I've always had a few houseplants...but my spider plants have gotten out of control!
And I honestly can't seem to resist the temptation to propagate them continuously.
HOW to PROPAGATE SPIDER PLANTS
To Propagate, just trim the babies off once they've started to spout little nubs
like shown in the picture below.
I like put my babies into old shot glasses to root in a sunny window. But you can also put them directly into a small pot of soil. I just like to watch the roots grow until they fill up the glass.
Once the little glasses are filled with roots, I then combine them into a small starter pot.
However, I don't need another large plant and my mom lives too far away to share,
so I'm thinking of experimenting with this new set of babies above. One, I'd like to have three smaller plants to put in a hanging container and I want to teach myself how to make a macrame plant hanger. (Stay tuned!)
THEY LIKE to BE a "LITTLE" ROOT-BOUND
Spider plants prefer to be in a tight pot. THIS plant to the left below was obviously in desperate need of a transplanting. My mom and I have noticed they seem to sprout the most babies (spiderettes) when they are like this. My mom and I enjoy texting each other our plant's progress especially when they sprout their first "baby".
This plant below my mom and I refer to as the "mother" plant as most of the plants above have been rooted from her. My mom started this plant years ago from my original spider plant whom we at the time called the "grandmother" plant....but after many, many years of propagating, she got old and her root ball unhealthy.
PLANT CARE TIPS:
They grow best in the natural sunlight of a morning window...
...and only require a weekly deep watering (Depending where you live this could be more or less.) During our cold winter months here in Eastern Oregon, the shower will do as a place for this deep watering, but in the summer months they love to drain in a sunny spot on the patio.
Spider plants have a dense, fleshy cluster of tubers as their root system. So I water when the soil is dry to touch. When transplanting, I will give the plant a deep watering as shown below, then increase the pot size so your plant sits in the center of the new pot with about a two inch perimeter of new soil.
Not too big, but enough room to grown and expand. We apply fertilizer spikes every two months.
Not too big, but enough room to grown and expand. We apply fertilizer spikes every two months.
I myself, having never been a gardener, am surprised at my own "green thumb" as these little guys have grown into becoming a part of my own household routines over the years. So if you've never tried a houseplant, yet would like to try, I highly recommend these hardy Spider plants.
With SMILES! Val
My son brought home a spider plant cutting in a Styrofoam cup from preschool twenty five years ago. I still have that plant and have given away scores of cuttings from it. It lives outside during the summer and inside during the winter. It is a tough plant that survives even when I forget to water it, even when I accidently leave it outside when the temperature drops below freezing.
ReplyDeleteCan one really have too many plants?? =) I have a spider plant too. It is the easiest of plants. I forget about it all the time, but still it grows happily.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple of those some years ago on a porch. I haven't had one in a long time, now I'm thinking it would be a great plant for my birdcage, with the little ones hanging out the sides.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have lots of houseplant, I haven't had a spider plant in many years. I should ask if any one in my quilt group has one I can get some babies from. Yours look very healthy.
ReplyDeletePat
They look so lush and healthy! I'm guessing you talk to them, too :)
ReplyDeleteThis post is so timely. My daughter (30 years old) bought house plants to help improve the air (she says) and the spider plant is one of them. I will pass this on to her to read, it might be very helpful. Also, when I was in my 20s, many moons ago, I made lots of macrame plant hangers and LOVED doing it. I might have to pull out a pattern and make one or two for my daughter's patio.
ReplyDeleteI have had many over the years but the babies I rooted last year still have no babies of their own. funny how my niece took one baby cutting and hers sprouted immediately and sent out dozens of flowers. Maybe I should re-pot them again and this time fertilize them.
ReplyDelete