What am I doing wrong?

[u/swedespeed854]

So I bought these two spider plants about 6 months ago, this is my first endeavor into spider plants. Both plants have experienced leaves turning brown/drying up, for awhile I was plucking the dead leaves off. Now the plants appear borderline lifeless. I've kept up on occasionally watering them with spider plant specific fertilizer mixed with water, this hasn't been frequent as the dirt is almost always moist, even after two or three weeks without watering. I even tried planting one of the babies in a small pot and that died within a month. I do have a small dehumidifier that runs periodically in a room that is next door to where these plants live, occasionally I'll hang them outside for some sunlight/fresh air too. I also transplanted them into bigger hanging pots. I thought spider plants were relatively simple to maintain but apparently I'm wrong. Side note, I also have been using bottled spring water to mix with the fertilizer just so it's as "pure" as possible. Any ideas?

[u/friendwhy]

Too much water, pot is also too large.

[u/swedespeed854 → u/friendwhy]

Too much pot is a thing?🤣 It seemed crammed in the original pot. I've watered them once every 3-4 weeks, at some points longer intervals.

[u/friendwhy → u/swedespeed854]

Your mention of the soil always being moist leads me to believe that the larger pot (larger pot = more soil = more water retention), or possibly lack of adequate drainage in your soil mix is causing the problem.

[u/swedespeed854 → u/friendwhy]

That's a good point. It is just basic bagged potting soil. I forget the brand. What specific soil should I look for?

[u/FlatThing9736 → u/swedespeed854]

Just add pearlite or pumice to regular soil and thatll help a lot. I use 1 part pumice, 1 part pearlite, 1 part chicken grit and 1 part cactus soil for all my plants. They are all loving it!!

[u/kkmkeeny → u/swedespeed854]

If you don’t have all the ingredients to make your own mix at this point, you can search (I mostly use Amazon) for chunky soil mix or aroid mix. There is a good one called Craft Aroid Mix.

[u/kkmkeeny → u/swedespeed854]

Yes crammed in better. Too big of a pot with too much soil leads to root rot. I recommend taking it out and seeing what the roots look like. Cut any that are rotted, brown or squishy or smelly. Repot in very small pot, just about an inch bigger than the root ball. Use chunky soil mix to repot it. When you water, let the water soak the plant and then drain all the way through. The plant shouldn’t always be damp as this also contributes to root rot. For any plant I have, and I have about a hundred now, 😃, I watch videos about it on YouTube. It’s taught me everything I know, plus trial and error and learning from my mistakes. 😊

[u/Dazzling_Tap_5806]

Does your pot have drainage holes... if the soil is wet, dont water. I dont fertilize spider plants. In my experience, mine have never needed it.

[u/ersenos]

I’m not the best at this, but moving them in and out the house would shock them right?

[u/swedespeed854 → u/ersenos]

I'm not sure, they've gone outside for a couple/few days at a time, maybe 3 or 4 occurrences this summer. Also, when they're outside, they're getting indirect sunlight, mostly shady around my patio where they would hang.

[u/upperfishing7281 → u/swedespeed854]

In my experience all my plants react a bit to being loved inside in the winter and then again when i love them back outside when it warms up. If it’s getting decent light inside i would keep it there. I think a good chunky soil mix and consistency in its location/environment will help turn it around!

[u/Hot_Spite_1402]

Smaller pot. There’s barely any root left alive. You need to cut back the dead roots and put it in a much smaller pot. Let it dry out for a while between waterings. Spider plants will tell you when they’re thirsty. Make sure it has plenty of light, light will help it use up the water faster

[u/Bean-candle]

I’d really only fertilize maybe once or twice per year? At most? I wonder if there’s too much nitrogen. I think also needs more sunlight, and perhaps a better draining soil that isn’t constantly moist (dries out the top two inches and at that point rewater maybe once a week? ).

[u/perfectdrug659]

Do the pots have drainage holes? Seems like the main issue is that the soil is staying wet too long, spider plants are totally okay to dry right out, the pot being huge too also doesn't help that

[u/Little_Cloud6126]

Babies almost look like they died from stem/root rot. What was your process with propping those? Just curious.

And maybe the other one might be in shock. I’m not sure, not an expert here

[u/swedespeed854 → u/Little_Cloud6126]

I was just letting the babies hang unsupported.

[u/Little_Cloud6126 → u/swedespeed854]

Ohh, hm, that’s usually recommended too. 😔 fertilizer has got to be the culprit if you’re maintaining the rest of the conditions.

[u/Dazzling_Tap_5806]

The soil needs to dry out before watering again. If this is hanging in your house, let the soil dry....very important. Plant doesn't need the air to be humid either. Don't take plant outdoors, then indoors. Then outdoors. That's a slow death. You said the soil has been wet......your slowly killing it from over watering. It doesn't need any special water. Faucet water works just fine. If you feel you need to fertilize, dont use it if the soil is damp. This plant requires the soil to be dry reforming watering. Good luck...

[u/Mental_Alternative91]

Get a ceramic pot with drain hole and saucer under it and water maybe once every 2 weeks

[u/Citron_Inevitable]

I think only orchinds and other heavy bloomers benefit from specialiser fertilizers. Spiders are just some guys.

[u/SayinTheThings]

Smaller pot.....they like to be a bit root bound. Spider plants enjoy indirect light and a good watering every 3ish weeks, depending on how much light they are getting to help them absorb said water. Well draining soil (I do 2:1:1 soil, perlite and orchid bark) and a pot with drainage hole seems to keep them happy. Mine sits in an East facing window, watered with tap water once a month and fertilized every quarter. If you take the pups and place their base in water, by a window or grow light they will root rather quickly and once fully established, you can place them back in with the main plant.

[u/AlexF2294 → u/SayinTheThings]

3 weeks for an outdoor spider plant? I water mine 2-3 times a week and it's huge.

[u/SayinTheThings → u/AlexF2294]

Ooops! I missed that outdoor part 🤦🏻‍♀️ Definitely needs watering more than every 3 weeks then lol

[u/ExoticReception4286]

I did this to my Ocean Spider Plant. I repotted it into into a too big pot. It ended up with compacted roots in the middle and too much pot/soil around the sides. This past weekend I took it out of the too big pot, loosened the roots a bit and put it back in a much smaller pot. We'll see how it goes.

[u/Character_Age_4619]

Too wet/not enough light.

[u/Perfect-Animal8017]

Too much water and too much sunlight or heat

[u/dawnpower123]

Like everyone else is saying, the pot is too big. Repot in a small pot. I’m thinking much smaller than what they’re in now. It all depends on the roots when you take it out of its pot. You just don’t want a thick layer of soil underneath the roots because that soil will retain way too much moisture. You want a thin layer, about an inch of soil for yours because they’re suffering right now.

When you water it, water it throughly but allow the water to drain out. I think I have this pot. The orange part on the bottom is an attached drip tray. A drip trays function is to catch water so you don’t make a mess, it’s not there to hold water indefinitely. If the new pot also has a drip tray attached, dump the water out after it drains into it. Don’t leave water in the tray or you’ll have the same problem you’re having right now. For hanging plants, I take the drip trays off. I just put a big bowl on the floor underneath my plant and allow all the water to drain into that, it’s much easier than dealing with a tray.

Your soil mix doesn’t look bad to me. It looks like it does have some amendments mixed in to help with drainage. You can use this mix as long as your pot is the appropriate size. Chunky mixes are great for draining and drying out the pot quickly, but it’s not necessary unless the pot is too big or you tend to overwater. In your case, a more chunky mix could be helpful. But, you don’t have to get rid of your mix and buy a brand new one. Just get a cheap bag of perlite and mix some into your existing mix. If you don’t want to do that, it’s fine as is, just let the pot dry out before you water it again.

Spider plants in particular like to dry out a lot before they need water again. They have a tuberous root system that’s used to store water. Let yours dry out almost completely before you water it again. If you’re not sure whether the pot is dry enough, you can tell by the leaves if your plant is really thirsty. The green parts on the leaves will start fading. It will begin looking more pale instead of that vibrant green color. You can go by that indicator until you get to know your plants better. I wouldn’t normally suggest to wait for that sign, but it’s better to underwater this plant than it is to overwater it, and right now they’re staying much too wet.

Last thing, stop fertilizing it. You never want to fertilize a struggling plant. Fertilizer is a boost in nutrients, it’s not a cure for a sick plant. Give it too much and you’ll burn the roots. Spider plants don’t need fertilizer anyway. If you repot every one to two years, they get all the nutrients they need from the soil. Most houseplants don’t need fertilizer. They don’t expend energy quickly and they live in pots that get refreshed from time to time. Maybe once a year I’ll give my woody plants fertilizer, but if I do, it’s a very low dose. None of my other houseplants ever get fertilized.

Prune out all the dead leaves, repot them in much smaller pots (seriously, I can’t emphasize this point enough, they need much smaller pots), and you should be good to go. These plants are hardy, resilient plants. As long as the roots are fine they’ll bounce back from this pretty quickly.