Grow Chlorophytum comosum (Spider Plant) to purify the air!
Chlorophytum comosum (Spider Plant) -
Plant Profile, Culture and Propagation :
- Botanical Name: Chlorophytum comosum
- Common Name: Spider Plant, Variegated Spider Plant, Ribbon Plant, Airplane Plant.
- Family name: Liliaceae (Lily Family)
- Plant type: An evergreen herbaceous perennial, native to South Africa.
- Light: Bright light or partial shade; Can tolerate direct morning sunlight, but avoid direct midday/afternoon sunlight that can scorch its leaves.
- Moisture: Performs well with regular watering and do allow soil to dry out between waterings. It can tolerate dry or humid conditions.
- Soil: Well-drained loamy soil though adaptable to any kind of garden or potting soil.
- Propagation:
Easily propagated by dividing its root and stem mass. Or the better and easier alternative is by removing the baby plantlets growing along the elongated stolons and planting them individually in pots or on ground or in water.
Moreover, Spider Plants love to be pot bound and by not disturbing the main root mass, they will produce more plantlets to reward you. And, if the parent plant is planted on ground, the baby plantlets that it produces take root easily wherever they touch the ground.
Chlorophytum can also be propagated from seeds, though rarely done.
(Update: Scroll down the page to Jacqueline’s and David’s comments dated February 7 & 24, 2009 to find out how-to.) - Features:
Chlorophytum comosum is a fast growing, evergreen clump-forming plant reaching 1-1.5 ft tall with a spread of 2 feet, popularly grown for its attractive foliage. Its grass-like recurving leaves that grow from a central rosette are long, slender and tapering, measuring 20-40 cm (8-15 in) long and less than 2 cm broad.
The species, Chlorophytum comosum, has medium to dark-green satiny leaves, but most cultivars are variegated. Variegated leaves come in various shades of green bands with a white or yellow center stripe or vice versa. As it matures, it produces gracefully arching stolons that can be 1-3 ft long, and adorned with small white starry flowers (less than 1.5cm across). At the flowering nodes, baby plantlets are formed, resembling its miniature self, though more spider-like with their cluster of curled leaves and air roots. Hence, aptly known by their common names ‘Spider Plant’ or ‘Airplane Plant’. It has fleshy tuberous roots that store reserve food.
- Usage: Spider Plants make excellent house plants or indoor plants as they are not only such easy-growing plants but have beneficial properties in cleansing the air of pollutants, especially formaldehyde and carbon monoxide.. As it tolerates artificial lighting very well and has air purifying abilities, it’s most ideal in office environment where electronic pollutants are emitted. Chlorophytum is perfectly showy in hanging baskets, whether indoors or outside, as well as an ideal groundcover in garden beds or borders. Excellent too for container gardening or planter boxes, placed at balconies, window sills or raised on a pedestal.
- Care: Requires bright light or filtered sunlight for best growth and vibrant leaf colors. Never locate Spider Plants in full sun that will scorch their foliage. Remove yellow or dried leaves to keep it tidy. Be aware that too little water, too low humidity, too much salts and excess fluorides in the water can cause leaf tips to turn brown. Mist leaves occasionally and preferably water them with rain water or aquarium water. Fertilize sparingly as excess nutrients can retard its ability to produce more plantlets. Plants are susceptible to root rot if waterlogged, otherwise they are least bothered by pests and diseases!
- For temperate zones: Hardiness - USDA Zone 8-11. More information here.
There are many cultivars of Chlorophytum comosum, but the most widely grown are the variegated cultivars ‘Vittatum’ and ‘Variegatum’. Listed below are some known cultivars:
- Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’ (White Spider) - has medium to dark green broad leaves with white stripes on the leaf margins. It is the commonest of the white margined cultivars. It is vigorous, producing large clumps very quickly but sends out far less stalks of flowers/plantlets than other cultivars. Flowering stem is green. It is a smaller cultivar than ‘Vittatum’.
- Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum’ (Variegated Spider Plant) - has long recurved medium green leaves with a broad central white stripe. This is the most commonly grown spider plant as a houseplant. Fast growing with long cascading foliage and yellow flowering stalks. Perfect for hanging baskets.
- Chlorophytum comosum ‘Bonnie’ (Curly Spider Plant) - has the traditional green with white stripe variegation of the ‘Vittatum’ but with uniquely attractive leaves that curl and swirl. It is characterized by its rounded and compact plant habit. Flowering stalks are yellow and plantlets are as curly or curlier than the parent. Read somewhere that the amount of curl in the leaves is strongly dependant on the growing conditions. A slightly neglected or stressed plant will produce a curlier result than a well-nourished plant that will have straighter leaves. Hmm…this makes me wonder whether our Spider Plants that we thought were ‘Bonnie’ are actually ‘Vittatum’?
- Chlorophytum comosum ‘Streaker’ (Striped Airplane Plant) - unlike ‘Vittatum’, has deep green leaves with a single very bright narrow ivory stripe down the center.
- Chlorophytum comosum ‘Mandaianum’ (Yellow Spider/Golden Ribbon Plant) - is a dwarf Spider Plant with short leaves of 10-15 cm (4-6 ins) long, dark green with either a central white/yellow stripe or yellow margins.
- More Chlorophytum seen here with images!
Here’s an educative link on spider plants to browse where Ron Smith, Horticulturist of NDSU Extension Service provides answers to various questions on them.
Spider Plants are such common and popular houseplant. We just love these easy-growing and easy-care plants! Brightening our garden are two cultivars of Chlorophytum comosum - ‘Vittatum’ (definitely not ‘Bonnie’ as was mistaken earlier) and ‘Streaker’.
The best thing is they are so easily propagated from the abundant baby spiders (plantlets) readily produced by the parent plant - sort of buy one and get countless for free, isn’t that awesome? 
And even better is their ability to purify and freshen the air inside and around our home! Thus, it’s inevitable that we grow so many plants, usually in hanging pots practically everywhere. Moreover, Spider Plants are so beautiful, especially in hanging pots/baskets with their gracefully cascading foliage, and together with their arching wiry yellow stalks of tiny flowers and lovely baby spiders that ‘float’ around, they create a marvelous fountain effect!
Besides these beauties, we grow Chlorophytum laxum ‘Bichetti’, another lovely species of the genus, Chlorophytum. Beautiful in its own sweetness even though it does not produce arching stolons with dancing baby spiders!
Last edited: June 17, 2009
June 17th, 2008 at 2:49 am
[...] To Learn more about spider plant propagation and care. [...]
October 18th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hi,
I have recently bought a Chlorophytum Comosum ‘bonnie’. I think it’s absolutely beautiful. I have only had it maybe 2 weeks and in that time have given it one good watering and a couple of light waters.
About a week ago it started losing leaves by way of the leaf rotting near it’s base. So I have been pulling them off as they start to go brown. I have removed maybe a dozen leaves in this way??? The plant seems to be healthy otherwise. It is in a brightly lit position… gets some morning sun but not direct sunlight all day and it’s produced 3 of the off-shoot things already since I brought it home.
All the websites I have looked at mention the leaf tips going brown… none have said anything about the base of the leaf??? I live in Brisbane Australia. Temperatures have reached about 30degrees celcius in the last few weeks but I am I know it should be able to tolerate that.
Does anyone have any ideas what’s going on with my plant????
Thanks!
Tonia
October 19th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hi Tonia!
I’ve experienced this condition a few times with my spider plants, especially with newly propagated plantlets during wet rainy seasons. I think they dislike wet feet which can lead to rotting at the crown. Such times, I will just relocate them under covered porch, remove the rotted leaves as you did, loosen the soil to reduce dampness and water again only when top soil is dry. Sometimes, I may even change the potting soil altogether just to rule out any disease.
Since your plant seemed to be healthy otherwise and are producing plantlets, there is nothing to worry…probably it is just adjusting to its new environment.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:51 am
If potting plantlet do I need to use a rooting hormon of any kind or not?
November 8th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Hi Patricia,
You need not use rooting hormone at all for potting plantlets. Just be sure that the plantlet has grown a clump of aerial roots at its base before separating it from the parent plant so that it can grow successfully on its own.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Hello again,
We’ve updated our Spider Plant Campaign to make the information more comprehensive, and we couldn’t do it without your wealth of information. Thanks for compiling the best resource on spider plants on the world-wide-web!
Smiles,
Kimberly
Helfgott-blog —>
sproutingsolutions.wordpress.com
November 19th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Hi Kimberly!
Thanks for the big smile you’ve put on my face with your kind compliment.
All the best and keep up the fantastic job!
January 14th, 2009 at 3:40 am
Thank you so very much for this wealth of information, on a plant that I only identified a few minutes ago, thanks to your detailed website.
I live in New York City and am blessed to have a rooftop terrace. Each year the many variety of birds leave a present for me as I grow sunflowers for them..So I was not surprised that last year two interesting blades of grass sprang up in one of my pots. When it started to grow I transplanted it to it’s own container, but it ramained dormant while outside for quite a while only growing to about 4 inches tall.
The blades are all dark very long and slender and I liked it very much, so I moved it indoors to a sunny window in December. All of a sudden it started to grow, and seemd to love the cold. To my delightful surprise, long tendons sprouted and started blooming since two weeks ago with more coming out every day and it is happy as a lark and so am I.
Quite fascinated, today I pulled out all my garden bookes trying to find out what it was and the only thing that looked remotely similar was the yellow spider plant. Since the leaves were the same I googled Chlorophytum and voila, there you were.
I wish I could send you pictures as it is really very beautiful. Many long spikes all flowering at once in the middle of winter that I have to insert supports. The flowers only last a day. Yes, I do water instinctively every day and it seems to thrive on that, with diluted soluble fertilizer. But it loves being by a cold window which I find most interesting.
So once again I thank you.
Hortense
January 14th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
You’re most welcome, Hortense! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback. It’s wonderful to know that our labor of love in sharing whatever information in this site has not gone to waste but has instead been useful for the global community.
You have so many flowering spikes and I’ve never got more than one per pot so far! 
Gardening with tlc is so rewarding, don’t you think so? I’m so happy for you…and a little envious too!
We’d love to see an image of your beautiful flowering plant. If you have uploaded your photo online (e.g at Flickr.com or elsewhere), I think it is possible to paste it here for all of us to enjoy.
Cheers!
February 7th, 2009 at 3:03 am
how do you start a spider plant i hear its easy but no detailed info on how to do it in laymens terms. I have a striped airplain plant. got several spikes w/ floers plus several spikes w/ little plants on it . I’ve had it for 3yrs very big and beautiful.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Hi Kim! Yes, propagating new spider plants is easy and simple.
Well, those little plants (or plantlets or babies) on the spikes (or stolons) are the ones that are used for propagating new plants. One method is to separate these plantlets from the stolon with a sharp knife or pruning scissor. (Preferably snip them when each baby has already developed a clump of tiny roots at its base while attached on the stolon produced by the parent plant, but it is okay even when there aren’t visible roots yet). Then plant each individually or a few together in a pot filled with fast-draining potting medium, keeping it moist but not soggy and locate them at a bright filtered place but away from direct sun. With regular watering and care, these plantlets should flourish.
Another method is to allow the plantlet to root in a glass of water before potting them in soil.
Yet another way of propagating is to allow the plantlet to root while it is still attached to the parent plant on the stolon. To do this, place a pot of potting soil next to the parent plant and pin down the plantlet with a bent paper clip onto the soil surface. With regular watering, the plantlet should root in about 2 weeks and it can then be severed from the parent plant.
Hope this helps. Wish you success and happy gardening.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Hi Kim
If you’re still trying methods of starting baby spider plants, I’ve long since found a great method that’s incredibly easy.
You can get the prettiest little plants by taking the plantlets when they have been growing on the parent’s shoot for a couple of months or so; they will be about 4-6 inches from their base to the tip of the longest leaf - in other words when the average leaves are about the length of your fingers! Generally by this point you can detect a little clump of proto-roots (only a few millimetres long) growing in the air at the base, but I find that even if you can’t they’re so eager to root that you can go ahead and snip the plantlets off the parental shoot anyway. An ordinary pair of kitchen scissors works just fine, just cut the baby off the shoot right next to its base.
Take as many as you want in this way - and now comes the long and complicated process of propagation:
Step 1 - Fill an empty (clean!) yoghurt pot or similar small container with water.
Step 2 - Plop one, three, six, or however many plantlets you like up to about a dozen into the yoghurt pot - more is in some ways easier as they’ll support each other upright in the water rather than floating at odd angles.
Step 3 - Place pot on a bright windowsill - the babies will grow most vigorously in full sun, but I also have some on my bedroom windowsill on the shady side of the house and they’re doing just fine there too.
Step 4 - Leave for a couple of weeks. Top up the water every few days when it gets low. Spider plants are tremendously accommodating even from a young age though, and if you go away for a week or forget or whatever, you’ll find that even if the pot dries out altogether for a couple of days they’ll be quite all right provided you top them up again soonish.
Difficult, huh?
They’ll all root like nobody’s business, visibly in only a couple of days (it’s particularly satisfying if you use a clear pot so you can see in) and in two or three weeks you’ll find the pot soon becomes a mass of roots coiling round. Untangle the individual babies carefully and pot them up into little flowerpots, where they should continue growing very happily.
I’ve propagated spider plants on and off like this for years: by now I must be using something like the sixth or seventh generation of plants my family’s had that all go back to one my parents bought in the mid-1970s before I was born!! So you can look forward to decades of endless, essentially free plants with this
Just for interest, I’ll mention the slightly exciting alternative I discovered recently by accident. I quite often leave the babies in water for a couple of months or more, simply because they appear to grow perfectly successfully like that more or less indefinitely without ever coming near anything like soil, and recently I decided to leave a particular pot longer than strictly necessary because I wanted the leaves to grow a bit longer before I potted the babies up - having initially separated them from their parent a touch prematurely due to my keenness to get them rooting! Anyway, when I finally got around to potting them up, I found that the roots had grown together in such a pot-filling mass the individual plants - about 10 - were pretty much inseparable, so I had the brainwave of simply plonking the entire lot into a pot as if they were one plant, which gave an instant super-bushy clump of spider plant.
I was so taken by this effect that I’ve started repeating it routinely in the last few months; I’ve taken to putting seven or eight plantlets in each pot of water then letting them root together and planting them up as a single entwined mini-jungle - I’ve got about five pots planted in this way now with a couple more yoghurt pot nurseries underway on the windowsill. I’ve already had to repot the original batch, so densely had they/it grown. It’ll be interesting to see how this treatment fares after, say, a year - will there be enough room for all to thrive? Amazingly though, one batch became so ‘pot-bound’ within its yoghurt pot in only a few weeks that one individual in there sent out a shoot with babies of its own without ever having even touched soil!
Happy growing whichever version you use - good luck!
Dave
February 24th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Thank you so much, David for your generosity in sharing your expertise. You’ve given such an interesting detailed account of propagating them in water that even though I’ve never done that way, I’m tempted to experiment!
March 1st, 2009 at 9:14 am
Oh, do try it Jacqueline, it’s preposterously easy, you can hardly fail… Thank-you for the compliments, though I think “expertise” is stretching it a little when it’s such a simple process essentially! My current ‘nursery pots’ of water have been on the go since, respectively, before Christmas (mid-December) and just under 5 weeks ago, and I’m just leaving them this long to see if they send out any baby shoots of their own like that odd one I mentioned.
I didn’t plan to write so much, but thought I’d add the latter part as I’d be interested to hear if anyone else tries the multiple-planting method. It would be nice to see if there’s any long-term success with potting them up in clumps like I have. Certainly the first batch from probably 7/8 months ago have done well and finally got repotted last week, and the ones from the months since are all doing very well.
I look forward to hearing what comes of your experiments!!
March 1st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I’ll definitely try it, David! You’ve made it so simple to follow!
May 29th, 2009 at 12:22 am
I have become a pro with my spider plants, yet want to plant them around my garden pond. We live in zone 7b but many recommend plants for zone 6. How well will the spiders do in this planting region…outside for the winter? Summers are perfect for spiders…just wanted to plant them outside around my water garden. They are so very beautiful and would be perfect for the edging.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:16 am
I have had my spider plant for 2 summers now. I was wondering how often I need to repot. I have also wondered about fertilizing. Can you help?
June 17th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Hi Mat! Spider plants love to be pot bound, but you can repot them when they are extremely overcrowded and being pushed out of the pot by the roots. Best to repot them during the fall. Feeding with a balanced liquid fertilizer fortnightly is recommended only during active growth.
Do browse this Q&A link on spider plants for more in-depth info.
June 29th, 2009 at 2:27 am
Thanks Jacqueline. I was thinking of putting some of my plantlets in the ground outdoors. How far north will they not return after the spring thaw?
June 29th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Hi Mat! Hope someone out there (gardeners in temperate regions) reading your enquiry will be able to guide you. Sorry, we’re unable to help here as we’re in tropical Malaysia, without the 4 seasons. The other alternative is to follow the Q&A link I’ve suggested earlier, you may find useful information there. All the best to you!