#plant guide

ABOUT

Also known as the "airplane plant", the spider plant is a fast-growing plant that traces its origins to the tropical and southern regions of Africa and is named for its slender long leaves and the spidery stems its babies grow from. The plant was especially popular in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, but remains a household favorite due to being remarkably low maintenance. It is also valued for its air-purifying abilities.

PROFILE

DIFFICULTY No-fuss maintenance. Highly recommended for beginners or those with a "black thumb".

SIZE Small to medium. Fits on most shelves and tables, and also makes a good hanging plant.

TOXICITY Safe for animals and humans, although mildly hallucinogenic to cats, much like catnip.

IDEAL GROWING CONDITIONS

WATER | weekly waterings Allow soil to dry between waterings. On average, watering once a week should be sufficient. Make sure water is room temperature to avoid shocking your plant. 

CLIMATE | average humidity; average temperature Suggested temperatures are between 65-85°F / 18-29°C. Temperatures cooler than 50°F / 10°C have the potential to cause damage, so avoid drafty windows. Most indoor climates suit this plant just fine.

LIGHT | bright, indirect sunlight Direct sun will scorch leaves, so keep spider plants out of hot rays or sit them behind window sheers. They can also tolerate low light as long as they see at least a little bit of sun.

SPIDER PLANT MAINTENANCE "A recipe for growing a healthy, happy spider plant in the comfort of your own home."

YOU WILL NEED:

Well-draining soil

A pot with good drainage

Liquid fertilizer

Filtered water or rainwater (tap works fine if you let it sit overnight first)

Pruning shears or scissors

DIRECTIONS:

First, make sure your plant is comfortable in its environment by making sure both the soil and the pot it lives in allow for good drainage; lack of drainage increases the chances of root rot. Second, make sure that you're fertilizing your plant 1-2 times a month during its growing season. A spider plant's typical growing season is during spring and summer when it gets the most sunlight. Once you have made your plant comfortable, it is important that your plant receives occasional pruning. Snip the ends of the leaves at a diagonal angle if they turn brown. If a leaf dies or becomes discolored beyond saving, cut off the leaf near the base of the plant. Failing to remove dead material will make your plant expend precious energy on "lost cause" leaves and prevents growth.

Note: do not prune more than 20% of the plant during one session. Pruning gradually as new growth comes in is far healthier. Don't forget to repot every other year to accommodate growth, trim roots, and replenish soil. If your plant is too big for its home, size up about 2" from the previous pot.

LEAF COLORS (and what they mean)

WEAK, PALE YELLOW LEAVES | too much light, soil imbalance Your spider plant should never be in direct sunlight as it will scorch or bleach the leaves. Yellowing leaves are also indicators of shock when the soil is full of salt or fluoride deposits. Avoid this by fertilizing sparingly and using filtered water or rainwater.

FLIMSY, DROOPY YELLOW / BROWN LEAVES | too little light, too much water, not enough nutrients Spider plants can tolerate low light, but not no light; make sure your plant is at least in the middle of the room so it can see sunlight, if not near a shaded window. Overwatering wilts plants but can also lead to root rot, so check roots if wilting is severe. Also consider whether your plant needs fertilizer or new soil.

DRY, BROWN LEAVES / LEAF TIPS | water stress, too much light, soil imbalance Sometimes brown tips accompany dying yellow leaves and they mean much the same thing. Either your plant is toasty, dry, or thirsty, or the soil is full of too many harmful minerals.

BROWN / BLACK LEAF SPOTS | infection/blight, pests Large dark blotches may indicate a blight or infection. Smaller spots and sticky leaves may indicate an infestation, so inspect your plant for droppings, bugs, or chewing.

LUSH GREEN LEAVES | A happy plant! Good work!

TREATING YOUR SPIDER PLANT

DRY BROWN TIPS | Use a sterilized pair of pruning shears or scissors and snip the tips at a diagonal angle to remove damaged material.

BLIGHT SPOTS / DISCOLORED LEAVES | Use a sterilized pair of shears or scissors to cut off the entire leaf close to the base of the plant. If blighted, keep away from other plants in your home so they don't also get infected. 

PESTS | Spray leaves with a diluted insecticide. Neem oil spray is gentle and treats for a large variety of pests. Homemade dish soap sprays combat mites and aphids. Any sprays using peppers, ginger, or other sources of capsaicin help deter mites. 

ROOT ROT | Take your plant out of its pot, rinse the roots, and leave roots naked to dry. Trim any clear, soggy roots and repot. Depending on the amount of rot, your plant may be beyond rescue as this condition is often most fatal.

ROOT BOUND | If the roots are poking above soil or creeping out of drainage holes it has likely outgrown its home. Repot in a pot that's about 2" larger than the current one.

VIRIDESCENT THUMB

June 23, 2020

Plant Care Guide 1: Spider Plant

2) Do I really have to water them?

Ah yes. So many plants. Killing plants in the past, you may think I will go for a cactus or succulent – and that’s not at all a bad thought! But let’s dive into this matter a little more.

There are very different kinds of plants, and some are really hard to take care of, some are much easier to take care of. Most of this is tied to how you need to water them.

Generally, there are different kinds of plants all over, and no matter for what kind of plant you want to go for, I highly suggest that you google it before. When you get a plant you should know how to take care of it as this varies individually quite a lot. But generally speaking, too little water and too much water can kill a plant equally. So if you had a plant in the past and wondered why it died although you watered it so much – that might have been the reason. The reason is very simple too and it is tied to the plant’s roots. If the roots stand in the water for too long they start to rot, and then there is no turning back. How long a plant can survive in water depends on the plant.

If you have found yourself with a fellow that can absolutely not stand water on the roots (again, best would be to google your plant to find this out), you can put some small stones at the bottom of the pot, so that the water that is too much doesn’t actually reach the plant’s roots.

Alternatively (that’s what I do), you can take the plant out of the pot and put it into the sink, fill it for water, let it simmer for 20 minutes.

There are some more things you should take care of though:

the water should be room temperature, not too hot or too cold

depending on the season, the plant might need much more water or way less, especially when it stands close to a heater in winter or close to the window in summer, or when it is blooming!

→ this is why schedules often don’t work!

Ideally, just put your hand in the soil and look if it’s wet or not. If it is wet, don’t water the plant, if it’s basically dry as sand, go water it.

Yes, succulents and cacti often don’t need as much water, in that way they might be good first plants. But this is not a general rule among all succulents and they can be more complicated than it looks. More to that topic at the end when I give some recommendations.

The best thing, I say it again, is to google your plant and check how much water it actually needs. This way you make sure to not kill it with too much or too little love.

3) What do you mean plants need light?

This is an extra point, because the light aspect is really important, but the consensus is the same as for water. Depending on your plant it may need more or less light. I actually had a plant that nearly died once because it stood in a place that was too dark o(〒﹏〒)o

So go and google your plants and check how much light it needs! If it needs a lot of light, placing it in the window is a good idea (this applies to most succulents and cacti), if it doesn’t want that much light, find the darkest corner in your room!

4) Leaves need your attention.

Those green thingies on the plant are the leaves and they are the most vital part right with those roots. For the plants to be happy, it needs water (check), light (check), and oxygen. What? But I thought plants make oxygen?! Yes, but that’s basically just trash we should be more thankful for. First and foremost a plant needs to breathe as well and that’s just as every living being by taking oxygen and turning it into CO2. Just in case you weren’t aware. For a plant to breathe, it needs clean leaves, so every once in a while you should check the leaves and maybe get a damp cloth and wipe the dust off. You can also get a spray thingy and cover it with some water, but not every plant likes that, so google first if your plant of choice likes wet leaves!

Even if this is a crucial part of taking care of a plant, be careful because plants generally do not like to be touched. Be very gentle when you take care of the leaves!

Now you may have found a brown leaf. Cut it off. Sometimes leaves get brown, it happens, it’s not a big deal. Just cut it off so that your plant doesn’t waste strength on that part anymore! This also goes for the blooming. When your plant finished blooming and wilts, you may want to get rid of the crunchy bloom. (Although, you guessed it, this may vary with the plant, so google before you cut off dead bloom.)

5) Soil and oh no the plant grew!

So your plant also needs soil. You can’t really make many mistakes with that, but when you get a plant, check which kind of soil it wants. Some fancyTM plants want fancyTM soil, orchids, for example. Technically, soil is what may need fertilizer as well, but I have never used fertilizer in my life, ever. So I can’t give advice on that. My plants are still alive though, so I assume it’s just a neat extra, not a thing you have to have.

Where it becomes tricky, is when your plant grew and needs a bigger pot. When the roots look out of the pot, it’s time to get a bigger one. The rule of thumb is to get it one size bigger (a finger should fit between both pots if you put the smaller one in the bigger one).

This is one of my plants I really should get a new pot for!!

6) Help I think my plant just died?!

Ah, I am sorry! But depending on the plant, it might still be able to be saved! If it’s still alive and green close to the soil, just cut it down! All the dead parts go away, and it might grow new, a lot of plants are really resilient. Even if it doesn’t have any leaves any more, it doesn’t mean it’s gone for good, as plants store most of their nutrients not in the leaves but in the trunk and roots (which is the reason why the plant definitely can’t be saved once the roots start to rot from too much water!). This is my plant Monika that stood in a too dark place and nearly died, but as you can see it started to grow new baby leaves! (You got this Monika!)

7) Some recommendations. Plants and prices.

So which plant should you get yourself? That really depends on your taste! Succulents are pretty and relatively easy to take care of, so this might be a good start. However, I would not recommend an Aloe Vera, those are a bit tricky in contrast and need a lot of water. There's an awesome post somewhere on here that works as a guide on how to choose a plant, but I couldn't find it for the life of me. But generally, if you’re not that good with plants, I would suggest to get a forgiving plant. This means that just because you forgot to water it once, it doesn’t die at once.

Also, if you get a small and cheap plant, it needs much more attention (probably) and therefore is harder to take care of, if you get a bigger one, it might be more expensive, but easier to take care of. Also, if a plant is expensive, it’s probably not a beginner’s plant. That is often a sign that it grows very slow or is very hard to keep a live, probably the latter. This is also why bigger succulents are very pricey, they grow super slow! I would suggest that you look at some plants and get a bigger one that is cheap in contrast. That will probably mean that it is easy to take care of!

My favourite one is probably this one, the peace lily (spathiphyllum). When it needs water it lets its leaves down, and if I water it then they go straight back up. There’s nothing you can really do wrong with it. Blooms all the time, slight good smell. 10/10 would recommend.

This one is a classy one, the gum tree (ficus elastica). When I forget to water it it loses a leaf, which is a bit sad but once it gets watered correctly, it grows many more. Other than that, it’s a bit boring and grows very slow. 8/10 would recommend.

This one is super neat, the philodendron, which basically translates to tree friend! This one climbs and has a lot of air roots since it usually grows in other trees. Mine creeps over my desk and bookshelf. Very forgiving for neglect, grows a lot! 10/10 would recommend!

Succulents, they come in all shapes and sizes and it’s really fun to collect them. Don’t need much water and don’t really bother about anything. But if they’re just surviving and not really flourishing, they don’t really grow bigger and don’t bloom either, which I find super boring. Honestly, a bit overrated. 9/10 would recommend.