Dying Spider Plant

[jacqueg]

Originally Posted by burdell

Perhaps you can advise? A friend's wife had given me a spider plant in a 10" pot that did well for 6 months or so and then half the pot just died, I thought the whole thing was a goner but it started doing well and has put a number of those stems bearing baby plants over the side yet hasn't filled in the half of the pot that died. Should I be repotting it or?

I'd repot it. And if it's only filling half the pot, repot it down. Too much water at their roots is just as bad - maybe worse - than too dry. They'll recover just fine from too dry.

When you repot it, you will see that spider plants have numerous water storage structures on their roots. Just tear off the dead/brown/mushy ones. The healthy ones resemble elongated pearl onions.

Spider plants are tough, as you are learning. I only water mine when they are beginning to wilt. Actually, I'm so familiar with mine that I can tell by the color of their leaves when they would like more water. I saturate the soil well, then don't water again until I can see that they are asking for it.

You can keep spider plants in pretty much any size pot that fits the space you have. I have a couple baby plants in 2" pots, a few more in 4" pots, and mama is in an 8" pot. I could keep all of them indefinitely in those pots. Just divide them when they get crowded. Give the ones you don't want away. There's not a thing wrong with having numerous spider plants, they're very decorative.

In my view, there is no better house plant, and few are as good.

When you are treating them right, and they are in the right spot, you will be rewarded with droopy stalks of pretty, small white flowers. Mama is just starting to produce those now for me. When she's done, I'll divide her.