Overview

Spiders?! RUN! Oh, Spider Plants – not to be confused for real spiders – are a classic indoor plant native to the coastal areas of South Africa. They get their name from their – you guessed it – spider-looking spiderettes. They’re part of the Spider plant that emerges and dangle from their mother plant like – you guessed it again – spiders on a web. Spider plants are considered one of the most popular houseplants thanks to their easy propagation and ability to thrive in a range of conditions. Adaptable, bushy and beautiful, Spider plants’ cascading foliage are usually housed in a hanging pot, and they’re able to withstand a lot of your abuse, neglect and existential dread. Their white- and green-striped leaves can extend up to 1.5 feet long – and when they’re happy – they’ll grow long stems that bear small, star-shaped flowers.

Spider Plant Family

Care Tips

     Care Level : Beginner, Expert or Somewhere in the middle.

Spider plants are an excellent choice for those newbies just starting to get their green thumb a light shade of green. They can tolerate less than perfect conditions and suffer from very few problems – talk about resilience!

     Light

Spider plants like bright, indirect light. They can tolerate low levels of light; they just won’t be as robust. If you decide to keep your Spider plant outdoors – you’ll want to put it in a spot there it’ll get a bit of shade.

     Water

Spider plants like lightly moist soil – not soggy. If the top 2” of its soil is dry, then it’s time for a watering. In its growth months, you’ll likely be watering your Spider plant once a week, and you’ll taper down in the winter months. Spider plants are sensitive to tap water – you might see tips of its leaves browning as a result – so we recommend you use distilled water or to fill your water jug with tap water and leave it overnight first.

     Humidity

Spider plants like adequate amounts of humidity, otherwise it’ll experience leaf tip browning. Most houses will be good enough for a Spider plant – we’d just suggest you mist it periodically.

     Temperature

Spider plants like warm, humid conditions and will grow well in 13–27°C.

     Pets

Spider plants are not toxic to pets – but they do have a catnip-like quality. Their dangling foliage reminds cats of tall grass that they munch on to calm their stomachs. While it’s safe for cats to ingest Spider plants, it might send them on a bit of a trip, so you’ll want to be mindful of keeping it out of reach from your cat unless you want to be their sober companion through it.

     Other fun facts:

• In 2005, a parody of Spider-Man was made called “Spider-Plant Man” for the Comic Relief 2005 appeal. It featured Rowan Atkinson as Peter Piper/Spider-Plant Man and aired on BBC One.
• The Spider plant was part of a NASA Clean Air Study – it was one of the better plants in the test that looked at how well they removed carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, Xylene and toluene from the air. Go, science!

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