The spider plant is a popular plant for the home or office that forgives some care mistakes. A common mistake is oversupply of water or fertilizer, because the green plant is very frugal.
To the point
- The wrong substrate can lead to problems with the nutrient supply
- no direct sun at the location
- Dip spider plants instead of watering
- Make sure the humidity is sufficiently high
- Stop fertilizing in winter
Table of contents
- Wrong substrate
- Wrong location
- Too much water
- Low humidity
- Overfertilization
- frequently asked Questions
Wrong substrate
The first care mistake for spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) usually occurs when you buy them, because the commercial substrate is usually not suitable for long-term cultivation. It has difficulty retaining moisture, which can lead to problems with watering or nutrient supply. You should therefore repot commercially available plants straight away and use a suitable substrate.
Substrate mix for spider plants:
- 2 parts potting soil
- 1 part sand
- 1 part perlite
- Lava or clay granules as drainage
If you can't get perlite commercially, you can replace it with fine lava or Replace clay granules that you also use as a drainage layer.
Wrong location
Another care mistake for the spider plant is the wrong one Choice of location. If the location is unsuitable, the plants will quickly react with brown tips. If the plant is not moved to a better location, the leaves may gradually die off until there are only a few left.
Location requirements:
- bright
- no direct sun
- no drafts in winter
- No location near fruit trees in summer
- Leaves must not touch the ground
- Temperature should be at least 20 °C
To prevent the leaves from hitting the ground, you can cultivate the spider plant as an hanging basket plant. If the leaves come into contact with the ground, they can start to move from there Tip turn brown. A partially shaded place is ideal.
Spider plants with green and white striped leaves should be a little brighter and can also receive direct sun for a few hours. If these species are too dark, the leaves tend to turn completely green.
Too much water
Although the spider plant needs a good supply of water, if there is too much water or even waterlogging, the roots are permanently damaged, which can cause the plant to die. The spider plant also forgives if it is not watered for a long time, which makes it ideal for the office. However, dry periods should be the exception, as this severely slows down the plant's growth.
Watering instructions:
- Water when the top 1 to 2 inches of soil is dry
- Immerse the pot in a container of water
- Wait until no more air bubbles appear
- allow excess water to drain completely
- Coaster after approx. Check for water after 30 to 60 minutes and empty
Low humidity
While the spider plant is sensitive to too much water in the pot, it appreciates one high humidity. Dry indoor air can cause problems for plants, especially in winter. Therefore, avoid a place near the heater. Mist the spider plant with water at least once a week.
When spraying the plant, make sure that water does not collect in the center of the plant. This can promote rot in the area of the plant base. The spray mist should therefore be very fine. It is sufficient if you spray the spider plant once from all sides.
Hang the spider plant in a light tree in summer. The lighting conditions there are ideal and the humidity is usually slightly higher.
Overfertilization
During the growing season, the spider plant should be supplied with a liquid fertilizer for green plants every 14 days. There is no fertilization from September to March, otherwise the spider plant would form many new leaves in winter, which it cannot supply adequately due to the low number of hours of light. This would severely weaken the plant.
The spider plant rarely blooms. If it ever produces delicate white flowers, you can water it during this time with a liquid fertilizer for flowering plants.
frequently asked Questions
Pruning is usually not necessary. Dead leaves are removed at the base. If the spider plant has brown tips, you can remove the dead part. However, avoid cutting into the fresh leaf, as the interface would die again and the leaf would die even deeper.
You can use newly purchased plants as well as shoots educated child you can plant at any time. If the pot has become too small for the spider plant, the optimal time to repot it is early spring. You only need to repot the plants when the roots run out of space and grow through the holes for water drainage.
No, the spider plant is not frost-resistant. At temperatures below 10 °C the plant stops growing. If the temperature drops to zero, the leaves become damaged and die. The rootstock also does not survive the frost.