Being a weird wanderer isn’t just about visiting haunted locales and offbeat museums. You also need an oddball home where you can rest your weary bones. And nothing says weird like a plant named after an arachnid. In our house, we are the caretakers of numerous spider plants, each one sprung from an original plant over twenty-five-years ago. It all started on the last day of eighth grade when my husband picked up a “baby” that had fallen off his teacher’s plant as she prepared to take it home for the summer. He asked her if she wanted it back, and when she said no, he asked if he could keep it. And for the past couple decades, he’s been learning about the inimitable spider plant ever since.
So for the green thumbs and black thumbs alike, here are five things you probably didn’t know about spider plants.
They’re non-toxic to pets. If you have cats or dogs, you’ll be happy to know the spider plant has been declared non-toxic by the ASPCA. That means unlike all those mums and jade plants and lilacs, this is one that won’t endanger your furry family members.
They have their own special day on the calendar. That’s right; even plants have holidays. Today–March 10th–belongs to the spider plant. It shares the occasion with Middle Name Pride Day. Because, really, why not?
They like the dark. Like any good denizen of the weird, spider plants prefer low light conditions. However, keep them away from the cold; they thrive in slightly more temperate environments.
They reproduce constantly. While most plants only bloom sporadically and boast a short lifespan, spider plants are remarkably good at surviving and growing offspring plants. From their individual tendrils, new plants emerge, and all you have to do is clip them away once they have roots and you’ve got a brand new spider plant.
The little spider plants are commonly referred to as babies. I didn’t just call my husband’s first spider plant a “baby” for nothing. That’s the name many gardening enthusiasts give to the new plants. Creepy, right? If that bothers you too much, you can always refer to them by the more official name of “plantlet”. But come on: a baby spider plant? That’s too wonderfully weird to resist.
Happy haunting, and happy gardening!