Tutorial Tuesday: How to Split and Repot a Spider Plant 8/03/2010

Having never owned a spider plant before, I used this eHow article to split and repot my spider plant. I had been eagerly awaiting little root systems to start branching out on the 'babies' and was so happy to see them appear this week!

Thinking all I had to do was break off a few babies and pot them, I was surprised to find through my online research that there is so much more to it than that.  Apparently, when a spider plant outgrows it's container or becomes 'root bound' with the roots forming a tight tangled mass, it will ensure survival by creating little replicas of itself (the babies). My plant abounded with babies when we brought it home from the store so it is past due for repotting!

Before repotting.

I have a terra cotta pot, so before anything else, it needed to be washed an soaked in water for an hour. Great tip from the article! I never would have known that.


Before washing.

I found these good sized pots at a landscaper's flea market booth selling these by the truckload. A great deal at 3 for $2!

Poor thing! It's almost all root and no soil.

A little section of a coffee filter to cover the hole in the terra cotta pot, letting the soil breathe and drain while keeping all of it in the pot.

I was repotting my new african violet as well, as you can tell by the pot on the right already equipped with my homemade drainage.



I ran out of potting soil mid procedure! What chagrin (alright, maybe it was more like panic) filled my green loving soul as I realized my newly split spider plants might die a horrible death. Then, my wonderful man rode his motorcycle to pick up some more potting soil. My hero!

One inch of potting soil on the bottom before adding the plant and filling the sides and surface with more soil.

After a thorough watering, here are my 'new' spider plants, looking much more comfortable in their spacious containers. I now have 5 total! Aren't plants amazing?

I was particularly proud of the blue baskets turned planters, which were a Dollar Tree find I was saving for a master bedroom project. Ah well. I was out of pots and my spider plants needed containers! I lined two baskets with spanish moss, which I use as a mulch on a few ever thirsty plants to hold in moisture. A layer of soil on the moss lining, followed by the plant, followed by more top soil and I had new containers. I truly hope the spider plants thrive in these baskets. I have no idea if they will. We'll see!



The rest of my repotted spider plants and my repotted African violets.

 I can't wait until my repotted plants have really begun to flourish. Once I'm certain they're doing well in their new containers, I will definitely be rotating them in the house and outdoors like the rest of my happy green things.



After all that, I just had to break off one of the many babies and put it in a glass of water to (hopefully) propagate. I've never done any of this so, even though I now have more than enough spider plants, I'm excited about trying this method of creating a brand new plant. All I have to do is make sure it doesn't run out of water. Easy, right? Oh, I really hope I don't kill it!

If all goes well, this little baby will start to sprout roots and keep growing without soil. Once a healthy root system is in place it will be ready to move into some soil in it's own container.



That's my latest contribution to creating little pockets of peaceful space in our new home. Is there something small like this that could make a big impact in the peaceful feel of your home? Take a little time to mark it off your list so you can start enjoying the benefits! I'm off to water my plants along with my little helper.

Who always pays attention to what he's doing :). Later, All!

I'm linking to: