How often should I water a spider plant?

About once a week, when the top inch of soil is dry, stretching to every 10–14 days in winter. Its tuberous roots store water, so it forgives a late watering far better than a constantly wet pot.

Why are my spider plant’s leaf tips turning brown?

Usually fluoride and chlorine in tap water, or very dry air. Switch to distilled, filtered, or rain water and new growth comes in clean. Snip existing brown tips off at an angle; they don’t recover.

Spider Plant Care: How Often to Water + Why Brown Tips

The spider plant forgives missed waterings, shrugs off ordinary light, and hands you free copies of itself. Its one famous complaint, brown leaf tips, is usually about what’s in your tap water, not about your skill.

How often to water a spider plant

Water a spider plant about once a week, when the top inch of soil has dried out. It stores water in thick, tuberous roots, so a missed week is a non-event: the leaves go a little flat and pale, then stand back up within hours of a drink, no grudge held. When you do water, do it properly, until it runs from the drainage holes.

In winter, stretch the interval to every 10–14 days. The real danger runs the other way: those water-storing roots rot in soil that never dries, and a rotted spider plant is much harder to save than a thirsty one. If you’re not sure it needs water, wait a day or two.

Light and humidity

Bright, indirect light keeps a spider plant full, crisply striped, and making babies. It also copes fine with a moderately lit room a few feet from the window; it just grows slower there, and the variegated kinds lose some of their cream stripe.

What it can’t take is harsh direct sun through glass, which bleaches the leaves and scorches the tips. An east window, or anywhere bright without a direct beam, is the sweet spot. There’s a reason this is the classic hanging-basket plant.

Humidity: Average household humidity is fine; very dry air browns the tips.

Why is my spider plant dying?

Brown leaf tips are the spider plant complaint, and the usual culprits are the fluoride and chlorine in tap water, or very dry air. Switching to distilled, filtered, or rain water fixes it for most people. Existing brown tips never turn green again; snip them off at an angle and the plant looks fine.

Yellow, limp leaves and mush at the base mean overwatering. The tuberous roots are a built-in water tank, and topping up a full tank rots it. Let the soil dry out fully and make sure the pot actually drains.

No babies? A spider plant only sends out runners when it’s mature, slightly root-bound, and getting decent light. A young plant in a dim corner and a roomy pot has no reason to reproduce. Snug pot, brighter spot, patience.

How to propagate a spider plant

Spider plants propagate themselves. The small plantlets (spiderettes) that dangle from the runners are ready once they show little root nubs at the base. Snip one off and sit its base in water, or pin it onto a pot of damp soil while it is still attached and cut the runner once it has rooted.

Either way it takes a week or two and works almost every time. A crowded, pot-bound plant can also be divided at repotting by teasing the clump apart into sections that each have roots.

Is a spider plant safe for pets and children?

cats: Non-toxic. Source: ASPCA, Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum).
dogs: Non-toxic. Source: ASPCA, Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum).
People, including children: Not covered by our source. The ASPCA assesses animals only, so this page makes no claim about people. If a child eats part of any houseplant, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US).

Non-toxic to cats and dogs per the ASPCA — one of the safest leafy plants you can own. Cats are oddly drawn to chewing it; a big mouthful can still cause a mild tummy upset, but there’s nothing poisonous in it.

The spider plant pet-safety page, with the ASPCA listing

Keeping it alive when you share a home

The spider plant is unusually good at shared care because it asks out loud: when it’s thirsty, the leaves visibly droop and dull, and they perk up within hours of watering. That makes “does it need water?” a question anyone in the house can answer at a glance, which is more than you can say for almost any other plant on this list.

The babies are the other superpower. Each plantlet roots in a glass of water in a week or two, so one healthy plant becomes a windowsill of starter plants for kids, housemates, and the friend who swears they kill everything. (Family Greenhouse can track whose plant each one becomes once it’s potted up, but a labelled jam jar does the job too.)

If you use Family Greenhouse for this, sharing plants with a household explains who sees what and who gets reminded.

The honest bit

My take: this is the best first plant for a household with kids or cats, full stop. It’s non-toxic, it bounces back from neglect, and a child who rooted their own spiderette in a jam jar will water it without being asked. That’s not true of a single other beginner plant I can name.

And ignore anyone who calls it dated. The spider plant got filed under “grandma plant” because it’s been quietly surviving in kitchens since the seventies — that’s not a fashion problem, that’s a track record.

Spider Plant FAQ

How often should I water a spider plant?: About once a week, when the top inch of soil is dry, stretching to every 10–14 days in winter. Its tuberous roots store water, so it forgives a late watering far better than a constantly wet pot.
Why are my spider plant’s leaf tips turning brown?: Usually fluoride and chlorine in tap water, or very dry air. Switch to distilled, filtered, or rain water and new growth comes in clean. Snip existing brown tips off at an angle; they don’t recover.
Is a spider plant toxic to cats and dogs?: No. The ASPCA lists Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) as non-toxic to cats and dogs. Non-toxic to cats and dogs per the ASPCA — one of the safest leafy plants you can own. Cats are oddly drawn to chewing it; a big mouthful can still cause a mild tummy upset, but there’s nothing poisonous in it.

Spider Plant care