Spider plant leaves turning yellow: causes and what to do
17 results in the diagnosis tree begin with yellowing leaves, 7 of them marked likely when the answers fit. They are ordered here for Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), using what its sources say about soil moisture, light, soil, watering and feeding and 2 problems recorded for it.
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
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. Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Native range: W. Trop. Africa to Cameroon, Ethiopia to S. Africa (seasonally dry tropical). Also sold as Anthericum Comosum, Chlorophytum, ribbon plant, spider ivy, Spiderplant and Walking Anthericum.
What Spider plant’s sources say that bears on this
- Soil moisture
- Well-drained or Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Light
- Medium lightClemson Extension · read 11 September 2026Partial shadeRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Soil
- Loam, Sand; pH Alkaline or Acid or NeutralRHS · read 11 September 2026
- 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
How this shows up on a Spider plant
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 Extension · read 11 September 2026The 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.
RHS · read 11 September 2026Possible causes, likeliest first for a Spider plant
Most likely not enough light
Ranked higher because Spider plant's recorded problems point this way.
- Medium light Clemson Extension · read 11 September 2026
- Partial shade RHS · read 11 September 2026
Why: Far from a bright window, a spider plant builds leaves it cannot afford.
What to try:
- Move it closer to the brightest window you have, over a week or two rather than in one step.Useful: grow light
- Water less while it is in low light; a spider plant that is barely growing uses little.
What would settle it: Compare a new leaf with one from last year. Smaller and paler, with a longer gap below it, is the reaching pattern rather than a nutrient one.
Most likely too much water
Ranked higher because Spider plant's recorded problems point this way.
- Well-drained or Moist but well-drained RHS · read 11 September 2026
- Loam, Sand; pH Alkaline or Acid or Neutral RHS · read 11 September 2026
Why: Soil that is wet two inches down, under leaves that are yellowing from the bottom or falling, points at roots that cannot breathe.
What to try:
- Hold off watering until the top two inches of soil are dry, and check again with a finger rather than by the calendar.Useful: moisture meter
- Empty any water standing in the saucer or the outer pot within half an hour of watering.Useful: pot with drainage holes
What would settle it: Lift the spider plant out of its pot. Healthy roots are firm and pale; roots that have been wet too long are brown, soft and smell sour.
Most likely too little water
- Well-drained or Moist but well-drained RHS · read 11 September 2026
Why: Soil dry two inches down, under lower leaves that are yellowing or leaves that are falling, is a spider plant shedding what it cannot support.
What to try:
- Water until it runs from the drainage hole, then let the pot drain.Useful: pot with drainage holes
- If the water runs straight through a shrunken rootball, stand the pot in water for twenty minutes so the compost can take it up.
What would settle it: Water it thoroughly and look again the same evening. A thirsty plant firms up fast. One that does not has a root problem rather than a water problem.
Less likely for a Spider plant, still possible
- Most likely short of nutrients
- Most likely a build-up of salts in the soil
- Most likely cold
- Light and feeding are both plausible, and this does not separate them
- Nutrients are an unlikely explanation here
- Possibly root rot, in a pot that has stopped draining
- Probably too much water, but this is not settled
- Probably too much water
- Possibly too much direct sun
- Possibly too much direct sun, or feeding
- This may be ordinary leaf loss
- Possibly dry air
- The answers do not point at one cause
Questions
- What usually causes yellowing leaves on a Spider plant?
- For Spider plant: most likely not enough light, most likely too much water and most likely too little water.
- How can I tell which one it is on my Spider plant?
- Where is the yellowing? The lowest leaves, working upward; New growth at the top, while older leaves stay green; Between the veins, the veins themselves still green; At the leaf tips and edges, browning as it goes; Patchy, only on the side facing the window.
- What do Spider plant's sources say about its soil moisture?
- RHS: Well-drained or Moist but well-drained.
- What does this look like on a Spider plant?
- 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. Telling it apart: Turn the pot and wait a fortnight. New growth that swings back toward the window is answering a light question.
Other plants that show yellowing leaves
Asparagus fernPale, undersized fronds at the tips of the stems
DracaenaNew blades arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
Lucky bambooNew blades arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
Madagascar dragon treePale, undersized blades at the tips of the stems
AlocasiaThe crown yellows from below and the pot stays heavy
Arrowhead plantNew leaf blades arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
Something else wrong with the Spider plant?
What this does not cover
This page orders a decision tree's results using a plant's sourced care. It has not seen your plant, its pot or its window, and two problems at once are common: that is the usual reason a confident answer turns out wrong. The questions in the diagnosis tool narrow it further than a list can.