Plant of the Week
Spider Plant, Airplane Plant
Latin: Chlorophytum comosum
If you adhere to the Hindu notion that all life is a continuum
and that the most lowly bug could possibly be an ancestor reborn, then it seems
likely that Spider Plant was a cat in a previous life. They have nine lives and
when you leave them alone for a while in the dark they fool around and make
babies.
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is a member of the
lily family that produces a cluster of foot-long leaves from a crown of fleshy
roots. The Victorians called it "ribbon plant," because of its variegated
selections. The variegated sort called Vittatum, with a wide central band of
white down the center of the leaf, is most common. A variety called Variegatum
has a white band down the outer margin of the leaf. Gold variegated forms are
also available.
In summer, spider plant produces dime-sized, six-petaled white
flowers along sprawling, much-branched scapes that may reach 2 feet long. The
flowers are interesting but insignificant.
What makes spider plant unique, is its ability to produce
"spiders," or offsets, if you prefer the horticultural term. These ready-made
plants, complete with roots, form at the ends of the flower stem and assorted
branches.
These dangling plantlets give rise to the common name as they
hang below the parent plant like so many spiders suspended by a stout web. The
often heard name of Airplane Plant supposes that the plantlets look like
whirling propellers.
Spider plant is of South and West African origin and seems to
have been introduced into Europe by the end of the 18th century, most likely by
the intrepid plant explorer Carl Peter Thunberg(1743-1828). Thunberg, after whom
the flowering vine Thunbergia is named, was a student of Linnaeus who
traveled in South Africa during 1772 and ‘ 73 where he collected seeds, bulbs
and dried plant specimens for his botanical work. Capetown was a popular resting
place for ships heading home from China and passengers often took home souvenir
plants on their return voyage just as we take home trinkets from our travels.
Spider plant is first and foremost a hanging basket plant. It
became popular as such during the Victorian period when decorative foliage
plants adorned the parlor of all the finest homes. Flower scapes are produced in
the summer with plantlets forming on those stems as the days get shorter in the
fall. Of late, spider plant has enjoyed some use as a summer bedding plant where
it is used like an annual liriope for edging flower beds.
While spider plants are almost indestructible as a houseplant,
they sometimes look a bit tattered and torn. The most common problem is tip burn
on the leaves. This is caused by the accumulation of fluoride ions in the tissue
until it reaches toxic levels. Affected plants can be cleaned up by trimming the
burned tips off with scissors. Unless preventative steps are taken the problem
will return.
Plants of the lily family are especially sensitive to high fluoride levels
and often show this kind of tip dieback. The fluoride can come from low-grade
fertilizer, some vermiculite sources or tap water (for prevention of tooth
decay). To remedy the problem, repot the plants in fresh potting soil, fertilize
with a high grade liquid fertilizer and, if your community fluoridates its water
supply, collect some rain water for this plant.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
February 22, 2002
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