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Plant guideSpider plant care: the complete guide
Guidance verified against Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center, University of Florida IFAS Extension (Gardening Solutions), Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder and the ASPCA on 3 September 2026. Sources linked below.
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) wants bright, indirect light but tolerates low or artificial light well, water when the top inch of soil has dried out, ordinary indoor humidity and light feeding only in the growing season. It is one of the most forgiving common houseplants, non-toxic to cats and dogs, and produces long stems of "baby" plantlets once its days shorten enough to trigger them.
| Attribute | What a spider plant needs |
|---|---|
| Light | Bright, indirect light is best; tolerates low and artificial light, even office fluorescents |
| Water | When the top inch of soil has dried out; avoid a fixed schedule |
| Humidity | Ordinary indoor humidity is fine; very low humidity contributes to brown tips |
| Soil / pot | General-purpose, well-draining potting mix in a pot with drainage holes |
| Fertiliser | Water-soluble or slow-release feed during active growth only; do not over-feed |
| Temperature | 65 to 75°F (18 to 24°C) day, 50 to 55°F (10 to 13°C) night; tolerates down to about 45°F (7°C) |
| Toxicity | Non-toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA) |
How much light does a spider plant need?
Spider plant does best in bright, indirect light but tolerates low light and artificial light very well, per Clemson Cooperative Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden's Plant Finder, which is why it turns up so often in offices and other rooms with no natural window light. Keep it out of harsh, direct midday sun, which can scorch the leaves; some gentle direct morning or evening sun is tolerated. It is more light-flexible than most houseplants on this site, closer to ZZ plant than to a plant such as philodendron that wants consistently bright indirect light.
How often should you water a spider plant?
Water once the top inch of soil has dried out, checked regularly rather than on a fixed weekly schedule, per University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions. Spider plant is particularly sensitive to the fluoride and chlorine found in some tap water supplies; if brown tips keep appearing despite otherwise good care, switching to filtered, distilled or rain water, or leaving tap water out overnight so chlorine can dissipate, usually resolves it. The general watering guide covers the finger-test method this plant responds well to.
Does a spider plant need extra humidity?
No. Spider plant tolerates ordinary indoor humidity without misting, a pebble tray or a humidifier, though Clemson Cooperative Extension notes that very low humidity is one of several contributing causes of brown leaf tips, alongside fluoridated water and over-fertilising. This puts it well outside the tropical, humidity-hungry plants covered in the general humidity guide, such as calathea, which need real intervention in a dry home.
What soil and pot does a spider plant need?
Use a general-purpose, well-draining potting mix in a pot with drainage holes, per Clemson Cooperative Extension and UF/IFAS. Spider plant forms thick, fleshy tuberous roots that store water, and it should be repotted about once a year while young, then roughly every other year once mature, ideally before those roots swell enough to crack a plastic pot. The soil and pot guide and the repotting guide cover the signals and method common to most houseplants.
How and when do you fertilise a spider plant?
Feed with a water-soluble or slow-release houseplant fertiliser during active growth, spring and summer only, at label rate, per Clemson Cooperative Extension. Skip feeding over autumn and winter. Over-fertilising is a genuine downside here, not just a general caution: Missouri Botanical Garden notes that heavily fertilised spider plants tend to produce fewer plantlets, and excess fertiliser salts are also one of the named causes of brown leaf-tip burn. The general fertilising guide covers dilution and salt build-up for other houseplants.
What temperature does a spider plant need?
Spider plant does best between 65 and 75°F (18 to 24°C) during the day and 50 to 55°F (10 to 13°C) at night, per Clemson Cooperative Extension, and Missouri Botanical Garden's Plant Finder records it tolerating conditions down to about 45°F (7°C) without lasting damage. Keep it a few feet back from cold window glass and away from winter draughts, the same cold-stress risk covered on the general wilting guide.
How do you propagate a spider plant, and why does it make babies?
Spider plant propagates from the plantlets, sometimes called "spiderettes," that form on long arching stems: root a plantlet in water or soil, or leave it attached until roots form, then cut it free and pot it separately, per University of Florida IFAS Extension. What most care guides skip is why plantlets appear at all: Missouri Botanical Garden's Plant Finder records that plantlet formation is triggered by short days and long, uninterrupted nights sustained for at least three weeks, a photoperiod response rather than a simple sign of plant maturity. A mature, healthy spider plant kept under bright artificial light through the evening, extending its effective day length, can stay plantlet-free indefinitely even in perfect health, while an identical plant given genuinely dark, uninterrupted nights through autumn will send out plantlets on schedule. Heavy fertilising works against this too, per the fertiliser section above. The general propagation guide covers water- and soil-cutting methods for other houseplants.
Why does my spider plant have brown tips?
Brown, crispy leaf tips are by far the most common complaint about an otherwise easy plant:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Brown, crispy tips on otherwise healthy leaves | Fluoride, chlorine or dissolved salts in tap water, the most commonly cited cause for this species | Switch to filtered, distilled or rain water, or let tap water sit out overnight |
| Brown tips plus generally pale, weak growth | Over-fertilising, causing salt build-up in the soil | Flush the soil with plain water and cut back to a lighter feeding schedule |
| Brown tips with dry, curling leaves | Underwatering or persistently low humidity | Check soil more often; move away from heating or air-conditioning vents |
| Whole leaves yellowing rather than tipping brown | Overwatering, or occasionally too much direct sun | Let soil dry out fully before the next watering; move out of harsh direct sun |
See the general brown and crispy leaves guide for the wider decision tree behind this symptom on other houseplants, and yellow leaves if the whole leaf is affected rather than just the tip.
Do spider plants really purify the air?
Not meaningfully, in a real room. Spider plant was one of the species in NASA's 1989 Clean Air Study, which found strong removal of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds inside a small sealed test chamber over 24 hours, and this single result is the source of the popular "air-purifying plant" claim. A 2019 peer-reviewed review by Drexel University researchers, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, recalculated the numbers against a real building's normal air-exchange rate and found it would take on the order of ten to hundreds of potted plants per square metre of floor space to match what an open window or an HVAC system already does. A sealed laboratory chamber with no air exchange is not a room with a door, so the honest answer is that a spider plant is a genuinely easy, attractive, non-toxic houseplant, just not a practical air purifier.
The lab result is real; it just does not scale to an ordinary room with normal air exchange.
Is a spider plant toxic to cats and dogs?
No, spider plant is non-toxic. The ASPCA lists Chlorophytum comosum as non-toxic to cats and dogs, unlike common houseplants such as pothos, philodendron and ZZ plant, which all carry a toxicity warning. That makes it one of the more reliable choices for a pet-owning household, though cats occasionally chew the grass-like leaves for the mild, non-toxic effect it produces, similar to eating cat grass, so watch for leaf damage even where poisoning is not the concern. See the full pet-safe plant list for other ASPCA-verified non-toxic options.
FAQ
- How often should you water a spider plant?
- Let the top inch of soil dry out between waterings rather than following a fixed schedule, and use filtered or rain water if the tap supply is fluoridated.
- Why is my spider plant not making babies (plantlets)?
- Plantlets need short days and long, uninterrupted nights for at least three weeks to form. Heavy fertilising also suppresses plantlet formation.
- Is a spider plant toxic to cats and dogs?
- No. The ASPCA lists it as non-toxic to cats and dogs.
- Do spider plants really purify the air?
- Not meaningfully. A 2019 peer-reviewed review found it would take roughly ten to hundreds of plants per square metre of floor to rival normal room air exchange.
Related guides
Sources
- Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center, Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
- University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions, Spider Plant
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Plant Finder: Chlorophytum comosum
- ASPCA, Toxic and Non-toxic Plants: Spider Plant
- Drexel University College of Engineering, Study: Actually, Potted Plants Don't Improve Air Quality (2019)