Subject: Re: spiderplants

From: [email-masked] (Janet Malowany)
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 22:24:07 GMT

In a previous posting, Cogito cogito, ergo cogito sum. ([email-masked]) writes:
> I'm sure this isn't the right newsgroup but I can't find a better one for
> this question.  I got a variegated spiderplant 2 months back and lately
> it's been turning brown rather quickly.  Why?  Does it need brighter light?
> less light?  more water?  less water?  I've never cared for spider plants
> before and was under the assumption they were basically indestructible!
> Well, why doesn't *this* plant know that?!?!  =)
> 

Dennis,

	With my experiences with spider plants, I can say that spider
plants need bright, indirect light, and you only water when the soil is
dry.  Leaf tips often turn brown because humidity is too low; trim them to
keep the plant looking tidy.  I think somewhere I read that you should
give spider plants outdoor rain water, as water from the tap has something
that the spider plant doesn't like.  Sorry, I can't give many details, it
was a long time ago.

Hope this helps!

-Janet

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From: [email-masked] (Your Name Here)
Date: 28 Mar 1995 16:06:30 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Colleenmay) says:
>
>In article <1995Mar26.164903.42311@miavx1>, [email-masked] (Cogito cogito, ergo cogito sum.) says:
>>
>>--Dennis
>Hi Dennis:
>I'm a lousy and lazy indoor plant gardener--but--someone gave me a
>small spiderplant about 5 years ago and it's thriving on neglect
>and abuse.  I water it only when I remember, and when I have the energy
>to climb up to it.  It's massive now. I have it hanging in a bathroom
>under a northerly skylight.  When I do water it I end up saturating 
>it because I know it'll be a while til I do it again.  So it seems
>to like infrequent thorough water in an extremely humid place.
>(I'm in Vancouver B.C., and have never moved it outdoors.)  Good luck--
>they can be beautiful--and I hear beneficial to the enviro??
>
>Cheers...Colleen

2 Possibilities.  Check for Scale (little round crusted bugs). Scale love 
spider plants.  You can try leaving the water sitting out for a couple of days 
so that the chemicals will evaporate before you water the plant.  The 
chemicals can work their way to the ends of the leaves and turn the ends 
brown.  Like Dennis said, more plants die from too much attention then
not enough.

Good Luck!!! [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Laurie L. Robertson)
Date: 31 Mar 1995 19:37:40 -0500

I have a very durable spider plant which has experienced a number of oopses.
It summers outside in a bright, indirect light location which is how it    
probably has the reserves to survive my mistakes.

Yes, spider plants normally thrive on neglect but if something in their
environment is at the extremes (light, humidity, soil moisture) they will 
die back.  Here's what my plant has survived (I ommit how it indicated it
was unhappy because there are only two trends -- browning leaves/die back
and massive scale infestations).

When I first got the plant I overwintered it in my office which had a nice
eastern window, but was extremely dry.  It was unhappy.  The next summer I
overwintered it in a different, but drier office building.  Next year, I
placed it under a florescent light (which worked well until the scale moved
in).  This year, since I was in between jobs, it overwintered under a 
flourescent light with a pebble tray and it actually seems happy. 

So what can I deduce.  First, although spider plant can survive low-light
conditions, do try to keep the pests and humidity under control.  Second,
while low-light (flourescent or natural) will keep a spider plant alive
other stresses will still affect the plant.  Third, moderate artificial 
light (the incadescent is on a timer and only on 5 hours a day) combined
with adequate humidity is adequate.

Good luck.

Laurie
    [email-masked]