by Erin Marissa Russell
Whether your spider plant is producing spiderettes or a friend gave you a spider plant baby from their own collection, you’ll need to know how to propagate a spider plant baby into a new plant. Don’t worry—we have three different methods to explain to you that you can choose from.
First things first: You aren’t required to remove spider plant babies from the original plant. If you choose, you can leave them attached. They’ll grow into plants in their own right here, eventually producing spider plant babies of their own in one big cascade.
- Spring or summer is the best time to propagate spider plant babies. That way the plants will go to their new home during the growing season while they are healthy and strong.
- Do not remove the spider plant babies too early. When you see the nubs of growing aerial starter roots at the base of the spiderettes, the plants are ready to be moved into their new homes.
- Growing baby spider plants need bright indirect light just like most of your houseplants. Indirect light can either be filtered through the tree canopy or filtered through a curtain, or it can be sunlight reflected off of nearby objects. Indirect light is not a ray of sunshine that comes straight from the sun. Full sun or direct sunlight can scorch the leaves of your spider plants.
Propagating Spider Plant Babies in Water
You can propagate spider plant babies in water to let their roots grow a bit before moving them into soil.
Carefully remove the spider plant babies from the parent plant. Use clean, sterilized gardening shears and cut the babies from the vines right above where they attach to the runner. You don’t need to trim off the entire runner. In fact, if you leave the trailing runner in place, more spider plant babies may appear.
Place the spider plant babies in a clean container with enough water to cover their roots. Be sure the water just covers their roots as you don’t want too much water in the containers.
Keep the water where the spider plant babies are growing fresh and clean by changing it regularly. Let the spider plant babies grow in the water until their roots reach an inch or two long.
Once a spider plant baby’s roots have reached two inches long, you can transfer the plant into their new container with soil. Be sure to use a container that has drainage holes in the bottom. Provide spider plant babies with clean new soil that offers plenty of drainage.
Propagate Spider Plant Babies in Soil
If you’d like, you can skip the water and plant your spiderettes directly in soil. This is the simplest propagation method for spider plants. It may take some time for the baby plants to become established in their new homes, longer than if you start them out in water.
Simply clip the spider plant babies off the trailing runner, making your cut just above where the spiderettes connect to the stem. Make sure to use a clean, sterilized pair of shears.
Then simply plant the spider plant baby into its new container. Make sure to use a clean container filled with fresh new potting soil. Don’t let the soil get too wet, but keep it lightly moist until your plants have produced new leaves. Then care for your spider plant babies as you would an adult plant.
Propagate Spider Plant Babies by Layering
When you propagate with layering, you leave the spiderettes on the runner, connected to the mother plant, until they are well established in their new container.
Start by preparing a clean container filled with fresh new potting soil. Moisten the soil before you add the spiderette to its new container. Make sure to choose a container that has drainage holes in the bottom.
Plant the spiderette in its new home, leaving it attached to the mother plant. Don’t bury it too deeply. The plant just needs for its starter roots to come into contact with the soil. Keep the spider plant babies in evenly moist soil, but don’t let the soil get too oversaturated with water.
Once you see new leaves begin to develop on the spiderettes, you can clip the runner connecting them to the mother plant. Then provide them with the same care you give your adult spider plants.
It’s easy to propagate new spider plant babies, whether you choose to start them in water, put them in soil from the beginning, or keep them connected to the mother plant until they’re well established. All of these propagation methods are simple to perform. The only question is which one is most attractive and convenient to you. You might even choose to try different methods on different spiderettes to see which flourishes the most.
Learn More About Propagating Spider Plant Babies
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/spider-plant/propagating-spiderettes.htm
https://getbusygardening.com/how-to-propagate-spider-plants/
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