Why does my spider plant have variegated leaves turning plain green?

On a spider plant the white or cream stripe along the leaf narrows and fades, and the new leaves come out narrower and greener, drifting back towards plain green. The older leaves keep the stripe they were made with. The change is gradual, each leaf a little less marked than the last.

The most likely cause is too little light. The entry says bright indirect light keeps the stripe crisp, and that in a dim corner the plant survives but the variegation fades towards green. The Royal Horticultural Society says the same: spider plants tolerate dimmer spots, but growth slows and the variegation can fade. The white stripe is the last thing a plant can afford in a dim room, so it goes first.

To confirm it in a minute, stand where the plant stands at midday and look at the light. If it is more than a metre or two back from an east or west window, or beside a window that a tree or building has shaded, that is the cause. Compare the newest leaf with one made a year ago: the older one will carry more stripe.

Two other causes are worth ruling out. Heavy feeding pushes new growth towards green, and the change shows in new leaves, not the old ones. The entry asks for half strength monthly, and a plant fed more often than that is the suspect. Strong direct sun is the other: pale, washed out colour on the leaves that face the glass, with the leaves in the shade keeping their stripe. The RHS notes variegated spider plants can scorch in direct sun.

A leaf cannot change once it has been made, so the old leaves stay as they are and you judge the recovery by the new ones. After a move to brighter light, the next leaves should come with more stripe. In the growing season that takes a few weeks per leaf. In winter, when growth is slow, the change shows in spring.

What this plant wants

The fix

Move it nearer a window. The white stripe is the last thing the plant can afford in a dim room, so it goes first.

Read on

Why Variegated Plants Turn Green: Causes and Solutions

The same sign on any plant, with the causes in the order they are likely.

Spider plant care

Light, water, feeding, repotting and the rest of the entry.

Check it in the diagnoser

Opens with the plant, the part and the sign already chosen.