Similar to grass or Liriope in form, the Spider plant is a member of the lily family. Its spidery leaves arch out as much as 16 inches in length and ranging in width from 1/2 inch to 1 inch. The leaves are variegated or striped from yellow-green to white. The plant sends out wiry stems from 18 inches up to 2 ft with tiny white flowers attached and small plantlets cascading downwards at the ends.

Propagate from seed or by detaching the small plantlets at the ends of the arched stems.

Grow in bright but filtered light. Maintain temperatures of no lower than 50°F. at night nor higher than 75°F during the day (although, with daily watering it will tolerate outdoor summer temperature in the 90s). Keep soil moist but not too soggy. Repot only when the plant is getting root-bound. The best soil mix is equal parts of peat moss, loam and sand with a teaspoon of 20% super phosphate and a Tablespoon of ground limestone. Feed about every 6 months but not until plant has been well established for at least 6 or 8 months. The specimen above (left) is growing in about 1/3 clay which is not normally recommended but it has been growing outdoors for the summer and the clay helps retain moisture. It will be repotted for the winter with a healthier soil mixture. It will not be fed again until spring.

The specimen shown above were photographed at my home in Louisville, Kentucky on December 2, 1998 and again (right) in June of 2000. It was only one year old in photo at left and was propagated from a plantlet like the one cascading downward in the foreground. This specimen had only one little white flower a few inches back from the end of the stem. As the plant has matured 1 1/2 years later, there are now hundreds of these tiny white flowers appearing all along a multitude of arching stems with scores of new plantlets dangling all around the parent plant. Must be wintered indoors in northern climate zones.

© 2000 Michael King