Spider plant woes

[sunnygirl167]

I received a beautiful spider plant from a friend it was huge and full I have had it for almost 2 months and now it looks so sad I could cry I have had to take off so many dead leaves and brown shoots that it looks bare in so many places I don't know what I could possibly have done wrong. The lady I got it from said she watered it times a week about a quart and a half each time well there was no way this plant was absorbing this much once he got here.
and if I did try to water him this much he would just die more. I did re pot him after awhile because he is so large and was in a rather small pot. Every where I read it says the spider plant is the easiest house plant to grow well this one just makes me want to cry the little vine things coming off him feel dry and his babys fall off so easily. I think I should find a better home for him since I am failing so miserably at it.

[applestar]

Well, if it would help you feel any better, I'm not good at keeping spider plants alive either, and believe me, I've tried many times over the years.

As you may have noticed when you repotted, they have thick fleshy roots, which means they are tolerant of being allowed to go dry, but no so much that the leaves go limp. They retaliate with gradually receding brown leaf tips, which you CAN clip for appearances sake, but face it, blunt-cut spider plant leaves look ridiculous.

These fleshy roots also mean that they are prone to root rot if subjected to lengthy soggy soil, then same symptoms -- brown leaf tips appear. so now you don't know if you are watering too much or too little.

I think people who conscientiously water to maintain even moisture have better success. The plant also prefers higher humidity than I usually have. That's why they do well in windows over the kitchen sink and in bathrooms.
-- ready source of water too.

I tend to do better with house plants that can handle being dried out in between without repercussion -- like African violets and Phalaenopsis orchids. Nearly 30 years ago I also found out that cats go bonkers for these grassy plants and will accomplish impossible feats to get at them and demolish them -- then throw up everywhere wet clumps of half chewed leaves for you to step on in the dark

Nope! No thanks! I don't keep them any more, no matter how many times my Mom offers me babies from her plants.

[Kisal]

You might want to look at this previous discussion about spider plants:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32133

[thanrose]

Your friend's plant was probably rootbound when you got it. Spiders send off babies when they are kinda rootbound. Earlier, when it absorbed so much water it wasn't rootbound and was growing fast. Now, you've probably overwatered.

Pull the whole thing out. Separate and discard mushy roots. Nice crisp translucent white roots are mostly what you want to see although older roots can be more opaque and yellowish. Pot the good bits, roots and tops, in clean potting soil and probably due to attrition in a pot that's just a little bit smaller.

Write off the babies, unless they have nice little root nubs, greenish or white. Those you can use to fill out your new pot, or to pot up together in a small pot.

I will use water from a hose, but mine are mostly watered from the birdbath on which they sit. Yes, a couple of bricks keep them just barely touching water some of the time, and often out of the water entirely. They don't like our city water additives.

Don't feel bad. Pretty soon, you'll have to commit some planticide or find a whole bunch of new friends who will take the prolific babies from you. I now use them as trash plants or filler plants. Rip up a clump and pot in a container with something flowering and something tall, add some more greens to the compost, use them to mark where I've transplanted some flowering slips, etc. Get creative or get overrun.

[Lovemygarden]

My spider plant wasn't doing so well either Until I got one of those water globes and now it's doing great. It gives it water when it needs it. I actually ended up putting two of those globes in the plant it drank so much. Good luck!