The spider plant is also known as the airplane plant. It needs a delicate balance of water and nutrients to keep it alive until it matures and flowers. This means that if you don’t provide the right environment for the plant, it will die before blooming.
If your spider plant is turning yellow, brown, or black, it’s probably dying. The plant is either receiving too much water or too little nutrients. But if you can catch the problem before the plant is affected too much, you can revive it and get it healthy again.
This article explores the reasons why your spider plant is dying off, how to care for a spider plant, how to rejuvenate a dying plant.
Why Is Your Spider Plant Dying?
Under and Over Watering
Water is typically the primary culprit when it comes to plants dying. Too much water causes the roots to rot because it drowns the roots and prevents them from getting adequate oxygen and minerals into the plant. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. It is also crucial to make sure that the soil doesn’t drain the water too fast. An under watered plant begins to show signs of leaf tip burn, meaning the leaves turn brown at the tip.
To make sure that you are not under watering your plant, find the right soil mixture. Loam soil with some coarse sand works well because it retains moderate amounts of moisture. You can check the amount of water in the soil by sticking your index finger two inches into the soil. If the soil is dry, then your plant needs water, but if not, do not water the plant.
Too Much Mineral Intake
Fluoride in the water can become toxic to spider plants over time. If the water in your locale has a lot of fluorides, it can cause the tips of the plant to turn brown. Research by Michigan State University shows that some plants suffer from fluoride toxicity when irrigated with city water. Fluoride toxicity in spider plants is characterized by burnt tips on the leaves and flowers.
Other sources of fluoride can also be fertilizers. Fluoride is not an essential mineral for plants to grow, unlike nitrogen and sulfur, so try and steer clear of fertilizers with too much fluoride in them. In most types of plants, fluoride causes necrosis of the leaf blades, and the spider plant is no exception.
Too Much Fertilizer
Over-fertilizing the soil causes a buildup of salts in the plant. Fertilizers contain salts, including sodium, chlorine, ammonium, nitrate, and potassium ions which, if absorbed by the plant too much, can cause the plant to become unhealthy.
For example, excessive sodium can be toxic to plants, and most plants like the spider plant are glycophytes. These are plants that have minimal tolerance to long exposure to saline conditions. They maintain low levels of sodium in their tissues, and when high levels of the ions occur in the plant, it is because of excess sodium in the environment.
Excessive sodium stunts the growth of plants by accumulating in the shoots. It also damages the quality of the soil surrounding the plant’s roots.
A spider plant needs fertilizing only once in three months. A water-soluble fertilizer works very well for these plants because of maximum absorption.
Too Much Sun
Spider plants thrive in a delicate balance of bright light and shade. These plants don’t like exposure to too much sun. This is because the scorching sun dries up the soil faster and leaves them dehydrated. If you are planting your spider plant outdoors, make sure that it is in a shaded area where it has access to moderate light.
Indoor spider plants should be placed in a section of the house with bright natural light, but it must not direct sunlight. Over exposing the plant to the sun causes its leaves to burn and turn brown.
Spider plants also need high levels of humidity to grow healthy and blossom. Controlling the levels of humidity can be tricky compared to controlling the amount of sunlight the plant is exposed to. However, if your plant is indoors, you can raise the humidity level using a humidifier. The plant itself will also release moisture into the air making the environment moist since the water is not lost to the atmosphere.
If the plant is outside, consider spritzing it water regularly or using a humidity tray. This a tray with pebbles or rocks that has water at the bottom, and your potted spider plant sits on the rocks and pebbles. The water slowly evaporates and keeps the area humid for the plant. The water should come to the medium level of the pebbles and rock, not submerging them.
Disease and Pests
The spider plant doesn’t suffer from many diseases. But, there are mainly two common diseases you have to look out for:
- Fungal root rot
- Fungal leaf rot
Fungal root rot is a result of too much water. The roots begin to give off an odor, and they are also brown or black. You will also notice the roots are soft and even soggy when you touch them.
Fungal leaf root is characterized by the browning of the leaves, especially at the base. The leaves soon wilt and fall off.
Pests associated with this plant include:
Aphids
Aphids attack this plant and feed its sap. They pierce the tender tissues of the plant and suck the liquid within. Because of the dense grass-like foliage of spider plants, it is easy to miss aphids, especially when they hide in the fold of the leaves.
Rinsing the plant with a strong stream of water works perfectly to dislodge and drown them. This is a simple first step that works without damaging the plant. After that, you can swipe the remaining aphids off using rubbing alcohol.
Spider Mites
Spider mites are the primary pest of the spider plant. Use a strong treatment as soon as you notice these pests. Their damage leaves unsightly brown or yellow marks on the plant taking away its aesthetic value. With time the plant will experience stunted growth and even completely stop growing.
These mites are extremely small, so you may not see them with your naked eye. To check whether your spider plant has spider mites, hold a plain white paper under a leaf and shake it. If small reddish specks fall onto the paper, those are spider mites. A stream of water can kill them and wipe them off the surface of the plant. In addition, you can also use essential oils like neem oil as a stronger measure.
Mealybugs
These are scale insects that live in clusters on the spider plant. They also suck the sap from your plant. You may experience more infestations of mealybugs if you live in a warmer climate because these bugs thrive in warm weather. Their exoskeleton looks cottony, and they are soft-bodied so you can miss a cluster of these pests on your spider plant.
Both the adult and the nymph feed on the leaves, causing them to wilt and eventually fall off. They can kill off the entire plant if not controlled. Remove the affected parts of the plant to mitigate the infestation and also consider using some natural pest solutions. You can use garlic spray and red pepper spray.
Crush these ingredients separately or together and strain them. Add some vegetable oil to the resulting extract and some soap water. Spray liberally onto the plant. You can also place a clove of garlic into the soil around the plant to deter them.
Whiteflies
Whiteflies are a common problem in greenhouses, and spider plants for commercial purposes are grown mainly in greenhouses. The bigger problem is that if these flies are not eradicated at the greenhouse, the spider plant can carry them into their new owner’s home. If the plant is going to be introduced to other plants, it transfers the infestation to the other crops.
Before you place a newly purchased spider plant into your garden or house, quarantine it for a couple of days or even some weeks. This will help you determine whether it carries any pest, and you can treat it accordingly.
You need powerful insecticides like pyrethrum based products to kill adult flies while nymphs and pupae can be eradicated using horticultural oils.
How to Revive a Dying Spider Plant
You will find that restoring your spider plant is easy. This is because this plant deteriorates due to environmental conditions rather than internal diseases. In most cases, all you need to do is to take care of its environment, and it will go back to thriving.
Repot the Plant
If you have overwatered your plant, consider repotting it to stop the root rot. This is a fairly easy process that entails moving the plant to a bigger pot with fresh soil. The additional space for the roots and the fresh soil allows the roots to grow strong and extend even further.
The spider plant has an extensive and dense root system. You will notice that the roots grow fast and thick. This is because they store water allowing the plant to continue to thrive for a few more days when you forget to water it. If you do not repot the plant, it will die as the roots will continue rotting.
Only draining the original pot may not be sufficient to revive the plant because the remaining soil may be too saturated. The best solution is completely changing the soil, cleaning the roots, and placing them in fairly dry soil.
From then on, water the plant conservatively even erring on leaving the soil dry sometimes to let the roots grow stronger.
Use Distilled Water
You may not have realized that all water is not the same. Distilled has been put through a heating and evaporation process killing off parasites, heavy metals, bacteria, and various chemicals. As a result of using this water, your spider plant doesn’t absorb water that contains contaminants.
Rainwater is also excellent for flushing out toxins like fluorides from the soil. As it eliminates the contaminants from the soil leaves clean water that helps the plant to thrive.
If you are an enthusiastic DIYer, you can decide to make distilled water at home. However, this is convenient if you are distilling water for a single plant. It can be quite time-consuming for more plants. Here is a simple distillation process:
- Put some tap water into a stainless steel pot.
- Place a wide enough heat resistant glass bowl to float on the water.
- Place a glass lid onto the pot and some ice on top.
- Let the water boil and then turn it down into a simmer.
The boiling water will condense on the lid where the ice will cool it. As it cools, it’ll collect in the bowl of glass. The good news is that although it sounds tedious, you only need a small amount of water for your spider plant. Also, you need to water it every so often and not daily.
Using distilled water may result in calcium and magnesium deficiency. However, spider plants need these components to thrive, which leads you to the right fertilizer to use to revive your plant.
Consider Soluble Calcium Fertilizer
Calcium fertilizers balance the soil’s PH helping the plant to grow healthy. The calcium is absorbed into the plant, where it aids with the structure of the plant’s cells. The plant doesn’t use any energy to absorb calcium, and continued uptake increases the plant’s growth. Having said that, the fertilizer should also contain other ions like magnesium, zinc, and phosphorus.
When using fertilizer on spider plants, a conservative measure like half of what is recommended for use by the manufacturer may be a good idea.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on June 1, 2020.
How to Repot a Mature Spider Plant
Spider plants grow fast, and they can quickly outgrow their pot. A plant that has outgrown its pot will have root tips showing through the soil surface. A spider plant’s roots can crack its pot when it has outgrown it. You should move this plant to a larger pot with adequate drainage.
Because these plants grow faster than most plants, you may need to repot them often. A good starting point is once a year, but make sure you check the growth of your individual plant. It may need repotting sooner.
To repot gently extract the plant from the original pot, rinse the roots and inspect them for root rot. Trim any errant roots like those growing upwards as long as they are not the main roots. Fill the new pot with enough soil at the bottom before placing the roots of the plant in the soil. Next, keep adding more soil into the pot and patting it around the roots, so they are completely tucked into it.
During repotting, make sure that you use fresh soil in the new pot. A general-purpose potting soil is excellent for repotting a spider plant. The soil should ideally have no fertilizer allowing you to use the fertilizer of your choice. Soil combination that consists of 50% peat, bark, and perlite are ideal because they offer the best drainage and aeration.
The soil should cover the fleshy roots and give the plant a little fertilizer to help it take the shock of being transplanted. You can water as soon as you have repotted the plant to give it enough moisture and settle the soil.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on June 1, 2020.
The new pot must be at least two larger than the previous one. Choose a heavy plastic pot which is more flexible compared to clay pots. Clay pots tend to wick moisture, and they can easily break since there is no place for the roots as they grow.
A thriving spider plant should produce smaller plants on their stiff stems. Cut off the small plantlet and plant it in its own pot. You may notice white flowers on the plant as it blooms, but these are typically very short-lived that you may even fail to notice them.
The flowers are found in loose clusters sitting at the end of the plant’s wiry stems. Flowers on spider plants only occur when the plant reaches maturity.
Final Thoughts
Spider plants may be sensitive, and even a little delicate, but they are flexible about the level of care you give them. This is why they will still thrive in warm climates and make good first time plants for new gardeners. But to ensure that they do not die off:
- Use the right fertilizer in conservative measures
- Do not stress the plant with too much or too little water
- Fertilize once every quarter of the year
- Look out for pests and maintain regular pruning
- Keep out of direct sunlight
Gardeners who ignore these simple tips find themselves with plants that do not flower. The spider plant is hardy yet sensitive, making it a true enigma.
ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on June 1, 2020.
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