Does your once charming spider plant look worse for wear? Do not worry! I have grown spider plants for many years and during this time I have encountered every problem first hand that I talk about in this article.
My first woe was with the tips of the leaves turning brown. I learned that spider plants don’t tolerate fluoride in the water well, and with just a little adjustment to the watering practices, I was able to revive my dying spider plant.
In this article, I share with you all the tips, tricks, and secrets that I learned from hands-on experience as well as research and conversations I have had with some specialist growers that cultivate spider plants for sale to garden centers in a step-by-step guide so you can identify whats causing your spider plants to die back and how you can revive it.
Let’s get right into it!
Most often, a dying spider plant is caused by root rot caused by overwatering, which causes the plant to droop and turn yellow with a dying appearance. Spider plants can also die back due to excess fertilizer, underwatering, and low humidity, which causes brown leaf tips.
My method for reviving a dying spider plant is to water correctly, allowing the top 2 inches of the soil to dry out between bouts of watering, maintaining the optimal temperature for growth, locating the spider plant in bright indirect light, and recreating some of the conditions of its native environment.
Keep reading to learn why your spider plant is dying and how to solve it…
Why Your Spider Plant Leaves Has Brown Tips
- Symptoms: Spider plant leaves turn brown most often with brown tips at the end of the leaves that look dry.
- Causes: Very low humidity, under watering, over watering, excess wind or air flow from draughts or air conditioning, too much fertilizer, sunburn, cold temperatures, and fluoride in the water.
If we are going to save our spider plants, we need to know how they grow in the wild…
Spider plants are native to South Africa where they thrive in a warm tropical climate with relatively high humidity and moderate rainfall.
If you do not replicate these conditions when caring for spider plants, the leaf tips can turn brown and have an overall dying appearance…
Drought Stress is Causing Brown Leaf Tips (Diagnosing Thirsty Plants)
Spider plant leaves most often turn brown at the tips if they are suffering drought stress due to underwatering, low humidity, or air currents that sap moisture from the leaves quicker than the roots can uptake water.
I found this happened to my first spider plant due to the soil baking hard. My spider plant was too near a source of heat (a radiator), and the heat dried out the soil and sapped moisture from the leaves.
Our spider plants are adapted to tolerate some drought as they store water in their thick, fleshy roots and rhizomes, but I learned that they suffer brown tips if the soil has dried out completely.
Our spider plants grow in tropical areas of Africa, so the low humidity of our homes is contrary to their native environment and can also increase water loss from their leaves at a rate that causes stress resulting in brown leaf tips from dehydration.
I should also mention that air currents in our homes from air conditioning forced air, draughts, or convection currents from sources of heat can also exacerbate water loss from the leaves and be the cause of brown leaf tips.
My Method for Rejuvenating Brown Leaf Tips
- I spray the leaves with a mist of water to create a humid micro-climate around your spider plant. This helps to replicate the higher humidity conditions in the spider plant’s tropical range and reduces water loss from the leaves. I advise spraying the plant at least once per week or twice per week if you live in a climate with particularly low humidity.
- Water your spider plant more often. While spider plants can tolerate some drought, I find that the leaves can turn brown when the soil has dried out completely. The best practice is to water spider plants when the top inch of soil feels slightly moist to somewhat dry rather than when completely dried up. Typically, I have discovered that watering around once every 7-10 days is sufficient for spider plants, but this can vary according to climate and conditions, so always check how long it takes for the top inch of soil to feel somewhat dry to establish the appropriate watering schedule for your home.
- Water your spider plant with a generous soak. If you water too lightly, it only moistens the top inch or so of the soil, and the moisture does not infiltrate the soil and reach the roots, causing the tip of the leaves to turn brown from drought stress. I always water with a good soak so that excess water escapes through the drainage holes. This ensures the soil is evenly moist so that the roots can uptake the moisture they require.
- Locate the spider plant in a room without significant draughts and avoid the direct flow of air conditioning and forced air. Too much air flow saps moisture from the leaves. Spider plants prefer a more humid environment.
Pro tip: When I lived in a really low-humidity climate, I found that misting the spider plant leaves was not enough to stave off brown leaf tips in the summer. What worked for me was to move my spider plant to my bathroom which is naturally much higher in humidity.
If the cause of the spider plant’s brown leaf tips is drought stress then the plant should show signs of recovery after a few cycles of watering in the following weeks. I found once I figured how to water my spider plant properly the leaf ends stopped turning brown.
I did my research and actually spoke to a specialist grower at a garden center who told me that the brown ends to not turn green again so all you need to do is to to prune the brown ends of the leaves.
I like to cut mine back in a natural leaf shape. Like I said once I learned how to watering properly and how to effectively increase the humidity, my leaf tips stayed healthy!
(For more information read my article must know tips for watering spider plants).
Watering Problems: Why Floride Could be to blame for Brown Tips
This is another one I experienced myself. Spider plants are very sensitive to chemicals in household water, such as fluoride and chlorine. The tips of the leaves can turn brown and even die back in response to exposure to fluoride.
Therefore, I pivoted and started to use rainwater, that I collected from my garden. However when I lived in an apartment, rainwater was harder to come by. I didn’t want to have to collect water from the lake in the park either!
Pro tip: So I asked my local gardening guru, who recommended using filtered water, which worked great.
As before, I’m afraid that the tips of the brown leaves do not revive from fluoride or chemical sensitivity so to improve the appearance of your spider plant simply snip off the tips of the leaves with a sterile pair of pruners and avoid watering with tap water.
My Spider plants grow relatively fast in Spring and Summer, and mine recovered fully in a few weeks.
Excess Fertilizer Results in Scorched Leaf Tips
Spider plants are not necessarily heavy feeders but do benefit from feeding in the Spring and Summer months. I learned that using a moderate amount of fertilizer money is also a great way to stimulate flowering and the development of spiderrettes for propagation.
From what I’ve seen, If fertilizer is applied too often, in too high a concentration, or during the Winter months when the plant is growing slowly (and therefore has a lower demand for nutrients), then the leaf tips turn brown and crispy as a sign of stress.
The advice that I received was that spider plants typically require a half-strength application of balanced, general house plant fertilizer once a month from Spring until the middle of Summer to stay healthy.
Ever since I’ve implemented this regime of fertilizer use, my spider plant has been healthy, and I’ve not had any problems with brown leaf tips.
From my research, I’ve learned that too much fertilizer causes a build of salts in the soil which makes it difficult for the roots to draw up moisture, hence why the spider plant looks as though it does not have enough water.
To revive spider plants with brown leaf tips due to too much fertilizer, the trick is to take the spider plant out of its pot and discard the surrounding soil from the pot.
Replace the soil (as it has accumulated too much salt) with new potting soil and repot the spider plant.
Give the plant a generous soak after replanting to help mitigate any transplant shock and dissolve any excess salts that are still present around the roots.
As I said before, snip them back with a sterile pair of pruners, which stimulates new growth.
Temperatures Higher than 80°F and Lower than 55°F causes Leaf Tips to Turn Brown
The optimal growing temperature for spider plants is between 65°F (18°C) and 75°F (23°C) during the day and warmer than 55°F (12°C) at night.
If the temperature is significantly colder than 55°F for a long time or exceeds 80°F (27°C) then the spider plant leaves show stress by turning brown or sometimes turning black (which happened to mine!).
Spider plants grow well at room temperature and require bright indirect light rather than direct sun, which generally keeps them in the optimal temperature range for growing.
Heres one to watch out for that got me when I first started growng spider plants. I found my brown tips were caused when the leaves of my spider plant were in contact with a cold window which could even be frosty in Winter, so I had to ensure the leaves are not in contact with my windows.
The solution is to cut away any brown and damaged leaf tips to stimulate new growth, and the plant should revive.
(Read my article, spider plant not growing and not producing babies?)
Leaves Turning Brown due to too Much Sun
So excess sunlight can contribute to the leaves turning brown, but typically I see brown streaks when the leaves of my plant have been scorched by the sun.
We have to think again about how our spider plants grow in the wild… our plants are adapted to growing in shady conditions under the cover of a tree canopy and can tolerate some dappled light but grow best in bright indirect light.
If the leaves are exposed to direct light, then this can cause the plant to dry out, which results in brown leaf tips, or it can cause sunburn, which can turn most of the leaf brown where it is exposed to the sun.
I have seen excess sun exposure can kill a spider plant so it is important to move it to shade as soon as you can.
The first step I would take is to give it a soak by placing it in a basin of lukewarm water, and by spraying the leaves with a mist, to help revive the spider plant as it is likely that the direct sun has caused some drought stress.
Unfortunately, from experience, l eaves that have turned brown due to sun burn do not turn back to green so my solution is to prune these individual leaves at the base of the plant to improve the appearance.
If most of the leaves suffer some sunburn then only prune away a few leaves at a time to prevent the plant from dying of shock. If you cut them all back then your plant could die.
From my conversation with readers of this website, I’ve found that sunburn happens most often when the spider plant is moved from an area of shade to a location with direct sun.
Whilst my spider plants can tolerate some direct sun when I live in a cooler climate, the contrast between shade and sun, if it is suddenly moved, increases the risk of sunburn.
My Tips for Creating Bright Indirect Light
I experimented with growing spider plants in different rooms in my house, and I found mine grew the best when it was in a South facing room but with a sheer curtain at the window which meant the room was very brightly lit, but the sheer curtain diffused the sunlight so that my plant didn’t burn.
If you have a bathroom with frosted glass, then this is also a great option. The natural humidity of the bathroom is great for spider plants and the frosted glass diffuses the light as with the sheer curtain.
Are The Leaves Turning Yellow and Drooping? (Overwatering)
- Symptoms. Leaves of the spider plant turn yellow with a drooping or dying appearance.
- Causes. Overwatering, slow draining soils or too much fertilizer, large pots that take a long time to dry out.
So we have to remember that our Spider plants are native to tropical areas of South Africa and have special adaptations to tolerate drought with thick roots and rhizomes that store water and nutrients.
Therefore, spider plants are more sensitive to the effects of over watering than under watering.
Typically, spider plants require the top inch of the soil to dry out between bouts of watering for the optimal balance of moisture. But this advice assumes the soil is draining properly…
One of my friends had a spider plant in a disproportionately large pot. The large pot obviously contained lots of soil and just dried out too slowly for the spider plant to tolerate, which I diagnosed as the cause of the yellowing leaves.
Spider plants prefer smaller pots and can thrive despite being root which can promote flowering.
If the spider plant is consistently overwatered it can develop root rot at which point it is very difficult to save and it is better to try to propagate and plantlets that may have formed as the main plant dies back.
Watch this YouTube video for how to propagate spider plants:
We also need to know that applying too much fertilizer too often can cause the leaves to droop and turn yellow as a sign of stress whilst the tips often also turn brown as a reaction.
Step-by-Step: How I Revive Drooping, Yellow Leaves
Sometimes the leaves of spider plants can start to turn yellow just as a sign of stress due to too much moisture around the roots but can recover if you scale back the watering appropriately.
With my friend’s spider plant that was potted in the larger pot, I just simply repotted it to a pot that was proportionate to the size of the plant with between 1-2 inches on either side of the root ball. The spider plant perked up after a few weeks.
I added some perlite to the potting mix (about 20%) to keep the soil aerated and improve the drainage.
However, if the roots have been in damp soil for a long time then the spider plant is likely to have root rot which can kill the plant.
How to Revive Spider plants with root rot…
- If you think the cause of yellow leaves is overwatering, take the spider plant out of the soil and inspect the roots. Healthy roots look white and feel nice and firm, whereas roots suffering root rot turn brown and mushy. If the roots appear to have root rot then cut any diseased-looking roots back to healthy growth. (If the roots all look white without looking discolored or feeling soft then just scale back the watering).
- I use a cloth soaked in alcohol disinfectant to wipe the pair of pruners between each cut to prevent the spreading of fungal disease pathogens to parts of healthy roots. Personally, I use hand getl for these purposes, which works well.
- Wash away the remaining soil and re-pot the spider plant in a new pot (or wash the original pot thoroughly with disinfectant) and use new potting soil as the old soil can harbor the fungal pathogens that cause root rot. I just run it under an outdoor tap as this method avoids damaging the roots, I use a chopstick to dislodge any stubborn bits of soil between the roots.
- Keep the soil evenly moist for the next four weeks, and mist the leaves regularly to mitigate transplant shock.
- Ensure that the pot has drainage holes in the base to allow excess water to escape, and if you are using saucers or trays underneath the pot to prevent water from spilling in the home, then empty the saucer or tray regularly so that the soil does not stay boggy.
The spider plant may not recover, particularly if the root rot is severe, but re-potting the plant gives it a chance to survive.
If you think too much fertilizer is the cause of your yellowing leaves…
- Stop using fertilizer until the plant recovers. Fertilizer should only be applied at half strength around once per month in the Spring and Summer during active growth.
- Water the soil thoroughly to try to dissolve any excess salts that can accumulate from the excess use of fertilizer. However, only water when the top two inches of the soil have dried, causing problems because of overwatering.
- If the spider plant does not start to show signs of recovery after 4 weeks, then replace the soil. It is possible that the accumulated salts in the soil (due to fertilizer) are still in too high a concentration, and the only effective method to revive the plant is to re-pot it with new potting soil.
If the spider plant shows signs of recovery but some individual leaves stay yellow, then trim the affected leaves back to the base of the plant.
Sometimes, spider plants turn yellow as a sign of stress due to a contrast in temperature, so ensure that the spider plant stays between 65°F (18°C) and 75°F (23°C) to allow the plant to recover.
For all the best practices, read my article, How to Grow and Care for Indoor Spider Plants).
Key Takeaways:
- A dying spider plant is usually caused by root rot caused by overwatering, which turns the leaves yellow and causes the spider plant to droop with a dying appearance. Low humidity and excess fertilizer can also cause the spider plant’s leaf tips to turn brown and die back.
- Due to drought stress, underwatering and low humidity cause leaf tips to turn brown. Mist the leaves and increase the watering.
- Temperatures higher than 80°F and lower than 55°F cause the spider plant’s leaf tips to turn brown and die back. The optimal growing temperature for a spider is between 65°F (18°C) and 75°F (23°C).
- To revive a dying spider plant, try to recreate some of the conditions of its native environment with moderate watering, higher humidity, and warm temperatures, and the spider plant can recover.
Should I cut the dry tips off?