Growing spider plant babies?

Whenever I plant the babies of my "adult" spider plant, they always die. I've been reading about putting them in water to make the roots grow, and THEN planting them in soil... but is it possible to put them directly into a pot of soil to grow them? How far down into the soil should I plant them. It has no roots yet, so I had to put it about an inch into the soil so it wouldn't fall over.


Thanks! :)

Growing spider plant babies?
Overall, I almost always put the baby spider plants in a shallow plastic container of water for a few days before I plant them. Usually there are root nodules at the ends and they begin to elongate. I usually do a bunch of these babies at a time -- and I leave part of the stem from the mother plant on the babies.





When I do plant them, I do so in very small pots -- actually recycled plastic food containers and I make a hole in the bottom of the pot for drainage. (Use the plastic covers as saucers.) I use regular potting soil and usually put a few pieces of stone or more like broken styrofoam on the bottom of the pot for aeration and good drainage. I try not to plant them too deep but deep enough to be stable. And I keep them moist with good waterings regularly. I watch for upright plants sort of falling over to one side and either add a little soil or just press down a little to upright them again.





I tend to use water that has been allowed to sit around for a day after getting it out of the tap. And I have been known to use purified water to water my spiders.





I give these young plants a weak solution of Miracle Gro periodically, even in the wintertime.





When these young plants become root-bound, then transplant them into a slightly larger pot -- and you will get an immediate flush of new foliage growth. And once again, when replanting, water well.





Hope this helps.
Reply:Works for me to just put the babies in soil when the roots have started from the mother.
Reply:no you have to put them in water first.
Reply:You need to put them in water for a couple of weeks first. When you see some roots then you can plant them in some light potting compost.
Reply:Letting the plant establish roots by putting it in water for a few weeks has always helped my Mom transplant hers - she has oodles of them. On the other hand, I cant get one to grow for anything.
Reply:I have always put them in a glass of water for a few weeks until I saw the root systems had formed. They do not have roots to survive on their own so I imagine putting them in the soils will not work.
Reply:All I did was separate the babies from the momma plant, dip the teeny root ends in some rooting powder, then plant in a pot of gardening soil. They are absolutly thriving!!! Pick up some rooting powder. Its handy stuff.





I dont like to root things in water. Everytime I do that it tends to rot.
Reply:You should put them in water first until the roots grow. Alternatively, you can use a rooting hormone, available at nurseries and Lowes. This will enable you to put them directly into soil. If you have lots of "babies" and feel like experimenting (before buying the root hormone - it costs something like $10 for a vitamin-size bottle), you can plant them in high peet content soil, usually formulated/marketed for "seedlings".





An inch sounds like the right depth (you're right in that it should be the minumum amount, preventing falling over).
Reply:The trick is to leave it attached to the parent plant 'til the root system has established itself! Put your new pot of soil close to the parent plant's pot, close enough so you can put the baby, still attached to the parent, into the new pot. Weight it down with a small rock. Be sure to water the baby. After maybe three weeks, the root system should have grown well enough so you can cut the runner, but inspect it to see!

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