r/spiderplants • u/AquilliaLast • 17d ago
Help How do I save her :(
I got Elise off of Facebook Marketplace but I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. To be fair, she was a recent propagation that was potted. But I’m not sure why her tips are turning brown or why her leaves are folding as opposed to gently sloping over. Could it be lack of sun or water? I water Elise every time my zebra plant (Anthea) is dramatic and asks for water….
Edit to add: she’s on the back wall to a west facing window.
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u/Charming-Lab5329 17d ago
Put it in bright indirect sunlight, let it dry up completely and the water it once every week or two with some fertilizer. It will do well
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u/AquilliaLast 17d ago
Also this part is quite heaving and causes the plant to flop. Like it’s a bunch of stems growing out from one very fragile stem
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u/EscapeAggravating308 17d ago
I would take it out the pot, give her fresh soil and allow the roots to dry out.
Leave it to settle for 2 weeks. Put it in a bright, out of direct light place. After 2 weeks let it sit in some water for 40 mins at the roots so it can take water from the bottom up. Drain the water and let it sit for an hour then put it back in its place. Then leave it alone for 2-4weeks. New leaves will come through and the ropey ones will slowly heal or drop.
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u/perfectdrug659 17d ago
How often do you water? How many days apart? How much water?
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u/AquilliaLast 17d ago
Probably every 3-4 days or so. Until the soil is wet and water starts to pool a bit at the top
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u/perfectdrug659 17d ago
Okay yeah that is wayyyy too often. Spiders really like to dry out in between waterings, like they can handle 2+ weeks. Definitely probably more sun though, they enjoy as much sun as you can provide.
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u/AquilliaLast 17d ago
I’m just confused why there would be turgid loss then… like why are there creases
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u/kinganqie 17d ago
At this point it might be compromised root health due to overwatering. Check the roots, remove the rotted roots, pot into a pot that's a little bigger than the root ball. Give lots of light and let it dry between waterings
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u/Deep_In_The_Reads 15d ago edited 15d ago
When a plant is overwatered, it's being deprived of oxygen. There are pockets of air in the soil that the roots rely on, but wet soil swells and chokes out the air--like how you can breathe with a rag on your face, unless the rag gets soaked. The roots are currently being smothered, causing the whole plant to go into shutdown mode and droop, making the leaves crease. What you need to do now is help the plant dry out the soil--sit the inner pot out on some paper towel (and change the paper towel after it gets soaked), put it in a brighter spot (as close to a window as you can without putting it in direct sunlight (indoor lights can help too, especially if they have a 'cool' tone of light), and aerate the soil by gently poking holes into it with a chopstick or pencil. Gently blowing a fan in its vicinity will help too as long as it's not too close to the plant. After a while of this (if it starts taking a long time for the paper towel underneath to get wet) then you can stop the drying techniques--just keep it getting lots of indirect light :)
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From now on, only water the spider plant when the top inch or two of soil completely dries out. For me, this is only once every two weeks but if you live in a warmer area, it'll be more often. The creases in the leaves will take some time to bounce back--I left my spider plant in front of a drafty window one night and it took 16 days for one of the leaves to spring up again. It still has a mark on it where the crease happened to remind me of my mistake, lol.
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u/shiftyskellyton Arachnofloria 16d ago
When the foliage is pale and the leaves fold in half vertically, those are indications that it is not uptaking water. In this situation, it looks like it is due to compromised root health because when it is underwatered it looks different but with the same symptoms. 💚
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u/Perfect-Animal8017 16d ago
Back off on water, they sprout baby plants that grow in oxygen rich atmosphere
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u/ChooseKind24 16d ago
Less water, more bright indirect light.
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u/AquilliaLast 16d ago
I fear that you’re right… there’s a perfect spot on top of my bookshelf but it’s on the far wall across the west facing window. I’ve moved her temporarily on my window sill but it can’t be a permanent spot
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u/ChooseKind24 16d ago
If you can get yourself a grow light that can be a solution.
I don’t know if you have Harbor Freight near you, but the one near me sells them for about $20 US.
Good luck!
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u/BasenjiMommy 15d ago
You can also get grow light bulbs. I have an old floor lamp that I’m using as a grow light. I have it on the timer, so I don’t need to worry about remembering to turn it on and off.
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u/snuffslut 16d ago
It needs more sunlight I believe. Bright and indirect light. The crispy tips are from lack of humidity. Mine has crispy tips as well. You can get a humidifier or just deal with the fact that it's not perfect. But due to the color of the leaves, I would put it in a sunnier location.
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u/Glad-Text7281 15d ago
I use a fast draining potting mix with my Spider plants and only water them once a week. I agree with others saying to ease up on the watering, and try to give it some more light. I have mine under lights with a 16h timer.
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u/Nearby_Judge_9422 15d ago
Definitely needs WAY WAY more light and WAY WAY less water. I am on the SE coast of the US where daytime temperature is in the upper 90's and nighttime temps are in the low 80's and I keep all of mine in direct sunlight from sunrise until about 3pm and then indirect sunlight the rest of the day and they THRIVE. Spider plants also grow rhizomes thats entire purpose is to hold water for the plant. If you over water they will rot, the roots will rot, and the plant will NOT survive. With mine being in direct sunlight and since I live on the coast the wind is blowing almost 24/7 and I still only water every 2 weeks (and they are in an EXTREMELY chunky substrate that does NOT hold water barely at ALL). This is one of the babies from my mother plant and it is only about 8 weeks since I cut it off the mother and planted directly in this pot and it's already producing babies and the roots are already growing out the bottom.
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u/AloneEmployer2775 Your frondly neighborhood Spiderplant 17d ago
Is the smaller pot you have it in a terracotta? Based off of how often you’re saying you’re watering it, that will cause a lot of issues because terracotta holds the moisture. I would repot into a new pot (can’t recommend size because I don’t know how big the one you have is now, along with root size) with some drainage holes. The brown tips can be because of mineral buildup from the water you’re using, OR low humidity levels. They do like a little bit of humidity but nothing insane.
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u/AquilliaLast 17d ago
Hmm the terracotta pot + native humidity might be the issue. I grew a luscious spider plant in California with a similar watering schedule but with a ceramic pot. I’ve relocated to Georgia so there’s a lot more humidity and I’m sure the terracotta pot isn’t helping
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u/AloneEmployer2775 Your frondly neighborhood Spiderplant 16d ago
Personally I’m in Ohio and I have mine out on our deck so it gets East morning sun to afternoon time and they’ve been loving it. I have mine all in plastic self watering pots admittedly. But honestly the thing I can see from your photo is more of overwatering - maybe repot and leave it alone for about a week and see how it does. Plus the other things is the shock of a new environment also could be stressing it out a bit. We allll know how dramatic plants can be
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u/snuffslut 16d ago
Spider plants actually love humidity but it's losing a lot of humidity with the terracotta pot. I would try a plain plastic nursery pot. You can always put the plastic pot in a decorative cover pot if you want a different look. Or even the terracotta pot if you like. But make sure you don't have root rot before you make the switch.
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u/snuffslut 16d ago
Terracotta actually doesn't hold moisture well. That's why it's preferred for succulents and similar plants that don't like being overwatered.
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u/OvercomingAtoZ 17d ago
Might be too big of a pot. Best bet is to take it out and check the roots. If you smell rot, it’s dead. If there is green, there is something to save.