How to grow spider plants? A detailed guide to indoor uses and cultivation techniques
The spider plant is known as a guardian of air purification and is one of the best indoor greenery plants; it not only looks good but is also simple to grow. Below, the editor gives a detailed analysis of the spider plant's indoor uses and cultivation techniques.
The spider plant, also known as the hanging orchid or fishing orchid, is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Chlorophytum in the Liliaceae family.
Appearance and morphology
Leaves: The leaves are linear-lanceolate, 1 cm to 1.5 cm wide, forming stolons that trail downward; at the tips and nodes of the branches, many small plantlets with aerial roots grow, looking like little upside-down green umbrellas, very pretty. Flowers: The flowers are small and white, fresh and elegant, with a flowering period from March to June. Varieties: Common ones include the golden-edged, golden-centered, silver-edged, and silver-centered spider plants.
Care essentials
The spider plant is one of the easiest plants to grow, with a tough nature and strong adaptability; with just a little care, it will grow very lushly.
Water: It likes a warm, humid, semi-shaded environment; usually just keep the potting soil moist.
Soil: It suits fertile sandy soil.
Light: One more thing to note is that the spider plant is not tolerant of severe cold or heat, so do not let it freeze or place it in direct sunlight.
Propagation: The spider plant can be propagated by division, or by directly cutting off the young plantlets on the stolons and planting them in moist soil; the survival rate is extremely high.
Indoor uses
1. The spider plant has the reputation of a "green purifier"; it can absorb 85% of the formaldehyde in the air. Placing one pot of spider plant in a room of 8 sq m to 10 sq m is equivalent to setting up an air purifier, and it can remove 80% of the harmful substances in the room within 24 hours.
2. The spider plant can also absorb 95% of the carbon monoxide in the air, and can absorb almost all the carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide released by stoves, electrical appliances, and plastic products.
3. In addition, the spider plant can also absorb carcinogenic substances in the air such as styrene and carbon dioxide, effectively decompose benzene, and absorb relatively stable harmful substances such as nicotine in cigarette smoke.
Special tips
1. The naturally drooping branches and leaves of the spider plant are very beautiful, shaped like a crane spreading its wings to leap, earning it the reputation of "crane orchid." It is suitable for placing on high shelves or in narrow spaces; hanging it gives an even more three-dimensional beauty.
2. The spider plant is both unique and beautiful and can effectively purify the air; it is recommended to place one or two pots in newly renovated rooms.
The spider plant is a very good indoor greenery flower and is also a favorite of city dwellers. As long as you learn the editor's spider plant cultivation techniques, you are guaranteed to have a green garden.
Hydroponic spider plants, spider plant growing methods, indoor hydroponic spider plant techniques
The spider plant, in the Liliaceae family, has thick short rhizomes and slightly fleshy roots. The leaves are sword-shaped, 10-30 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, tapering slightly toward both ends. Aliases: weeping stem grass, hanging orchid, orchid grass earth ginseng, eight-leaf orchid, etc. It is an easy-to-grow and healthy evergreen herbaceous plant. Common cultivated varieties include: the golden-edged spider plant with golden-yellow leaf color, the golden-centered spider plant with yellow longitudinal stripes in the center of the leaves, the silver-edged spider plant with white leaf edges, and the silver-centered spider plant with white longitudinal stripes in the center of the leaves. You can choose soil cultivation or hydroponic growing according to personal preference.
I. Soil cultivation methods
Substrate:The spider plant has strong adaptability to various soils and is easy to cultivate. You can use fertile sandy loam, humus soil, peat soil, or fine sandy soil plus a small amount of base fertilizer as potting soil.
Propagation: Usually propagated by division; except in winter when the temperature is too low for division, it can be done in other seasons. You can also cut off the small plantlets with aerial roots on the flower stems and pot them separately forgrowing.
Watering:It likes sufficient moisture in the potting soil year-round, but has a certain drought resistance; avoid water accumulation in the pot. When the temperature is below 5°C in winter, water less, and do not let the potting soil become too wet, otherwise the leaves are prone to turning yellow.
Fertilizing: Apply liquid fertilizer once every 2-3 weeks during the growing season. Variegated varieties should be given less nitrogen fertilizer, otherwise the white or yellow markings on the leaves will become less obvious. Stop fertilizing when the ambient temperature is below 10°C.
Light:The spider plant likes a semi-shaded environment and can be grown year-round in a bright indoor space. Avoid direct sunlight in summer, with about 50% shading; no shading in winter.
Temperature:The spider plant is tolerant of high temperatures and highly adaptable. The suitable growing temperature is between 15-30°C, and the winter overwintering temperature is best above 10°C.
Humidity:It likes a humid environment. To keep the spider plant fresh and green, you can often spray water on the leaves to wash them.
Pruning:At ordinary times, cut off yellow leaves at any time. Each March, you can repot once, cutting off old roots, rotten roots, and excess fibrous roots. In early to mid-May, cut off some of the old leaves of the spider plant, which will promote the sprouting of more new leaves and small spider plants.
II. Hydroponic method
After digging up the spider plant, wash the roots, cut off rotten leaves, damaged roots, and dead roots, and insert the thick fleshy soil-grown roots into a wide-mouthed transparent glass bottle filled with clean water. There is no need to change the water frequently; just keep the bottle full. However, the part where the roots meet the stem needs to be exposed above the water.
Nutrient solution:Choose a foliage plant nutrient solution; the concentration can be diluted to 1/3 of the standard concentration, and it should be renewed once every 1-2 months.
Sunlight:Avoid exposure to direct sunlight; it grows well in diffused light. When placed indoors, it should receive more indirect sunlight.
Temperature:It grows fastest at a temperature of 20-24°C and easily sends out stolons; growth stops above 30°C.
Care:Regularly remove dead leaves and regularly remove offshoots.
Silver-centered spider plants, golden-centered spider plants, and others are easy to grow with root washing and hydroponics, while green varieties are difficult to grow hydroponically.
The spider plant is not only an excellent hanging foliage plant for indoors, but also a good indoor air-purifying flower. The spider plant has an extremely strong ability to absorb toxic gases. Generally, keeping 1-2 pots of spider plants in a room can absorb almost all toxic gases in the air, so the spider plant also has the reputation of being a "green purifier."
Environmental arrangement and cultivation techniques for growing spider plants indoors
The cultivation difficulty of spider plants is relatively low, which is one reason why many friends can grow spider plants themselves. If some spider plants are grown well, not only will the leaves be emerald green, but the spider plant will also bloom. So what exactly are the techniques for growing spider plants indoors? What kind of environment should be given to spider plants for indoor cultivation?
Spider plant
The spider plant likes a warm, humid, semi-shaded environment. It is highly adaptable and relatively tolerant of drought and cold. It is not picky about soil and grows better in loose sandy loam. It is not strict about light and is generally suitable for growing under medium light conditions; it is also tolerant of weak light.
Except in winter when the temperature is too low for division, it can be done in other seasons. For plants potted for 2-3 years, when repotting in spring, take the crowded potted seedlings, remove the old growing medium, divide them into two to several clumps, and pot them separately as new plants. Spider plants can also be propagated using the small plantlets on the runners. During the growing season, cut off the small plantlets on the runners, plant them in growing medium or water, and transplant them into pots after the small plantlets have grown roots.
For potting spider plants, a mixture of equal parts leaf mold or peat soil, garden soil, and river sand plus a small amount of base fertilizer is commonly used as the substrate. Repot once every 2-3 years and remake the growing medium. Its fleshy roots have well-developed water-storing tissue and strong drought resistance, but during the peak growth period from March to September it needs a large amount of water, so it should be watered and misted frequently to increase humidity.
Fertilizer should be mainly nitrogen-based, but golden-centered and golden-edged varieties should not be given excessive nitrogen fertilizer, otherwise the linear markings on the leaves will become less obvious. The spider plant likes a semi-shaded environment; if the placement location has too strong or insufficient light, the leaves will easily turn light green or yellow-green, lose vitality, lose their due ornamental value, and may even wither and die.