The curly Spider plant, also known as Bonnie, is known for its curly leaves.
But sometimes, the plant does change its appearance a bit as its leaves begin to lose their curls. It’s an interesting phenomenon that can surprise you for sure.
So, what causes this plant to lose its curls? Is it possible to turn the leaves curly again?
In the following guide, let’s learn more about how you can deal with this unique issue.
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Why Is My Curly Spider Plant Losing Curls?
When you see your curly Spider plant is losing its curls, it’s likely because of the overwatering situation in the pot.
Generally, the common Spider plant (Vittatum) begins curling up due to several issues, but it’s not the same with the curly variety. The Bonnie Spider plant depicts a different behavior when it receives too much water or care in general.
In the next section, I have shared some tips to fix this problem in your plant. So, do check out the following section.
How To Stop Losing Curls On Your Curly Spider Plant
Now that you know what causes this problem in your plant, let’s see how you can tackle it.
1. Do Not Water Your Plant For Some Time
Since the loss of leaf curl is pretty much related to overwatering, you should act upon it accordingly.
Firstly, you should stop watering the plant immediately. If you continue to water your plant, it will cause a lot of other issues. This includes stem rot, root rot, and yellow leaves.
So, it doesn’t make sense to continue watering the plant at this stage. Now you may wonder what’s the right time to water plants.
Well, it entirely depends on the moisture content in the soil. If the plant is overwatered, it will take relatively more time for the soil to become dry again.
Again, it also depends on the weather conditions and drainage holes in the pot.
If the planter has well-draining soil along with the holes at the bottom, it can take up to a week or more to see the desired results. Hence, you will need to wait a bit before you can water the plant again.
For confirmation, you can also look at the topsoil in the pot. It will give you an idea as to when you need to water your Spider plant.
2. Move The Plant In A Bright Sunlight
As you know, natural light plays a crucial role in making food for the plant.
Often, we keep our indoor plants in a shaded place, as they don’t mind growing in low-light locations. But if your plant is showing some issues like losing a natural curly look, you should move it to a bright place in the room.
When you move the plant to such a place, it does two things for it.
- It speeds up the water evaporation process and keeps the soil dry for a long time.
- It provides enough natural light for the plant to grow in.
Both these things will help rejuvenate the plant. Of course, you shouldn’t expect quick results with this method because it might take a few weeks or a month to see any visible changes in the leaves.
Important: You should avoid putting the plant in direct sunlight. Even though the plant likes natural light, it won’t do well in harsh sunlight.
The leaves will get burnt, and it will cause irreversible damage to the plant. Ultimately, you will have to remove them from the plant.
3. Prune The Plant
Pruning may not help directly in getting back the curls on the leaves, but it will surely make the plant produce more leaves.
When you remove the old leaves, it puts the plant under stress. It can work great in your favor, especially when you see issues with the current leaves.
4. Neglect The Plant For A Few Weeks
Yes, don’t be surprised!
Many times when you look after the plant with appropriate care, it can act differently. It has been observed by many gardeners, and I’m sure you will notice the same thing with your plant.
When you don’t give too much attention to the plant, it puts the plant into survival mode. During this phase, the Spider plant focuses more on conserving energy than growing leaves and runners. In turn, the leaves get back to their previous curly appearance.
So, as you can see, if you want to fix this issue, you should ignore the plant for a few weeks.
Now, let’s have a look at the FAQs below.
FAQs
There could be several reasons why you get to see such an issue with your Spider plant. However, the most common reasons are underwatering and too much sunlight.
Both these things can make your plant weaker in the process. As a result, you will see the leaves changing their original shape.
Similarly, if the plant is experiencing some stress due to a pest attack or fungal attack, you may observe the same thing with the leaves. You will need to think about all these scenarios to get to the root of the problem. It will help in reviving the plant quickly.
You can fix the overwatering issue by reducing the water supply to the plant. The next thing you need to do here is to repot the plant.
The repotting method will allow the plant to grow in a better environment, as there is no point in growing it in wet soil.
Lastly, make sure you put it in a sunny location. It should receive an ample amount of indirect sunlight during the day.
So, try to work on these things, and you should be able to fix this problem in your Spider plant.
Yes, you can remove the brown tips from your plant.
Brown tips are not going to benefit the plant in any way, as they don’t contain chlorophyll. Therefore, you can certainly go ahead with the process.
But if you want to keep them as it is on the leaves, it won’t make any difference either. The plant will continue to do well as long as you take good care of it.
In this situation, there are a couple of you can do to continue growing the same plant.
First thing, you will have to prune the plant. It will help remove the unwanted leaves from it.
Besides, you will be able to maintain the plant with fewer leaves.
Now, the second thing is the repotting process. You should provide a bigger pot for the plant if it has overgrown in the existing pot. These two simple methods will help manage your big Spider plant.
You can water the Spider plant every 4-5 days. It’s an indoor plant, so it won’t need a lot of water.
During winter, you can reduce the watering frequency even further. This type of environment is generally not suitable for plant growth, and it will surely enter into a sort of hibernation state. So, do check the soil before watering the plant.
I have had my Bonnie Curly Spider plants for about two weeks, the leaves are slowly curling down, I only water it once, after I transplant the plant. I am still with holding water from the plant. It stills on my desk. And there is outside door bay that is open all day. I think it gets acquited lighting. After the plant gets real curly, and how long can I let it go that way before watering?
Hey Charlotte,
You don’t have to wait too long before watering your Bonnie Curly Spider plant.
Just water it when the leaves start to look wilted or droopy.
You can also water the plant if the soil is dry.
If you wait too long, the leaves will start to turn brown and crisp.
So, keep an eye on the plant and water it when necessary.