Cathy Isom has a few tips for you about how to propagate spider plant babies. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Spider plants—also known as airplane plants—are some of the easiest houseplants to propagate. There are a few methods you can use, but the easiest way is to allow the spider plant babies to become full-grown plants.
Spider plant babies are offshoots or plantlets that spider plants grow in favorable conditions. They make it easy to grow new plants, as each baby will eventually mature into a large plant. With well-draining soil, some water, and a bit of sun, these low-maintenance plants will reward you with cascading stems where babies will dangle freely.
After your spider plant reaches maturity, multiple runners with small white flowers at the ends will appear. The tiny spider plants will sprout from these flowers. They’re basically miniature spider plants themselves, and thus extremely easy to propagate.
There are three main ways to propagate these plants. The first one, which is the most common and easiest, is to grow spider plant babies attached to full-size plants. Take an offshoot with roots of their own, then root into potted soil while keeping them attached to the mother plant. You can also grow a new plant is from cuttings. Either plant the baby in soil, or allow it to root in water. Some gardeners prefer to cut off the babies and root them in a propagation box as well.
Because spider plant babies aren’t as hardy as a mature plant, they require special care while they take root. It’s best to keep them on a high shelf or in a location where kids and children can’t jostle them. Placing the babies in a humid bathroom can help them recover. Just make sure they receive plenty of water and bright, indirect sunlight and you move them indoors during cold temperatures.
I’m Cathy Isom…