Last updated on September 26th, 2022 at 01:02 pm
Spider plants reproduce when they produce little star-shaped, miniature plantlets, known as the babies of the spider plant. Mostly during summer, the spider plants produce flowers from where their babies mostly come.
Spider plants do not behave in completely different ways than other plants, and so, spider plants favor long days when they receive enough sunlight, and they also thrive in good weather.
Thus, it is most likely during this period that they will have babies. The two seasons during which spider plants grow best are summer and fall, which is usually when they reproduce. That is when they have babies.
Do All Spider Plants Have Babies?
As much as we would all love it for our spider plant to propagate, not all spider plants can or do have babies. Therefore, if your spider plant is not propagating, you should know that it is a very usual occurrence in spider plants. It is not unheard of!
Several factors prevent some spider plants from having babies, so if at any point you realize that your spider plants are not producing babies even when they should be, you may want to check for reasons.
That said, I’m going to make a simple list of some of the reasons which could be responsible for the inability of your spider plant to reproduce.
Spider Plants May Not Produce Plantlets Because They’ve Been Over-Fertilized
When too much fertilizer has been put on spider plants, they produce a lot of foliage instead of producing flowers. And the flowers are what later become the little spider plant babies, so since the plant does not flower because of the over fertilizer, the plant does not produce plantlets.
Another Thing is that the Plants Require 12 Hours of Total Darkness During the Nights for Atleast Three Weeks
The darkness has to be for a consecutive period and not on and off. If this requirement is not met, the spider plant will not propagate. If your spider plant is always left under the sun, then this could be the reason why it has not made little spider plant babies.
Another Reason Could Be that the Plant Itself is Not Mature
If the plant has not matured, it cannot produce babies. The spider plants flower upon maturity, and it is from the flowers that the little spider flowers emerge. Reaching maturity is important!
You Might also Want to Take a Look at the Size of Your Pot
It could be that the pot is too big and spacious, which means that all the energy is being redirected to growing roots rather than flowering. Afterall, babies do not come from the roots! So, you should try using a smaller pot next time.
Lack of Nutrients
If the spider plant is not producing, it could be because it receives too much shade during the day. Perhaps, there are no more nutrients in the soil, or the plant is undergoing drought stress from too little watering.
Additionally, spider plants prefer to be moist, and they can withstand dry conditions. Also, the high concentrations of fluoride and other chemicals in the water used for irrigating the plant may offend them. As such, it will be better if you use rainwater or distilled water to water your spider plant.
How Long Does It Take for Spider Plants to Reproduce?
Once the spider plant is in water, it usually takes about 7-10 days for the babies to take root. That does not mean that you have to plant the babies exclusively in water. You can plant them in the soil as well and still achieve a similar outcome. Although several gardeners have noticed that the babies develop roots faster if you propagate them in water.
Once the plant has taken root and has been rooted in the soil, the reproduction process starts between 1-2 years. That’s a lot faster than other house plants.
I should mention. However, that spider plants that are propagated in water are usually weaker than those propagated in soil. So if you want your plants to grow even faster, you’d be better off propagating the babies in soil and not water.
However, several factors contribute to the quick and healthy growth of spider plants. So while your plant is still developing, you should make sure that the following are in place:
- You should make sure your pot has a good drainage hole. In addition, you can check every once in a while to make sure the roots are not clogging the drainage hole.
- The plant should be in a good environment with excellent lighting, and it should be exposed to sufficient sunlight.
- Strong roots are key! If your plant does not take root well, it can simply die on you. So, you should make sure your plant is well-rooted before you transplant it; whether it was propagated in water or in soil.
- Is your spider plant getting enough air? In an ideal environment, the spider plant would be receiving as much air as possible.
If you can do some of these, you can expect your spider plant to start reproducing in very little time. Although there is an expected period of reproduction, the time is not water-tight.
In some circumstances, you may find that your spider plant will start growing new plantlets within just a year.
It all varies depending mostly on the environment, whether it receives enough water, sunlight, and nutrients.
All these will impact how well the plant grows and how long it will take the plants to develop spider plant babies.
Do Spider Plant Flowers Turn into Babies?
Spider plant babies or plantlets or spiderettes, as they’re sometimes called, are offshoots of the main spider plant. This means that they grow out of it, these offshoots come from the flowers that the spider plant produces in the summer, and when pollination does not occur during the summer, the babies then grow out of the flowers.
The spider plant produces tiny white flowers on long stems during the summer. The plant also produces baby spider plants called pups.
Once a spider plant flowers, the tiny white flowers are produced at the end of the plants’ stem. Once the flowering is done, more spider-shaped leaves are also produced at the end of the stem.
Furthermore, spider plants normally begin producing flowers in the spring as daylight increases. It’s these flowers that eventually develop into babies or spiderettes.
However, it is not only from the flowers that the plantlets can emerge. According to the North Carolina Extension, plantlets may also form at the nodes along the flower panicles.
Moving forward, it is important to know that not all spider plant flowers turn into plantlets or baby spider plants.
Some of the plants get pollinated, and once that happens, they do not produce plantlets. Instead, they produce a leathery three-angled capsule-like fruit that contains flat black seeds.
Yes, spider plants have seeds. And you can decide to preserve the seeds so you can make use of them if you ever decide to grow spider plants from seed.
Either you can choose to pollinate your spider plants by using your finger to spread pollen on the plants, or you can leave the spider plant outside. Leave the rest to the bees!
If you decide to do the pollination yourself, all you need to do is gently rub the inside of a flower with either your thumb and a cotton swab. Then you can gently spread the pollen around by using the same finger or swab to run the plants individually.
If pollination is successful, the moment the flowers dry up. They’ll fall off and leave behind the pollinated green spider plant seeds.
What I mean is when the spider plant flowers fall off, they will leave behind the seeds. Awesome, right? who could have thought that a houseplant will look so pretty and be so involved!
Remember the process; spider plant flowers sometimes produce baby plants through their seeds only after pollination.
Should I Cut the Babies Off my Spider Plants?
It is important to know that pruning spider plants keep them at a more manageable size. And the size is also more aesthetically appealing. Pruning also makes the plant more healthy and rejuvenates its vigor. So, you should trim and prune your spider plant if you desire to maintain the particular spider plant.
Furthermore, the more the spider plants keep producing babies, the more energy it requires because producing babies lessens most of the spider plants’ energy, so when the babies are not pruned, you should provide the plants with sufficient oxygen and fertilizer to keep producing.
On the other hand, you can choose to leave the babies on the spider plants, and they can, in turn, produce babies of their own. In most cases, however, it is preferable to cut the babies away from the main plant.
However, when cutting the babies away, you should be very careful of harming the plants and should take care where and how you cut them. Otherwise, you may end up with a dead plant on your hands.
- First of all, get a pair of shears and disinfect the shears.
- Remove the shoot with the sterile shears. Cut as close to the base of the mother plant as possible.
- Once you’ve removed the shoots, you can choose to propagate or even throw them away. Another option for you is to give them out as a present to friends and family.
Conclusion
Generally, spider plants have babies within a year or more of being planted. That is when they reproduce. Also, spider plants do better in spring and summer and that is when they flower and begin the process of reproduction.