What To Do With Spider Plant Babies

What To Do With Spider Plant Babies

I bought my first spider plant three years ago at the grocery store for $6. Six months later, it looked like it was trying to escape the pot. Little baby plants dangled everywhere on these weird arching stems. I stood there staring at them thinking, “What am I supposed to do with you?”

If you have a spider plant, you probably know this moment. Those babies (also called pups or plantlets, whatever you want to call them) start multiplying, and suddenly you have more plant than you bargained for. The good news is you have options. The even better news is that none of them are hard.

I’m going to walk you through what I’ve done with mine over the years, what worked, what didn’t, and what I learned from people who know more than me.

Rooting babies in water

This was the first method I tried because it felt safe. I could watch the roots grow, and I didn’t have to commit soil or a pot right away.

Here’s what you do. Wait until the baby has a few leaves and is at least two inches across. Smaller ones can root, but they’re fragile. I’ve killed a few by trying too early. Cut the baby off the mother plant with clean scissors. You can cut right at the base of the plantlet or leave a bit of the stem attached. I usually leave about half an inch of stem because it gives me something to hold onto.

Fill a small glass or jar with room temperature water. I use old pasta sauce jars. Tap water is fine unless your water is heavily chlorinated. If it is, let it sit out overnight before using it. Place the baby so the base just touches the water. You don’t want to submerge the leaves because they’ll rot.

Put the jar somewhere with bright indirect light. I keep mine on my kitchen counter near the window. Change the water every few days. This part is important. Stagnant water gets gross and can cause the roots to rot instead of grow.

In about one to two weeks, you’ll see tiny white roots emerging from the base. According to a guide I found from the University of Minnesota Extension, spider plant babies root easily in water because they’re already semi-independent while attached to the mother plant. They’ve been photosynthesizing on their own.

Once the roots are about two inches long, you can plant the baby in soil. I usually wait until they’re closer to three inches because I’m paranoid. The transition from water to soil can be rough. The baby might look droopy for a few days while it adjusts. Keep the soil damp (not soaking) for the first week or two.

One thing I learned the hard way is that you can’t leave them in water forever. I had one sitting in a jar for three months because I kept forgetting to pot it. The roots turned brown and slimy. It survived when I finally planted it, but it took a long time to recover.

Planting pups directly in soil

This method skips the water step entirely. I started doing this after I got tired of babysitting jars on my counter.

You still want to cut the baby from the mother plant the same way. Then, fill a small pot (I use 3 or 4 inch pots) with regular potting soil. Spider plants aren’t picky. I use whatever cheap mix I find at the hardware store. Some people add perlite for extra drainage, but I haven’t found it necessary.

Make a small hole in the soil with your finger. Tuck the base of the baby into the hole and gently press the soil around it. You want it snug enough to stand upright but not buried too deep. The base of the leaves should be just above the soil line.

Water it thoroughly until water runs out the drainage holes. This is key. The soil needs to make good contact with the base of the plant. For the first two weeks, keep the soil consistently moist. Not wet, not dry. Check it every couple of days by sticking your finger in the soil.

According to research from the Missouri Botanical Garden, spider plants establish roots faster when the soil stays evenly moist during the initial rooting period. After about three weeks, you can start treating it like a normal spider plant and let the soil dry out a bit between waterings.

The advantage of this method is that you skip the transplant shock. The baby goes straight into soil and starts developing soil roots instead of water roots. The disadvantage is that you can’t see what’s happening underground. You just have to trust that it’s working.

I’ve had about an 80% success rate with direct planting. The ones that didn’t make it usually dried out because I forgot to water them. If you’re forgetful like me, the water method might be better.

Above: A close up look at the symptoms.

Leaving them on the mother plant

For a long time, I thought you had to remove the babies. Turns out, you don’t. You can just leave them attached.

Spider plants in the wild (they’re native to South Africa) grow babies that eventually touch the ground and root themselves while still connected to the mother. The long stems are called stolons, and they’re meant to spread the plant around. I read about this in a paper from the University of Florida’s horticulture department, and it changed how I thought about the whole thing.

If you leave the babies on, the mother plant starts to look wild and sprawling. Some people love this look. I think it’s kind of cool in a hanging basket where the babies can dangle freely. It looks like a plant waterfall.

The babies will keep growing while attached. They might even start producing their own babies. I had a spider plant in my old apartment that had three generations hanging off it at one point. It was ridiculous and amazing.

The downside is that the mother plant puts energy into supporting all those babies. If your main plant starts looking sad or stops growing, it might be overwhelmed. Also, if you have limited space, a spider plant with ten babies attached takes up a lot of real estate.

You can also root the babies while they’re still attached to the mother. Place a small pot of soil near the mother plant and set the baby on top of the soil. Pin it down gently with a hairpin or a bent paperclip. Keep the soil moist. After a few weeks, the baby will root into the soil. Then you can cut the connecting stem, and you have a new plant. This method is called layering, and it’s supposedly the most foolproof because the baby still gets support from the mother while it establishes roots.

I tried this once. It worked, but I found it annoying because the pots kept tipping over. Maybe I’m just clumsy.

Dividing a massive Spider Plant

If you’ve had your spider plant for a few years and never divided it, the mother plant itself is probably huge. Mine got so root-bound that I could barely get it out of the pot. When I finally did, the roots were coiled in a solid mass.

Dividing a spider plant is different from removing babies. You’re splitting the main plant into multiple plants. Here’s how I did it.

Water the plant a day before you plan to divide it. This makes the roots more flexible and easier to work with. Take the plant out of its pot. You might need to squeeze the pot or run a knife around the edge to loosen it. Turn it upside down and let it slide out.

Once it’s out, you’ll see the root ball. Gently shake off some of the soil so you can see what you’re working with. Look for natural divisions in the plant. Spider plants grow in clumps, so there are usually obvious sections.

Use your hands to gently pull the sections apart. If the roots are really tangled, you might need a clean knife or pruning shears to cut through them. I was nervous about this part, but spider plants are tough. I hacked through mine pretty aggressively, and everything survived.

Each division should have a good amount of roots and several leaves. Pot each section in its own pot with fresh soil. Water them well and keep them out of direct sun for a few days while they recover.

I divided my spider plant into three sections last spring. All three are thriving. One of them has already started making babies of its own. The guide I followed from Iowa State University Extension said that dividing spider plants every few years actually keeps them healthier because it prevents the roots from getting too compacted.

Above: The tools you need to fix this.

Gifting plant babies to friends

This is honestly my favorite thing to do with spider plant babies. I’ve given away probably 30 of them at this point.

Spider plants are perfect beginner plants. They tolerate low light, inconsistent watering, and general neglect. When a friend mentions they want to try keeping plants, I show up with a rooted spider plant baby in a little pot.

I usually root them in water first so I can see that they’re healthy before I gift them. Then I pot them up in a 4 inch pot about a week before I plan to give them away. This gives them time to settle in and look presentable.

If I’m giving them to someone who lives far away, I wrap the pot in a plastic bag to prevent soil from spilling and put it in a cardboard box with crumpled newspaper for padding. Spider plants are hardy enough to survive a few days in a box.

I also write out simple care instructions on an index card. Something like: “Water when the top inch of soil is dry. Bright indirect light is best, but it’ll survive in lower light. Brown tips are normal. Cut them off if they bother you.” People appreciate this more than you’d think.

My friend Sarah has killed every plant I’ve ever given her except the spider plant. It’s still alive two years later, living in her bathroom with no natural light, watered approximately once a month. That’s the magic of spider plants.

If you have a spider plant that’s making babies, you basically have an endless supply of free gifts. My coworkers have learned to expect a plant whenever I show up to a birthday party.

The thing about spider plant babies is that they give you options. You can propagate them, ignore them, share them, or just let them do their thing. There’s no wrong answer. I’ve done all of the above at various times depending on my mood and how much space I have.

Right now, I have two babies rooting in a jar on my windowsill, three attached to the mother plant in my living room, and one I’m planning to give to my neighbor when I see her next. It’s a system that works for me.

If you’re staring at your spider plant wondering what to do with all those babies, just pick one method and try it. Worst case, it doesn’t work and you try something else. Best case, you end up with more spider plants than you know what to do with. Which, honestly, is a pretty good problem to have.

References

University of Minnesota Extension. “Growing Spider Plants Indoors.” Extension Horticulture Publications.

Missouri Botanical Garden. “Chlorophytum comosum (Spider Plant) Care Guide.” Plant Finder Database.

University of Florida IFAS Extension. “Spider Plant: A Tough Houseplant.” Environmental Horticulture Department.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “Dividing Perennial Houseplants.” Horticulture and Home Pest News.