Those with arachnophobia don’t need to fear; the spider plant is a lovely, fairly common houseplant with amazing air cleaning qualities. There doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus on how the plant acquired its name, but I have heard a few theories. The first story I’ve heard is that the plant got its name because it looks like another plant that was once used medicinally to treat spider bites. I have also heard that it got its name from its appearance—the babies of the spider plant look like small spiders coming off the shoots. However the name came to be, have no fear, the plant will not attract house spiders or anything of the sort.
The spider plant is an excellent plant for novices as it is fairly easy to care for and highly adaptable. The one area the spider plant is fussy is that it prefers distilled water. Using distilled water will especially help with the brown tips that tend to develop on this plant. Other than that, spider plants tend to want to run on the drier side, so if you occasionally neglect your plant, this one is pretty forgiving.
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Quick Tips and Tricks for the Spider Plant
- Allow your spider plant to dry out a little in-between watering
- Watering too much can cause root rot in the plant
- Make sure to use distilled water (Water left out for 24 hours, or you can purchase distilled water) to avoid the tips turning brown
- Bright, indirect sunlight is what this plant would choose
- However, it can tolerate medium light very well—it just may not grow as quickly
- Avoid direct sunlight so the plant does not scorch
- Use a well draining soil
- Consider periodically turning your plant to get it to grow uniformly
- This plant is pet friendly! While we don’t recommend allowing your animals to nibble on your plants, this one is rated as pet safe by the ASPCA
Looking for more? Check out some of our other plant posts on our blog.
Keep a look out for our blog post on plants that filter the air coming soon!