What Causes the Tips of my Spider Plant to Turn Brown?

Too much fertilizer

• One potential reason for brown tips is fertilizer burn.This can occur if too much fertilizer is applied or if the water used for watering is high in soluble salts. If the rims of the pots have a beige or white crusty border, that is a sign of excess fertilizer.To be sure you are applying the right amount of fertilizer, pay close attention to the application rate on fertilizer bottles. Be sure you are using an indoor rate rather than the outdoor rate. Plants outdoors need higher amounts of fertilizer as they are growing at a faster rate. Most houseplants do not need much fertilizer at all. Cut back on fertilizer application during the winter months when the plants are not growing very much. Also, consider organic fertilizers that are slow release and do not contain high sodium levels.

Low Humidity

• Spider plants like a lot of humidity around them. If the air is dry, a daily mist of water will help. You can also place the pot on a saucer of pebbles with water that is wider than the pot by a few inches. As the water evaporates, the air around the plant will have higher humidity levels.

Dry Soil

• Although it is good to let the soil dry out in between watering, leaving them dry for too long can create stress, which will show up with brown tips and streaks along the leaves. Use a moisture meter to assess the moisture levels every few days. When the meter shows dry, it is time to water. Water thoroughly until the water drains out the drainage holes of the pot. However, if the water runs out immediately without being absorbed, that is a sign that the soil is actually too dry and compacted to absorb water. Soaking it in a bucket of water for a few minutes will expand the soil particles to accept water.

Too Much Sun

• The leaves will scorch if they get too much direct sun. They do best in bright indirect light and even are okay in low light levels.

Water Quality

• If none of the above remedies help, your tap water may have too much fluoride or other chemicals that the plant is sensitive to. Snip off all the damaged leaves, try watering with collected rainwater and monitor the plant to see if that resolves the issue. If that does solve the problem, you may want to consider a water quality test for your tap water to ascertain if any of the levels exceed recommended level and keep collecting rainwater!

Time to Divide?

• If your spider plant has been growing for awhile and is getting large and always needs water, it is probably root bound and should be repotted or divided. Remove it from the pot and examine the fleshy tuberous roots. If the root ball is mostly roots and little soil, cut the root ball in quarters with a sharp knife and place a single division back in a clean pot of the same size with fresh potting soil. Pot up the other divisions to make new plants for yourself or for friends.