How to Propagate Spider Plants 1-2-3 [with Spider Plant Babies]

It’s really easy to propagate spider plants or even buy them. In addition to being a really simple process, spider plants are very forgiving. Therefore, they can usually sprout roots and grow into a full-grown plant without you having to be an expert gardener.

How to Propagate Spider Plants using Spider Plant Babies or Cuttings

This video below shows how to clip or pinch the baby spider plants from the “Mother”. Then, place them in soil to root.

As you’ll notice, the small plantlet in the video already had small starter roots. You don’t have to wait for these off-shoots to produce roots before separating them from the mother plant, though.

My Trick to Propagating Spider Plants Faster

In my many years of propagating spider plants, I have gotten quite lazy. I don’t always like to wait for the plantlets to develop roots before I cut them off the main plant.

Spider Plants in Shot Glasses

The trick is to place these babies into a small container of filtered water and let them sit for about 7 days.

If given adequate bright and indirect sunlight, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden, the spider plant baby should be plenty ready to move to soil. Usually a kitchen counter works fine.

You can always leave the plantlet in water for another few weeks. More roots will grow, simply making the young plant stronger. You don’t have to add fertilizer or rooting hormone to the water either. (Although I haven’t found it to hurt when I have tried it.)

Rooting Spider Plant Babies in Water

Here’s a demonstration of the water rooting method using a small container of water and a styrofoam tray with holes cut into it. I like how the tray floats, however, it is not necessary (see below).

 

For instance, I use a small 4″ x 4″ Tupperware container and fill the container with only about 1″-2″ of filtered water. I add water as needed. Maybe every other day or so.

How to Propagate Spider Plants in Tupperware Container

I place the off-shoots directly into the water, and the basically float on the top.

I’ve put 10-20 “spiderettes” (spider plant cuttings) in at one time (to be efficient, you know), and the crowded environment actually helps keep the plants in place.

The only thing to watch out for is if the roots get too long, they can get tangled with the roots of the other babies.

I May Be Lazy, but There’s Another Reason to Root Spider Plants in Water

When my spider plants start sending out out off-shoots, they go big. There is no shortage of spider plant babies. As the plantlets grow in size, I clip off the larger ones and place them in water. This lets the mother plant direct more energy toward the smaller babies still attached.

I find that when I do this, the mother plant looks healthier and so do the babies.

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