Is your Spider plant getting too big?
Spider plant is known to do well if it gets the right conditions in your home garden.
But sometimes, it can also grow so big that it becomes quite a task to manage such a plant.
However, this doesn’t mean you should throw away this plant.
Instead, there are certain gardening techniques that you can use to keep growing the big Spider plant without any issues.
In today’s guide, let’s learn about these techniques and find out how you should go about reviving the plant.
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What To Do When Your Spider Plant Gets Too Big?
There are a couple of things you can do when the Spider plant grows too big.
First of all, you should think of pruning the plant, which will help it get back to a proper shape.
Once you accomplish this task, you need to follow the next step in this process.
And that is nothing but dividing the plant.
When you divide the mother plant from other plants, it automatically gives the main plant to thrive in available space.
Also, it will recover quickly from the pruning shock.
So, these are the two main things that can be done in order to maintain the overgrown Spider plant.
In case you don’t want to prune the entire plant, you should at least remove the runners that pop out from the center of the plant.
This way, the plant will still look tidy.
Note: If there are pups on the runners, you can remove them and plant them in new pots.
Do not discard these new pups, though!
Alright, now, let’s take a look at this process in more detail.
How To Revive Spider Plant That Gets Too Big
Here’s how you can revive the plant with simple methods –
1. Assess The Condition Of Your Spider Plant
Yes, this is the first thing you should do whenever you want to carry out such a task on your overgrown plant.
You need to ensure that there are no issues with the plant.
If the plant is under stress for some reason, you can postpone this task until it gets back to its normal state.
Similarly, you will have to look for any other fungus or pests-related issues.
If you encounter such problems, you will have to fix them before moving to the steps mentioned in this guide below.
2. Prune The Runners
As suggested above, you should remove the runners from the overgrown Spider plant.
The runners often fall over from all sides, especially if you have kept this plant in a hanging pot.
This gives it a look of a really big plant.
So, there is no better way than just to take them off the plant.
More importantly, it will also give your plant a chance to focus more on its own strength than providing resources to the runners and pups.
Now, if you don’t want to remove all of them, you can surely keep a couple of runners on the plant.
These runners will not put a lot of stress on the plant and will produce new pups in the future.
3. Prune The Damaged And Droopy Leaves
Now, let’s get to the main action!
When you feel the Spider plant is too big, you will have to prune the leaves that are not required by the plant at all.
Once you identify these leaves, you can just go ahead and prune them off.
Generally, the lower leaves will be pretty big and might hang outside the pot.
These are the leaves that you don’t want to see on the plant.
Do not remove the leaves that are at the center of the Spider plant, as these are the fresh leaves.
The new leaves are important for the overall growth of the plant.
Next, you should remove the ones that are looking pale and damaged.
These leaves do not work efficiently for the plant’s system, so there won’t be any problem removing them completely.
Overall, this is how you should plan for pruning the large Spider plant.
Important: Do not go harsh on the plant.
The plant needs leaves to produce its resources, so you should keep ample leaves on it.
4. Remove The Plant From The Container
When you are done with the pruning task, you should move to the next important step in this process.
It’s time to divide the plant!
For that, you will have to remove the plant from its planter.
So, remove it carefully.
If the plant is not coming out of the container easily, water it thoroughly.
This will make the soil turn moist and loose, which will help the plant to remove from the pot without much effort.
5. Separate The Pups From The Main Plant
Removed the plant from the planter?
Now, you should carefully remove the small plants from the mother plant.
When the plant gets bigger, it can make this task a little bit difficult.
So, be gentle on the plant and root system.
You can also prune some of the roots if the plant is rootbound.
6. Transplant The Spider Plant Into A New Pot
Once you have removed all the plants from the mother plant, you can put the main plant in a suitable pot.
Do not choose a small pot here because the plant will require a decently sized pot for its growth.
Add some fertilizers to the soil mix.
The fertilizers will enrich the soil with adequate nutrients that will fulfill the need of this plant for a long period.
7. Transplant The Pups In Different Pots
Similar to the mother Spider plant, you should place the small plants into new pots.
Depending on their sizes, you can either put multiple plants in one pot or use a single pot for each plant.
That’s entirely up to you.
However, do not add fertilizers to these plants if they are too young.
Let them grow in these conditions for a few weeks.
Once they get used to the conditions and environment, you can fertilize them accordingly.
8. Water The Plants Well
Since you have transplanted the plants to new pots, you will have to water the plants well.
If you haven’t changed the soil and the soil is moist, you shouldn’t water them at this stage.
You can wait for a few days to see how the plant does well in the moist soil.
After a week or so, you can water these plants properly.
Moreover, you should keep these plants in a sunny place.
This plant does need sufficient sunlight to do well, so make sure you provide such conditions to your Spider plants.
Alright, now, these are the steps that you need to follow when your Spider plant gets too big.
As you can see, pruning is key here.
If you do it correctly, you won’t have any issues with the overgrown plant.
Meanwhile, I have shared some FAQs in the following section.
Do check them out if you have any related queries in your mind.
FAQs
The Spider plant can get big if it gets the right condition in the pot and surroundings.
Both these elements are essential for any Spider plant’s growth.
So, if you see your plant is overgrowing, it’s likely because of the perfect conditions and the care you provide to the plant.
Yes, the Spider plants can get big if they get the desired conditions and nutrients from the soil.
Yes, you can keep the Spider plant small.
It needs to be placed in a small pot so that it doesn’t grow too much in a limited space.
You should also keep it in a partial shade, which will help prevent excess growth in the plant.
No, the Spider plant cannot live in low light.
This plant is quite sensitive to light issues.
If you keep it in low light, the plant will face difficulties producing food for its growth.
Eventually, the leaves will just fall over, and you will have to replace the plant with a new one.
Therefore, it’s not a great idea to keep this plant in such a place.
Yes, the Spider plants do like to be rootbound, but you shouldn’t wait till they get rootbound in the pot.
You should transplant them to a new pot as soon as the growth decreases.
Over To You
Keeping your Spider plant’s growth in control can be a challenging task, and sometimes, the plant does get bigger than what you’d expect from it.
Although it’s a great sign that the plant is doing so well, you should not let it go out of hand.
You will have to intervene at some point.
For that, you will have to prune and divide the plant.
So, use the suggestions and tips shared in the guide above and try to manage the plant as much as possible.
If you come across any difficulties or have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.
Do share this guide with your friends and family if you found this guide helpful.
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