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Tips on Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) growth

Zoe_123
9 years ago

I have had this plant for about a year since it was a wee spider baby. I recently re-potted it for the second time, and I am a little bit worried that the pot is too big (see photo), and its one of the self watering pots so the soil stays moist all the time, i read that thats not a bad thing, but it could develop root rot if its too moist. The tips are brown on almost all the leaves, I have placed it where it gets abit of sun but not too much, and spray it with purified water when I can...So if anyone out there could suggest something that'll really help it thrive that would be great. thanks :)

Comments (8)

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    9 years ago

    These plants make huge roots that eventually look like carrots, though not quite as fat, and not as stiff, (and white,) so the pot size should be fine, but let it dry out between waterings. If you see wilting, that's too dry, but being moist all of the time is a recipe for rotting the roots. These plants are from dry climates where the deep, moisture-storing roots help them get through times of drought.

    I would encourage you to give it a regular pot in the spring. The self-watering kind doesn't allow the soil to flush, and holds excess moisture around the roots at the bottom. Spider plants are sensitive to tap water chemical build-up.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    actually ... the pot isnt big enough.. lol ...

    its just going to take time to fill it up ... and it probably wont spider.. until its get moving in that regard ...

    tip browning in winter is the norm.. just snip the ends with the brown off with scissors ... and it could have been increased by the transplant ...

    they shed the oldest leaves annually .... and the newest are in the center... so .. note.. no browning on new growth .. and that means the problem is past ... so snip away ... and dont worry anymore ...

    it would be nice to note you are NZ and its spring unlike most of us ...

    i let mine near COMPLETELY dry between waterings ... like nearly once a month ... or every second week or two ... and this is in the great frozen north.. with the furnace running 24/7 ... and i guage it all.. by the weight of the pot... dry media has no weight ... so if the pot is heavy.. there is pleanty of water in there for a spider .....

    mine is hanging 2 foot from the ceiling in the middle of the kitchen.. it gets NO DIRECT SUN ... ever ...

    i am thinking the browning WAS.. all transplant shock.. and its over... try not to love it to death.. and water nearly like a cactus ...

    in fact.. i only water mine.. after i notice they are wilting ... and they stand right back up ...

    ken

  • RioSeven
    9 years ago

    That is strange. You must have the slowest growing spider ever! I can't believe you have had it for a year. Maybe it just looks small in the photo. My spider is growing too fast. I have had it for 9 months and it is gigantic. It was covered in babies too. I had to cut them off because I literally didn't have room for it all.

    It is a bit of a problem actually because the plant is leaning and I am worried it will break. I repotted it but it went back to leaning over a couple days later. I actually have to re-pot again because the roots have started growing outside the pot.

    Clearly we have different types of spiders but still, very strange! Here is a photo of it a couple months ago when it still looked good and it still had its babies.

  • lauraeli_
    9 years ago

    Wow, Rio, your spider plant is gorgeous! What is your secret? Mine has always been ugly.

    Floppy, and the tips dry out.

    Mine is the all-green kind. The leaves are very long, and just flop right over the edge of the pot. Too little light maybe?

    One thing that I do know, is that they are sensitive to the chemicals in tap, and they dont like to dry out. Every time they dry out, a little more of the tip dies back.

  • RioSeven
    9 years ago

    Thanks! I believe that is an "ocean" spider plant and it grows too fast! Right now it looks terrible because of how it is leaning over but in that picture it was at its peak.

    Not sure if it is something I do, or just what the plant does genetically. Mine also gets brown tips but the leaves are so wide and long that it doesn't seems to make much difference.

    It sits in a south facing window. I let it get all that sun but in the summer, on super sunny days, I would lower the blind and reduce its sun exposure. But it does seem to tolerate a lot of sun.

    I gave it full strength fertilizer in the summer and I am currently giving it half strength fertilizer - it has a bunch of new babies so I figure it needs it.

    The only thing I might do differently, and it seemed to LOVE, was I gave it egg shell water. Take used egg shells and rinse them. Soak the egg shells in water in Tupperware. After a few days you water the plants with it. But I think you can only do with plants that like alkaline soil.

    I know that it is not a very precise way of feeding a plant but I read that spider plants love calcium. And I do have to say, the plant was visibly healthier about two days after I would do it. I have done it about three times.

    Warning, if you leave the eggs shells in the water longer than a couple days it will smell like death!

  • Pat Z5or6 SEMich
    8 years ago

    I betcha that window is too cold for that tropical spider plant in the winter.

  • Tina Marie Villarreal
    2 years ago

    Sounds like too much water. It needs to dry out just a bit in between, not stay constantly wet. I like to transplant my plants when they have really really out grown their pots, then only upsize by 1 max 2 sizes in a plan black pot. I then put in a cover pot. I like to water from the bottom, so I take out of their cover pots and place in a container of water to soak. I live where it's VERY dry so I usually do this weekly to every other week. Try watching Planterina on YouTube, she is great on houseplant info!!! Be careful though she'll make you want to turn your place into a jungle!

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