Spider plants are among the most popular indoor plants because they’re easy to grow and can tolerate less-than-perfect growing conditions. Moreover, they have a fast-growing rate and air-purifying properties, so they will be an excellent addition to any room.
Luckily, you can propagate spider plants using multiple methods, and they usually lead to good results. Propagating this plant in water and soil is probably the most successful method, but you can definitely grow it from root divisions, seed, or propagate it in an aroid mix if you want to.
In this article, we’ll explain in detail how to propagate spider plants successfully and what results are expected with each method. We’ll also suggest a few tips to guarantee that your plant will stay in great shape. So, keep reading to learn more about this topic.
How Do I Propagate Spider Plants?
Spider plants are among the easiest to grow and propagate, which is why they’re extremely popular among beginner gardeners. With minimum care, your plant will grow rosettes of arching leaves that can be about 18 inches long. Each one of these rosettes or spiderettes can be grown into a separate plant using various methods, in water, soil, or an aroid mix.
Moreover, you can wait until your spider plant flowers and the fruits dry out. Then, you’ll notice small shoots or seed pods growing where the flowers used to be, and you can take the seed to grow new plants.
When Should You Propagate Spider Plants?
Since spider plants are pretty hardy, you can propagate them any time of the year as long as you provide them with the needed warmth and water. However, you need to wait until your plant is growing spiderettes or pups for this to work. Taking a leaf and simply putting it in the soil won’t result in new root growth.
When you notice these tiny rosettes hanging from the original plant, this is an excellent time to think about propagating your plant. However, remember that it might take a couple of years before your plant is mature enough to produce these spiderettes.
Cutting these pups directs the plant’s energy toward the mother plant. As soon as you see the small roots at their bottom, you can cut them off to grow new plants.
How Do I Propagate Spider Plants From Water?
Growing spider plant pups in water is the easiest and most successful way of propagating this hard-to-kill plant. Moreover, it’s a great way to propagate several spiderettes at the same time. Here’s what you need to do.
- Use sterilized shears to trim off the baby plants off the mother spider plant.
- Make sure that each spiderette has its own small protruding roots.
- Get a jar for each baby plant and fill it with water, ensuring that the roots touch the water.
- Top off the water whenever you feel that this needs to be done, and add a suitable water-soluble plant food to encourage growth.
You can also get a shallow container and cover it with plastic wrap after filling it with water. Then, make holes through the wrap and place your baby spider plants, making sure that the roots touch the water surface.
This method leads to the fastest growth rate, but eventually, you’ll have to transfer your plant to a soil-filled pot. Yet, it can be a great alternative if you want to keep several baby spider plants on your nightstand or coffee table.
How Do I Propagate Spider Plants In Soil?
This method works just like the previous one, but it has one additional advantage. Since your plant will be already growing in soil, you won’t have to transfer it into potting soil after a while when the root system grows too big for the water jar. Propagating your spider plant in the soil can be done using these straightforward steps.
- After cutting off the baby plants, plant them into a suitable potting mix.
- Water your baby spider plants regularly, making sure that the soil stays moist by not soggy.
- Provide your spider plants with a good fertilizer once a month to keep them healthy.
You can also use an aroid mix made of perlite, orchid bark, worm castings, and some base soil. Although you won’t experience significant growth, it’s still a good option to consider.
There’s also another way to grow new spider plants from the original one while they’re still attached. If you see aerial roots growing off your plant, place a small pot near the original one so that the aerial root is in touch with the growing medium.
After that, you should bury about ¼ inch of the aerial root while it’s still attached to the mother plant. You’ll notice that the attached spiderettes are growing rapidly because they’re receiving nutrients from the original root system and the aerial root. In a few days, you’ll be able to cut off the spiderette and grow your new spider plant separately.
How Do I Propagate Spider Plants From Root Division?
This is another easy and guaranteed way to grow your spider plants, and it’s not that different from the previous one. Here’s what to do.
- Dig out your spider plant from the pot and use a soft brush to clean the root ball.
- Gently use your hands to pull apart the root ball.
- Grab a section of the root ball and use sterilized shears to cut it off.
- Replant the section in a new pot filled with an adequate potting mix.
- Return your original spider plant to its pot, or transfer it to a bigger one.
- Keep both plants hydrated and grant them access to indirect sunlight with partial shade.
- Feed your plants once a month to boost growth.
How Do I Propagate Spider Plants From Seed?
Propagating spider plants from seed is possible but not that common. This method takes too much time, while the other methods are easier. Yet, if you want to experiment with this method, you can either get the seed from a reliable supplier or try to pollinate the flowers yourself. Here are the right steps to follow.
- Wait until the flowers appear on your spider plant.
- Use a cotton swab to brush all the flowers to get them fertilized.
- Wait until the flowers mature to fruits and then fade.
- The fruits will turn into green seed pods, but you should wait until they dry.
- Once dry, open the pods and pick the seed. Make sure that you pick as many seeds as possible because the success of this method depends on the individual fertility of the seed you pick.
- Plant your seeds about half an inch deep into a suitable potting mix, and keep the seedlings moist and warm.
FAQs
- Can You Propagate Spider Plants From Leaf Cuttings?
Unless you have a spiderette with an already growing root system, your spider plant won’t grow. So, using leaf cuttings to grow a new spider plant won’t work.
Wrap Up
The spider plant is one of the easiest to grow and propagate. You can simply cut off the spiderettes and grow them in water or soil. However, you can still grow a new plant while it’s still attached to the original one by placing one aerial root in a new pot.
Propagating spider plants by diving the roots and from seed is possible, but the seeding method might not always succeed. It’s not possible to propagate the spider plant from leaf cuttings.