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Spider plant question

wild edgeswild edges The north west of south east WalesPosts: 3,942
in Plants
One of my spider plants (chlorophytum comosum) is prolifically making offsets at the moment but one of the offsets has now made its own offset. I've been searching but can't find any info on how long the chain will get. Do they just keep going until they find soil?


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  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 18,541
    I think so, as long as "mum" is well fed and watered.  I remember a huge one from office days, up on top of a big cuboard and reaching down almost to the floor.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • philippa smith2philippa smith2 Posts: 7,811
    They'll give up at some point but depending on how well the parent is doing, they can produce quite a long chain - 6 or more IME.  Quite often, they will produce several chains depending on the size of the original.  
    Lack of humidity as more are produced may mean the later ones aren't quite as good.
  • wild edgeswild edges The north west of south east WalesPosts: 3,942
    Ok that's interesting to know thanks. I've been trying to work out the best place to keep it where it has room to dangle away from toddlers. I keep them misted so humidity levels should be ok.
  • philippa smith2philippa smith2 Posts: 7,811
    Ah yes - forgot about the little people.  
    You don't have to leave them hanging down tho - if the parent ( the plant that is, not you ) is on a shelf, providing it's in reasonable light, you could train horizontally ?
    Doing it that way, you could also root them more easily and end up with millions of them :D  

  • wild edgeswild edges The north west of south east WalesPosts: 3,942
    A further question. One of my plants, a reverse variegated plant with white in the middle of the leaf, has just produced a load of seed heads. Has anyone had success with growing them from seed? I'm hoping to get a natural all-green plant if I do that as it might not carry the variegated gene from its parent plant.
  • philippa smith2philippa smith2 Posts: 7,811
    Never done them from seed but it's always worth a go.  Be interesting to know how they turn out.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Scariff, County Clare, IrelandPosts: 5,551
    I had a spider plant at work with one "pup" which had reverted to all green.  I grew it on - a really vigorous grower, but ideal as a bomb-proof plant for an office.
    "The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life."  Rabindranath Tagore
  • philippa smith2philippa smith2 Posts: 7,811
    I'm convinced no office is complete without either a Spider plant or a Rubber tree ;)
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 18,541
    35 years ago a colleague at work was diagnosed with rampant cancers.  He bequeathed me his baby ficus elastica and benjamina plants, recently bought for our shared office.  The spider plant we found already in the office has long since gone to the great compost heap but I still have the ficus plants.  They'll be needing new homes soon as they're getting a bit big despite judicious pruning...........

       
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • wild edgeswild edges The north west of south east WalesPosts: 3,942
    Well I read some advice on-line that the seeds don't store well and should be planted as fresh as possible so I potted them up today. I didn't want to dig out a propagator and we don't have an airing cupboard so they've had to go in the only consistantly warm place in the house; in with my lizard :# She doesn't seem hugely impressed and can be prone to digging so I've had to make sure they're wedged down and covered in tough plastic. Fingers crossed...


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