I have many spider plants. They are a favorite for hanging on my porch in the summertime. In the colder months of the year, according to Nasa’s Clean Air Study, they are one of the plants you can grow to remove toxins from indoor air.

I have always been entranced by the babies spider plants produce on the end of bouncy offshoots. Each one of these babies can become a new plant. Two of my large spiders are children of the original plant I purchased.

Over the course of the summer, I lost a portion of one of my spider plants. This loss left an empty space in the pot. No worries…I can easily fill in the plant with one of the babies. Because the plant is potbound with roots, I don’t want to dig into the soil and possibly cause damage. Instead I will bend one of the shoots upward and “peg in” a baby with a unbent paper clip.

In about six weeks, roots will have developed and anchored the young plant into the pot. I will be able to remove the paper clip and cut away the offshoot. Filling in the pot in this way will save the remaining plants from possible trauma.

Spider plants also propagate very easily in water. This is the best way to start a whole new pot of plants. Spider plants produce their classic cascade of baby offshoots when the plant is crowded and potbound. In the case of spider plants, you want to crowd them in. Happy planting! 🙂