When you want to propagate those baby spiders, you may wonder what to use if you use the method of cutting it off and growing the roots in water. I am doing this all the time with my big spider plant; I give them to my kids, and place them by the bed for my asthmatic husband.
Here's how I do it: I know many of us drink a lot of 20 oz bottles of soda or water, right? Take one of those, and some ordinary scissors, and cut the bottom off at the bottom of the label. To start I pinch the side of the bottle. Or you can use a knife to start it but be careful! Anyway use that bottom to put two or three babies in and fill it with water.
Then I put it on my window sill (north, if it matters I'm not sure) and check to make sure it doesn't run out of water. In a matter of a couple weeks there will be roots. Then you can put it in rich moist soil, and give it a little extra attention until the roots take hold.
Don't worry about how long you keep them in water to grow the roots, the longer you keep it in water the longer the roots get. I haven't had one die in water.
Source: My first plant was a spider plant, my mom had them since as long as I can remember, and 30 years later she still has the same one!
By Pauline Morse from Georgetown, DE
This page contains the following solutions.
There is a very large spider plant at my kids' school. One day when I was there I was able to collect a small baby plant from it. I brought it home and put it into the lab flask that I use for rooting plants.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Thanks in advance,
Marta
A: Marta,
One of the best qualities of Spider plants is that propagating "spiderettes" from the runners (stolons) of the mother plants is easy. Fill a pot full of quality potting mix and select the plantlets you want to propagate. You can use one pot to start all the babies in (dividing them up later) or you can start each plantlet out in its own little pot. Use a hairpin or u-shaped wire to pin each plantlet down into the new soil while still attached to the mother plant.
I have a spider plant that's about 6 years old. When the babies start to get roots on them you can cut them from the plant and put them in potting soil and they'll grow. Or if your babies don't have roots yet you can root them in water. It takes a week or so for them to get roots and then you can plant them.
When I had spider plants, the babies would have babies. I would keep them on, and they would grow and grow. Also, to make the mother plant fuller, I would bend a paper clip to use as a stake to keep a baby on top of the soil of the mother plant. Keep it there until it roots and then clip the stem and remove the paper clip.
I have a spider plant I started from a baby off one of my sons plants. It is a year old this month and the plant is very healthy and getting big, yet there are no babies! What am i doing wrong? Been told there is not a female and male plant.
When will my spider plant start to shoot runners? My spider plant is 6 months 28 days old.
I have a spider plant that is root bound. I want to transplant it into a hanging pot, however the plant has so many roots it will not set down in the basket. Can I cut the roots?
I have several spider plants with babies some of them 5-6 inches long, but I see no root buds or roots on them. Can they be repotted without the roots? Or is there something I can do?
No, they won't "take" without roots.
Float them in a bowl of water until the roots form. When they're an inch or longer pot in well watered soil.
By the way, I didn't mention this but it's okay to cut them off the mother plants to root them. They won't die unless they somehow fail to make roots.
How long can babies stay with the mother Spider plant?
By Terrie V Bane from Las Vegas, NV
I have plats with babies on that have been there at least two years- basically, leave them on whilever you feel the plant looks good and fits your space!
Maureen
What is the best way to repot a spider plant? This one is a house plant.
By Judy
