for spider plant care indoors is to provide the plant with an ideal growing temperature. The ideal spider plant temperature is above 50 degrees Fahrenheit with moderate humidity.

4. Rotate the Placement Regularly

The spider plant can be placed in just about any area in your home, even in a room that receives only artificial light. But it’s highly recommended that you regularly rotate the placement. That way, both sides of the plant will be exposed to the nearby light.

Problems of Spider Plant

Even though spider plants are low maintenance plants, these plants will eventually encounter issues with pests. Here are some of the most common problems that you could encounter when growing spider plants.

1. Scales or Aphids

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Closely inspect the undersides of the leaves of your spider plant for the presence of scales or aphids. Scales are those flat brown oval-shaped pests that stick on the leaves. Dip a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol and rub it into the leaves. You can spray the leaves with neem oil or insecticidal soap to remove the presence of aphids.

2. Tip Burn

Another problem that you’ll come across when growing spider plants is tip burn. This usually happens when there’s low humidity or the soil is dry. Tip burn also happens as a result of the buildup of chemicals and salt coming from the tap water that you’ll use to feed your plants. Thus, it’s important that you avoid using chlorinated water when feeding your plants. Cut the brown tips immediately when they occur.

3. Mealybug

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Mealybug infestation is common in indoor plants. Just like with the aphids, the mealybug can be treated by spraying them with neem oil or insecticidal soap. Check the nearby plants as well to see if the pests may have migrated.

Benefits of Spider Plants

Aside from being a low-maintenance plant, the spider plant is a great plant to grow since it comes with several benefits.

1. Purifies Indoor Air

One of the biggest benefits of growing spider plants indoors is that you’ll be able to breathe clean air. The plants can effectively remove harmful chemicals from the air, including formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene. In fact, NASA considers the spider plant as among the top three houseplants that can help to effectively purify the air.

2. Helps Patients To Easily Recover

Study shows that spider plants can help to speed up a surgical patient’s recovery rate. It was also found that patients with spider plants in their room require less medication compared to those patients who don’t have the plant in their room.

3. Improve humidity

The spider plant is a type of perennial plant with a high transpiration rate. This means that it absorbs water through its roots and circulates moisture into the air in order to improve humidity. The increased humidity in your home means you’ll have fewer chances of developing airborne diseases.

Spider Plant FAQs

Q1: How Often should I water a Spider Plant?

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One of the questions that you probably have in mind is how often to water spider plant indoors? If the top inch of the soil is dry, then that’s an indication that it’s time to water your spider plant. Water the plant moderately or once in a week during the first year of growing the plant.

Also Read: How to Water Indoor Plants

Q2: How fast do Spider Plants Grow?

When grown in perfect conditions indoor, the spider plant will grow really within 6 months to a year. After reaching a decent size, it will produce its first flowering stem. After that, the plant will get sluggish and the leaves will weaken.

Q3: Which is the Best Pot for Spider Plant?

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Use pots with drainage holes to plant your spider plants. Without drainage holes, your spider plant will get overwatered and this could kill the plant. Even though the soil surface is dry, the soil at the bottom is already soaking wet.

Q4: Do Spider Plants grow Outside?

Yes, spider plants can be grown successfully outdoors for the entire year. They work well when planted directly from the ground where it can slowly spread. The spider plant can also be grown in a pot outdoors, either in a hanging container or as a standing planter.

Q5: How much light do Spider Plants Need?

To ensure successful growth, it’s important that you are aware of the light requirements for spider plant. Spider plants would prefer bright lights, although they can also grow in semi-shady to partial direct sunlight. They will also do well when grown under a bright artificial light.

Q6: Which is the Best Soil for Spider Plant?

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Spider plants do not tolerate wet soil for a long time. The best soil to use in growing the spider plant is all-purpose potting soil. You can purchase a good quality potting soil from your local nursery or garden store. If possible, choose something organic.

Q7: How to Fertilize Spider Plants?

Fertilizers should be applied sparingly on your spider plants. Avoid over-fertilization as this could lead to brown leaf tips. There’s no specific fertilizer to use for the spider plants. Any all-purpose, water-soluble fertilizer that’s suitable for houseplants should be fine.

Q8: Why do Spider Plants get Brown Tips?

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Browning tip is a common problem for spider plants. There are many reasons for this but the main reason is water stress. This will happen if you either overwater or underwater the plant. Also, if you feed the plant with water containing fluoride, the browning tips will appear.

Q9: How to Repot a large Spider Plant?

Repotting a spider plant should be easy. Simply remove the plant gently from its original pot. Rinse the plant and trim some of its roots. Then get a larger pot and replant. Again, make sure that you use a pot or container that has plenty of drainage holes.

Final Thoughts

By now, you should have everything you need to know about growing spider plants indoors. The plant looks great anywhere regardless of how you plant it. You can grow it in a hanging basket or any pot and place it on top of a table or anywhere in your home. The plant’s long shoots have “plant babies” at the end that makes it look truly eye-catching.