Spider plant leaves turning brown in the center

Question

My spider plant has a few leaves that are turning yellow and brown, but from the inside out. The tips are are fine but the leaves have brown stripes in the center. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

It sounds like the plant may have a fungus. I would recommend treating it with a fungicide, like neem oil. Also, make sure that you are not overwatering, as that can contribute to fungus problems.

Answer 2

A couple of questions to consider – how long have you had this plant? If you got it recently, it might have had an infection from the grower or retailer, and you should be able to get a replacement or refund.

Second, how much fertilizing have you done? If you have fertilized it a lot, it’s possible that it is suffering from salt burn, and needs to have the soil leached (run a lot of water through) and/or repot. Or, if you have not fertilized it and have had it a long time, it might be showing a mineral deficiency.

Answer 3

I got it a couple of weeks ago, and have done no fertilizing. It is so strange I have never seen it happen from the inside of the leaf out. The leaf gets weak and dies in the middle than slowly spreads to the rest of the leaf in a brown stripe.
The spider “babies” are still growing and the plant is still growing but the leaves are slowly dying.

Answer 4

Definitely, if you’ve only had it a couple of weeks, it needs to go back where it came from. It does sound like a fungus, and reputable stores and growers should appreciate the feedback.
Thought of one more question…did you repot it as soon as you got it home? Many people do so, although it’s completely unnecessary and possibly harmful. Anyway, if you did, possibly there was a fungus infection already in the soil you used. Even if you did repot it, I would advise returning the plant, because that shouldn’t happen.