Spider plant
Chlorophytum comosum
Also known as: Ribbon plant, Airplane plant
Plant with long white-striped leaves that produces hanging plantlets. It does well in a pot or hanging, indoors or outside in a frost-free corner.
- Type
- Houseplant
- Where
- Indoor and outdoor
- Light
- Part shade · Shade
- Water
- Moderate water
- Cold
- Withstands cold but not frost
Where to put it
In medium light, without direct sun. It copes with quite a lot of shade. It looks great in hanging pots, where the plantlets dangle from the stems.
Watering
It likes moist soil, but copes well with the odd dry spell. In winter, water less. Rainwater is better than tap water.
Care
It doesn’t need pruning. Cut off the flower stems when they finish if you don’t want plantlets. Plantlets that already have roots can be separated and potted up at any time. Every two or three years, divide it and repot it to keep it healthy.
Feeding
Not much. If you overfeed it, it produces fewer plantlets.
At home
It’s grown mainly as a houseplant. If the air is dry from the heating, stand the pot on a tray of gravel and water. Outside it withstands cold but not frost, so in the garden or on the terrace put it in a sheltered corner. It isn’t toxic to dogs and cats.
Common problems
Scorched tips
How to spot it
The tips of the leaves turn brown and dry.
What to do
The chlorine and fluoride in tap water can cause it. If you can, water with rainwater.
Scale insects
How to spot it
Small, motionless, scale-like bumps stuck to the leaves.
What to do
Check the plant now and then. If the infestation is heavy, ask us.