Easy Peasy! (Spider Plant)

Member Name: Mad_Wicca

Product:	Spider Plant
Date:	05/09/01 (1912 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to care for, provide free plants, benefit your health

Disadvantages: Need some level of care needed

The spider plant (Chlorophytum Comosum) is one of the easiest houseplants to have around the home. They are attractive, quick growing and require little care. They can be placed anywhere in the home as they are very adaptable to their surroundings, tolerating hot or cool rooms, sun, shade and dry air.

About the only thing that will kill a spider plant is outright neglect over a long period of time. So if you're one of those people who never remember to water your plants, then give the wilted specimen on your window sill a drowning when you finally do notice it, the spider plant is the plant for you. My sister can kill a plant as soon as look at it, yet even she has managed to keep her spider plant alive for the last three years.

I myself have spider plants in nearly every room of my house; from kitchen, through lounge to bathroom, and I have not paid for a single one of them. No, I'm not a prolific plant shoplifter, but once you have one spider plant you will end up with more - don't fight it, it's nature! Spider plants, if kept a little pot bound, grow long, thin, white stems, which then produce little white flowers. Once these flowers have died off, "plantlets" begin to grow all along the stem. When these new plants reach about 4 inches they can be removed from the stem and placed in their very own pots. Voila! More spider plants for FREE!

Alternately, you can leave the plantlets on the stem, as this also makes a very attractive feature in a hanging basket, or cascading over a shelf. Sometimes the plantlets cause the mother plant to lean over to one side, and although this can look quite nice, if you prefer your plant to stand erect then it can be solved by simply cutting off the plantlets and re-potting the adult plant.

As I've already mentioned, spider plants will put up with some neglect, but if you want to maintain a good, strong, healthy plant then there are a few things you can do to keep t
hem in tip-top condition. They can tolerate some direct sunlight, but being placed in partial shade makes the variegation of the leaves more pronounced. The room's temperature should be about 68 degrees Fahrenheit; although I have quite a few in my kitchen, which can get very cold in the winter, and they still seem to thrive. Your plant will let you know if it is in too cold an area as its leaves will turn transparent and soft. This happened to one of my plants but I was unable to save it; however, if caught in time the plant will return to health once moved.

During Spring and Summer these plants just suck up water, so water them as often as you can, although never leave them standing in too much water as this leads to root rot. During the Winter they require little watering, just enough to keep the compost slightly moist. If the leaves of the plant begin to look very floppy and dull then they need feeding, any houseplant food that can be mixed with water will be fine, and should be given to them about once a fortnight. A good spray with a misting bottle not only cleans off any dirt and dust from the leaves but also helps with the humidity of the plant, as does standing the pot on a saucer of moist pebbles. However, never use any "leafshine" products to clean the leaves as this can scorch them.

Spider plants flourish when they are a bit pot-bound, but when the plant begins to push the potting compost above the edge of the pot, then they need to be potted on, and this is best done in the Spring. If your plant has any plantlets hanging from it then you can also pot these up at the same time. I find that potting three or four babies in one pot together gives for a bigger, bushy adult plant.

If well looked after a spider plant can live for many years, growing from 2 to 2½ feet wide and anything up to 3 feet long if kept in a hanging basket. However, they can still suffer from a few problems, one of the most common being the tips
of the leaves turning brown. This is generally caused by either the plant spending too long in direct sun, in which case move it to a shaded area, or by not watering the plant enough, which is easily solved with a quick drink. As regards water, the spider plant does not like the fluoride in tap water, preferring either rainwater or distilled water. Leaving a small bowl outside to catch rainwater is one way of ensuring your plant gets what it needs.

Although not a plant that suffers from pests often it can become home to some horrible little creepy crawlies now and again. If the leaf edges look as though they have been nibbled away then greenfly have been feasting on the plant. Also, if the leaves look dull and greyish and show signs of webs on the underside of the leaves, the culprit is Red Spider Mites. Both of these can be solved with a good blast from a houseplant insecticide until all signs of the little varmints have gone.

However, both myself and a friend tried the more environmentally friendly way of disposing of plant pests, with good results. First I removed the plant from its pot, throwing the compost and the pot into the bin. I then thoroughly washed the plant, roots and all, under a slow running tap, until there was no sign of compost or wriggling things on it. Next I gave it a quick dip in cold water with just a drop of washing up liquid added, and it was just a quick in, wiggle around and straight out dip. Once the plant had dried off I re-potted it in a new pot with fresh compost and sprayed it often with the mist bottle. The plant survived and there were no more signs of the pest that it had been infected with. There have been times when I have tried this but the bugs have persisted so I still resorted to the insecticide, but it is worth a try as it generally works wonders.

If you follow all these simple steps then you will have a healthy, beautifully sculptured houseplant that will enhance any room. Not only that, but the
spider plant will pay you back for all the care you lavish upon it in a way that is very beneficial to your health. All houseplants will filter toxins, pollutants and the carbon dioxide we exhale, replacing them with oxygen and naturally purifying the air that we breath. The spider plant is in the top three of houseplants that do this, and so by owning one you are not only improving your home, but also your health.

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