Spider plant
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called Anthericum Comosum, Chlorophytum, ribbon plant, spider ivy, Spiderplant and Walking Anthericum.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
What the sources say about its care
Sources file this plant under other names: Chlorophytum comosum cv. Variegatum (Clemson Extension). Citations below point at the name its source uses.
- Light
- Medium light 100–150 fcClemson Extension, filed as Chlorophytum comosum cv. Variegatum · read 11 September 2026Partial shadeRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drained or Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 11 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °CRHS · read 11 September 2026- Soil
- Loam, Sand; pH Alkaline or Acid or NeutralRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No harm statement is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 11 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Edges of the blades brown while the middle stays sound
Blades on the side of the spider plant nearest a heater or vent brown at the edges while those on the far side stay clean.
Penn State Extension cites ASHRAE's recommended indoor range of 30% to 60% relative humidity; a heated room in winter drops below it. Air that dry pulls water from the leaf faster than the roots replace it, and the margins are furthest from the supply.
Telling it apart: Look at the pot rim and the soil surface. A white crust points at a build-up from tap water or feed rather than at the air. Penn State also reports misting and pebble trays do little to the humidity around a plant.
Penn State ExtensionSpider plant brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Pale, undersized blades at the tips of the stems
Older blades on the spider plant keep their colour while each new one comes in thinner, with a longer stretch of bare stem below it.
Medium light is where its source places it. Below that the plant spends stored sugar faster than it makes it, and reaching is what that looks like from outside.
Telling it apart: Turn the pot and wait a fortnight. New growth that swings back toward the window is answering a light question.
Clemson ExtensionSpider plant leaves turning yellow: causes- The clump yellows from below and the pot stays heavy
The spider plant yellows from the base up. Affected blades bend rather than snap, and the pot is still heavy several days after watering.
Roots sitting in water run out of oxygen, and the first sign above ground is the oldest blades being given up. Its source describes well-drained or moist but well-drained soil, which is air as much as water.
Telling it apart: Whether the drainage hole drips when the pot is tilted. Water still running out days later is the answer.
RHSSpider plant leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Spider plant.
Routine care
- Watering
- Do not use tap water, since its chlorine and fluoride can burn the leaf tips. Water less in winter.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- Too much fertilizer reduces the number of plantlets formed.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Repotting
- Repot and divide every 2-3 years, or replace with a young plantlet, to keep the plant healthy and fresh.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Spider plant is easy to propagate from plantlets or by division.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Sow seed, divide, or root plantlets.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Once flowering spikes finish, trim them back if new plantlets are not wanted.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Scale insects can attack it. Disease is uncommon.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Chlorophytum comosum, usually called spider plant or common spider plant due to its spider-like look, also known as spider ivy, airplane plant, ribbon plant, and hen and chicks, is a species of evergreen perennial flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae. It is native to tropical and Southern Africa but has become naturalized in other parts of the world, including Western Australia and Bangladesh. Chlorophytum comosum is easy to grow as a houseplant because of its resilience, but it can be sensitive to the fluoride in tap water, which commonly gives it "burnt tips". Variegated forms are the most popular.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- W. Trop. Africa to Cameroon, Ethiopia to S. AfricaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026W. Tropical Africa to Cameroon, Ethiopia to S. AfricaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026S AfricaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- seasonally dry tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- perennialWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Herbaceous Perennial; habit arching, cascadingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Clump forming (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 12–18 in; width 12–24 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 0.1-0.5 metres; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 5–10 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, white; blooms in fall, spring, summer, winterNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers white in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Spider plant
Other Chlorophytum
More of the Asparagaceae family
Asparagus fernBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Cast iron plantBlade tips go crisp and brown
DracaenaBrown tips on the newest blades first
HyacinthFlowering stops while the foliage carries on
Lucky bambooCrisp margins that appear in winter
Ponytail palmBlades hang and feel thin between the fingers
Plants with similar care
Sources
- ASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 11 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 11 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.