Spider Plant Care

Native to South Africa, the Spider plant is one of the most commonly grown houseplants world over. Its long leaves add to its elegance and fuss free growth makes it quite popular among gardeners, even those who have just a small streak of 'greenness' in them. To know how to get your spider plant to be a star among other plants, follow a few spider plant care instructions.

Spider Plant Description:
Spider plants have long grassy leaves, which taper at the end. The leaves are generally between 8 to16 inches long, and 0.2 to 0.8 inches wide. All the leaves grow from one single central rosette. Spider plants grow quickly and spread fast. One single plant will produce branched stolons with small white flowers, and single or multiple plantlet (runners). They are commonly variegated with a white or cream stripe in the middle, and green (different shades, depending upon the variety) on both sides. As their leaves are long and slender and have a tendency to give an arching look, they look very good in hanging baskets as well as in pots that are tall.

Spider Plant Toxicity: In the late 1980s, NASA conducted a research on houseplants to identify which one of them could serve the purpose of purifying the air for extended stays in orbiting space stations. One of the identified air cleaning plants was the Spider plant. This research went on to prove that this plant can not only be resourceful to clean air in the space stations but also on earth. This plant clears the environment in which they grow of toxic gases such as carbon, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, benzene, etc.

Spider Plant Propagation: Spider plants are easy to propagate. One may either get a new plant from a nursery, or clip a few from an older plant. The best method is to allow the plantlet grown on the tip of the Spider leaf to root. Do not severe its attachment from the mother plant, until the roots look healthy enough to plant. Take a pot, fill it with the potting mixture and very lightly pin down the plantlet into the pot's soil. Moisten it lightly, the plant will take a week to get rooted. Clip off the attachment after another week. One can also propagate by snipping the plantlet from the attachment, and potting it. Another method of propagating is to place the plantlet, while its attached in a glass of water for a week to encourage root growth. Then pot as usual. The only important thing to bear in mind is that the roots should be well-developed before severing it from the mother plant. The older the plant is, the more plant-let it produces.

Care of Spider Plants: The spider plant has very few basic requirements for a healthy growth. They have all been mentioned below:

• Soil: The soil should be light and well drained. Make a potting mixture of one part soil, one part sand and one part organic composite. This should be your ideal potting mix, however, a spider plant will thrive in any kind of soil.
• Water: Spider plants do not like excessive watering, as their root system is large and tuberous and capable of storing water for longer durations. Their leaves turn yellow and the rosette rots with too much water. During the summers and spring, water lightly, one can also spray moisten the soil, whereas during winter allow the top soil to dry before watering.
• Fertilizer: Spider plants prefer light and water soluble fertilizer. Wherever possible, use organic substances. The active growing season of the spider plants are spring and early summer. Feed the plant with fertilizers every two weeks during this time. The winter or fall is their dormant period, feed once in two months. Too much fertilizing will droop the plant and make it go brown.
• Light and Temperature: Spider plants need moderate amount of light and temperature. Too little light will hamper their growth, whereas too much exposure to sunlight will scorch their leaves. Move plants indoors to protect them from frost and chills.

Spider Plant Diseases: Spider plants are mostly hardy but at times tend to be susceptible to worms like caterpillars, or other diseases like mealybugs scales, thrips, etc. There are many pesticides available that can help you get rid of most diseases. Cut out the infected part of the plant and then spray the plant with pesticides.

A spider plant will not only add to the beauty of your house and garden, but its air cleaning mechanism will ensure clean, pure air around you. Spider plant care is minimal and as said earlier, even those with no gardening experience can grow them quite easily.