Spider plant - Chlorophytum comosum

Spider plants are botanically known as Chlorophytum comosum, and from studies done by NASA, they are good at purifying the air in your home and adds oxygen. Spider plants are easy to cultivate both indoors and outdoors. The Spider Plant is characterized by its long shoots of thin foliage, with off-shoots at the ends of many of the leaves. The Spider plant's leaves is commonly known to be variegated. It has green foliage with either a white or yellow central strip or along the outside edges or it can also have ones that are all green. It looks similar to thick, wild grass.

white or yellow central strip

Spider plants favor natural medium to high light, but no direct afternoon sunlight. The variegated spider plants need more light than the plain green ones. If the leaves begin turning brown, try moving the plant out of the direct light.

Spider plants are delicate to the chemicals in tap water (reasons for the brown tips). They should always be watered with purified water, rain water, or if you have an aquarium, it will thrive on that water. Once you have changed the water source, all the new leaves should be normal, but you will have to trim the brown tips off the old leaves. You can remove the brown ends by snipping them off with sharp scissors (Tip: Cut the ends in points so the leaves look more natural).

Rot is caused by over-watering. Spider plants should be allowed to dry out before being re-watered. If rot has begun, the plant may die. You can try to rescue the plant by removing it from its container and dividing it. Discard the rotten part and re-pot the healthy parts in a clean container with new soil.

Pests and mites are not a problem with this houseplant, however if it happens simply spray a soapy water mixture over the plants a couple of times a day.

The off shoots can be removed and placed in soil or water which will then grow into its own plant in very little time. It is actually good to remove these off shoots from the main plant. Too many off shoots can cause the main plant to strain. Spider plants propagate very easily, with less care.

Off shoots