If you’re unsure how often to water spider plants then don’t worry, it can be difficult to know how often to water a spider plant as it can vary depending on the conditions in which it is grown in.
In my experience spider plants need to be watered when the top few inches of soil dry out. They will need more water during the warmer months of the year, and less in the colder months.
It’s crucial to water your spider plant properly or it can lead to several issues and even death in severe cases. Luckily, spider plants are easy to look after and will deal with less-than-ideal conditions quite well, but you can use the tips laid out below to ensure that you are watering them properly.
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Tips For Avoiding Watering Problems
Most watering issues stem from watering too frequently.
Over several years of owning spider plants, I’ve learnt a few easy tricks to prevent this.
Check The Soil Before Watering
You should always check the soil before you water any plant, and this is no different for spider plants.
Use your hand to check the top two to three inches of soil – if the soil is moist then you don’t need to water it, but if it is dry then you should water the soil.
This seems simple, but it’s surprising how often you’ll find yourself watering your plants on autopilot without checking the soil first.
Use The Right Type Of Soil
Using the right type of soil helps massively when it comes to watering, as the right soil will hold moisture whilst also being well-draining.
For spider plants, I recommend using loamy soil with a pH between 6 and 7. If you want to make your own mix you can use 2 parts sand or perlite, with 1 part peat moss and 1 part potting mix.
This will help excess water to drain out whilst the soil can retain enough moisture for the plant to grow properly.
Use A Well-Draining Pot
If you add too much water to your spider plant’s soil a well-draining pot will make sure that the excess can flow out of the pot rather than collect in the soil.
You can quickly check if your pot has good drainage by lifting up the plant and looking at the bottom. Ideally, you’ll want to see several drainage holes cut out in the bottom to allow for the excess water to flow out.
What Factors Affect How Often You Need To Water A Spider Plant?
Checking the soil is an easy way to know if you need to water your spider plant, but you might need to check it more often depending on a few factors that can increase the amount of water that a spider plant needs.
Sunlight
Spider plants prefer bright, indirect sunlight but can tolerate a few hours of direct sunlight per day.
Direct sunlight can actually dry the soil out quite quickly, which means that you’ll need to provide more water if you give your spider plant more time in direct sunlight. Be careful though, as spider plants will get sun scorched if placed in direct sunlight for too long.
Air Movement
Air movement around a spider plant increases transpiration. Transpiration is a term used for when plants lose water vapor through their surfaces (primarily stomata)
If there is more air movement around the plant, humid air is readily replaced with fresh air that is less humid. This causes the plant to transpire at a greater rate as the air around it contains less moisture.
This may seem like it doesn’t apply, but imagine areas of the house such as bathrooms or living rooms where you leave windows open through the day.
Is It Better To Overwater Or Underwater A Spider Plant?
Underwatering a spider plant is better than overwatering.
This is because overwatering a spider plant can lead to bacterial problems such as root rot, and it will also attract pests to the plant. Both of these issues can cause a spider plant to die, which is why I always advise watering less often than more often if you’re ever unsure about how much water a houseplant needs.
Overwatered Spider Plant Issues
Overwatered spider plants will show signs of overwatering within a few days to a week, and the most common of these are shown in the list below:
- Yellow Leaves
- Browning Leaves
- Saturated Soil
- Root Rot
- Pests
If you want to see a full list of overwatering issues for spider plants, check out this article.
Underwatered Spider Plant Issues
If you’ve underwatered a spider plant it usually isn’t a big deal, all you need to do is slowly water the soil more frequently over the course of a few weeks to get it nice and moist.
There are quite a few symptoms of underwatered spider plants which are easy to notice:
- Crispy Leaves
- Brown Leaf Edges
- Slow Growth