Spider Plant

Botanical Name: Chlorophytum comosum

Phonetic Spelling: kloe-roe-fy-tum koe-mo-sum

Local Name: Ribbon Plant, Musli, Spider Plant. Spider Ivy

Plant Type: House Plant

Sun Exposure: Part Sun, Shade

Soil Type: Loamy

Soil pH: Neutral

Bloom Time: Spring, Summer, Fall

Description:

Spider plant is a common houseplant and does well in hanging baskets where leaves can cascade down the side. It has attractive striped green and white leaves and small white flowers. Spider plant prefers bright, indirect light and propagates easily by plantlets or division. 

Give the plant a moderate amount of water during the growing season and do not over-fertilize as this decreases plantlet formation. Plantlet form when it receives short days and long, uninterrupted nights for at least three weeks. 

Gardening & Landscape Guide: 

Container, Hanging Basket and house plant

Growing Tips

• Grow in a soil-based, well-draining potting media. Spider plants like even moisture; they don’t like to be too dry or too wet.
• Keep plants in bright to moderate indirect sunlight. Spider plants do not appreciate direct, hot sunlight, which can burn their leaves, causing brown tips and spots.
• Spider plants grow fairly quickly and can easily become pot bound. Plan to repot a spider plant about every other year.
• Spider plants can be grown outdoors as annuals during the summer. They look especially good along the edge of a container or bed, as long as they are kept out of direct sunlight.

Caring Tips: 

• During initial growth, water occasionally; once fully developed (within one year), water moderately.  
• In the spring and summer months, keep the soil moist to encourage growth. Do not let soil dry out too much. 
• Maintain average room temperature and humidity. Spider plants prefer temperatures between 16–27°C), which makes them a great indoor houseplant. 
• Fertilize up to twice a month in the spring and summer, however, avoid over fertilization.

Disease & Pest

• Spider plants are prone to burning tip, its main causes are dry soil, low humidity, or a buildup of salt and chemicals that are found in some public tap water. Keep the soil slightly moist. Avoid watering containing fluoride & Clorine and cut off brown tips if they do occur with the help finger nail cutter. 
•  Scrape off the brown residue every few days.
• Mealybugs infestation is very dangerous for this plant and when you first spot a problem, begin mealybug treatment immediately. The first thing to do is quarantine the affected plant(s) so that you can prevent mealybugs from infesting your other houseplants. The next thing to do is to kill mealybugs using organic pest control products and methods. Using chemical pesticides is not suggested as mealybugs can easily resist.
• Neem Oil spray is very suitable for Scale insects infestation.