How To Propagate Spider Plants

A reader on my Facebook page recently asked me to write a post about how to propagate spider plants. Great topic idea!

Spider plant with babies

Well, the good news is that spider plants are one of the easiest types of houseplants to propagate.

It's so easy that soon, you'll have tons of new spider plants.

Spider plants usually flower in the summer, and new offshoots (called babies or plantlets) grow out of those flowers.

There are several ways to propagate spider plants, the most common is by rooting the babies, and growing them as new plants.

I recommend waiting until the babies have begin growing starter root formations of their own before attempting to root them.

If the spider plant baby doesn't have any signs of starter roots, or only has tiny nubs, it probably won't root.

Baby spider with some roots (still attached to mother plant)

Once you determine a plantlet is ready to be rooted, you can remove it from the mother by cutting it off.


Sometimes the babies will come off easily when you disturb them.



The easiest way to root spider plant babies is by putting them in water until new root shoots pop out.

Before you put them in water, cut or pinch off any foliage that is growing at the base of the baby, or growing under the roots. Any foliage that is submerged under the water will rot.

I like using a deep clear vase to root my spider plant babies. Only fill the vase enough to cover the roots of the baby plant. If the plantlet sits in water that's too deep, it will rot. Using a tall vase keeps the plantlets upright and helps hold the foliage out of the water.

Rooting spider plant babies in water

Two weeks after I put the above plantlets in water, they had new roots shooting out. Allow the babies to grow several new roots before transplanting into dirt. This plantlet is ready to be planted into a new pot.

Healthy new roots growing on baby spider plant

After planting the rooted baby into it's own pot, water it well, allowing the excess water to drain out the bottom of the pot. Keep the soil evenly moist until the plant has become established in its new pot. You may also want to mist it daily, or keep it in a humid room (like a bathroom or kitchen) during this time.

Rooted spider plantet potted into its own pot

Once you see new growth, that means the plant is established and you can stop babying it.

In addition to rooting in water, there are a couple other methods you could use to propagate a spider plant.

Propagation box or mini greenhouse -  Spider plant babies are pretty easy to root in a light rooting mix or potting soil. The key to getting them to root directly in soil is keeping the air around the plantlet very humid, which can be difficult in an average home. The easiest way to do this is by using a propagation box.You could also create a mini greenhouse by covering the plantlet and dirt with a plastic bag.

Root babies in dirt while still attached to mother plant - Simply put a pot of dirt next to the mother plant, and stick the starter roots of the baby into the dirt. Keeping the plantlets attached to the mother plant makes rooting them in dirt a bit easier, but you still need to keep the air around the baby humid enough to encourage it to grow its own roots.

Root division of mother plant - If your spider plant doesn't have many babies, you can propagate the mother plant by diving the root ball. This can be difficult on a mature plant. Mature spider plants have a very dense root ball that will probably need to be cut with a sterile knife in order to split the plant.

Dense root ball of a mature spider plant

Thanks for the topic suggestion Trish! I hope this has answered all your questions.

I love getting suggestions from readers, so if you have a topic you'd like me to write about please let me know.