What To Do With Your Spider Plant In June To Turn It Into A Lush Statement Piece

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There's a reason spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are one of the best houseplants for beginners: They aren't too picky about light, watering, or food. They also grow quickly and often produce lots of little baby spider plants, perfect for potting up and giving away to friends. While they are an easy-going plant, they do need some attention and care, particularly as they gear up for the summer growing season. While you can start gearing up for summer in May, it's not too late to get started now. This June, give your spider plant some TLC and it'll repay you with lots of growth now and continue looking lush and healthy through the winter.

The specific areas to focus on with your spider plant in June are water, pot size, leaves, propagation, and pests. Think of it as giving your plant a glow-up so it can focus its energy on putting out new growth and build the stores needed to sustain that growth all year long. Before you do anything, though, check on the size of the plant's pot. If the roots are pushing up the sides, it's time to give it a new, bigger place to grow. Choose a terracotta pot with drainage holes that's just slightly bigger than the existing root ball, so the plant has some space, but not too much, to grow.

After a long, dry winter, what does your spider plant want? A nice, long drink of water. Water the plant so that the soil is evenly moist, but not saturated. While you can use tap water, doing so can make the leaves crispy (if that water is chlorinated or fluoridated), so your best bet is either distilled water or captured rain water. Speaking of crispy leaves, June is the ideal time to trim them away. Remove either the entire leaf or just the browned tip using a pair of clean garden scissors.

Now's also the time to give your spider plant a cleaning, removing any dust that may have collected over the winter and early spring months. Wipe the plant with a damp cloth, keeping an eye out for any pests, such as mealybugs or scale insects. If you spot any, ways to manage indoor plant pests include removing them by hand or giving the plant a spray with an organic pesticide, such as Bonide Captain Jack's neem oil.

In the spring, your spider plant produced little flowers. And from those flowers grow spider plant babies, sometimes called spiderettes or pups. To propagate spiderettes that have started to form roots, cut them off of the mother plant and set the root end in a small pot filled with container mix. You can also plant the little pups in the same pot as the mother plant, leaving them attached, which will make your original spider plant look extra lush. Alternatively, you can divide plants that have gotten too large, splitting off whole sections (roots and above ground) to replant immediately.