How to Water Propagate Spider Plants: 10 Simple Steps for Happy and Healthy Plant Babies
Spider plants are among the easiest types of plants to create new plants from. Spider plants thrive with water propagation. Learning how to grow them in water is one of the most fun, satisfying and convenient ways to create new plants to make any house feel like a home.
As a spider plant (also known as “Chlorophytum comosum”) matures, it can sometimes send out a runner (a long stalk) with a baby spider plant on the end. A large spider plant will eventually send out multiple runners, each tipped with a tiny version of the main plant.
How to grow spider plants cuttings
Simply follow these simple steps to turn these satellite babies into new spider plants:
1. Inspect
Inspect your spider plant for signs of any unusually long stalks with sprouting leaves at the end. These are plant “babies”, known as “plantlets” or you may see them referred to as “pups”.
Tip: It may be best to wait until the plantlets are at least two or three inches long so they have a better chance of surviving on their own.
2. Prepare
Once you have selected one or several plantlets, find some sharp scissors and sterilize the blades using rubbing alcohol or simply hot water and dish soap.
3.Cut
Cut the stem that attaches the baby plantlets to the main (known as the “mother”) plant, leaving less than an inch of stem attached to the plantlet.
4. Repeat
Repeat the process for all plantlets, so you have a nice collection of happy little specimens. Each of these will eventually become its own unique spider plant.
5. Pot
Find a small cup to put your baby plants in. You may wish to use glass so you can see the roots growing and watch if the water changes color, indicating bacteria or mold growth.
6. Fill
Fill the cup one or two inches deep with water and place the plantlets with the stem-side down in the water. The leaves should be sticking out above the water. It is perfectly fine for all the plantlets to share the same cup of water.
7. Locate
Place the cup of baby spiders in the middle of a bright room or on a windowsill with filtered light. Direct sunlight could burn the leaves or cause algae growth which may harm the success of your water propagation.
8. Nurture
After a week or two, your plantlets will grow new roots! Keep the water level consistently at one or two inches, topping up with fresh water as it evaporates.
9. Feed
When the roots are two inches long, your spider plant will start to benefit from additional nutrients. If you’d like to continue growing your spider plant in water, it is best to invest in hydroponic nutrients to help your plants thrive.
Alternatively, you can transfer your spider plant from the water and into a 2-3” diameter pot with drainage holes and a well-draining potting mix.
Tip: Since the roots have grown in water, you should immediately dampen the soil with water to avoid the baby spider plant experiencing “shock” as it transfers into the new growth medium.
10. Enjoy!
Well-loved for their ability to remove harmful toxins from the air, spider plants are a joy to have in any room of your home. The last thing to do is sit back and enjoy watching your plant as it grows under your care.
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