How often to water spider plant

The interval

A spider plant is watered about every 7 days in the growing season and about every 14 days in winter. The growing season is spring to early autumn wherever you live, so the northern and southern hemispheres sit on opposite halves of the calendar, and in the short days of winter the plant slows and the same pot takes about twice as long to dry. The Royal Horticultural Society advises watering slightly less often in winter, when growth slows.

Push a finger into the compost and water when the top 2 to 3 cm is dry. The RHS asks for compost kept just lightly moist to the touch, and it names the plant's own signal: when the leaves turn pale and dull, it usually needs more water, and it bounces back quickly after a thorough drink. Weight confirms the finger. Lift the pot after watering and again a few days later, and a pot that has gone noticeably light is ready.

Those thick white roots are a reservoir, so a missed week costs the plant very little and a wet fortnight costs it a great deal. An overwatered spider plant goes limp with the compost still damp, the roots turn soft and brown, and fungus gnats begin to rise from the pot. An underwatered one turns pale and dull and then browns at the tips.

Water from the top, slowly, until it runs from the drainage holes, then tip away what collects in the saucer. The tap is the one real difficulty for this plant. The RHS says the fluoride in tap water can brown the leaf tips, so use collected rainwater if possible. Standing tap water overnight lets the chlorine off but not the fluoride.

The thing particular to this plant is how little humidity it needs. The RHS says spider plants do not generally need high humidity, so misting them is not a substitute for watering properly, but very dry air can brown the tips, and the pot should be kept away from a radiator.

Related guides

How to tell whether a plant actually needs water

The finger, the weight, the leaf and the pot. Four ways to read a plant's thirst, and what overwatering actually is.

Rescuing an overwatered plant

How to tell overwatering from underwatering, how much root damage is recoverable, and the exact rescue steps once compost has stayed wet too long.

Watering through a southern winter

Winter in the southern hemisphere runs June to August, and houseplants drink far less then. How to read the soil, and why overwatering is the bigger risk.