How Do I Prevent My Spider Plant From Getting Too Big

Question

I’m giving giving away one of my spider plants because it has become much too big for the area it was in. Not just all the leaves, but the root ball as well. I have a few smaller ones that have now replaced it, but I’m wondering how to keep them from becoming too large as well. Someone suggested cutting off a lot of the root ball, which I did with the one in the picture, but it’s still pretty big, and it’s been struggling ever since I did that, so I don’t think that was a great idea.

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Answer 1

I do think keeping the rootball in check is a great idea. These plants are highly invasive. Though, nothing will control its size, you can slow it down. Keep the soil VERY dry. They like it mostly dry, and will NOT tolerate wet soils. Overly dry conditions will slow their growth, though. That container has a drip tray attached. What will end up happening is that water pools up at the bottom, and causes bacterial infections. This would explain the leaf tips doing that. Start over with babies once it gets too much to handle. They are, simply put, just highly invasive plants.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/spider-plant

The damage I see might be related to the type of container that it is in and water collecting at the bottom.