How to propagate your baby spider plants with ease

Spider plants! Dealing with the babies off these plants is part of the origin story of Seeds & Saplings. Like, what am I going to do? Leave the baby plants to die on the vine? Cut them off and throw them away?! No! But now I've got all these plants taking up space so I guess I have to start selling them. Anyway. It's an inevitable side effect of these easy-to-care for luscious green plants, so if you can't get to the Barras Market to drop them off to me (Spider Baby Adoption Society, I'll take any you can't look after) or want to do it yourself, here's what equipment you need and what you need to do. 

Clear plastic cups or small (6cm nursery pots) 

I've used both before with no issues. The cups are handy as they can be picked up from any supermarket, usually recyclable and are see through to check the progress on the roots. But the pots are handy as that size is usually perfect for them in their infancy stage. It's just about what you have available. These hold your rooting medium.

Now, the rooting medium. My preference has always been to use the moss. Is that just habit? Probably, but here are my reasons: It's easier to remove the spider plants from the moss and check the roots, which is handy if you're uncertain how things are going. And it means when it comes time to put them into pots, you have more control over placing the roots. Plus it will hold more moisture than soil and leave more space for the roots to wiggle out. But I have used soil more often recently, and it has worked well. The trick is just to mist the box (more on that) and the plants more often. 

I use boxes from Very Useful Box, but the trick is to use a clear box which has locking handles. This keeps the temperature stable and more importantly, the humidity level high. With no roots, the baby spider plants could dry out and die really quickly before they have a chance to root. You don't have to use a box this large, and you could re-use a box that has a tight enough seal from something else. 

Scissors, some time and a sunny spot in your house, and away we go!

Once your spider plant babies get to this size, it is time to take them off. Don't rush them off, let them grow to a decent enough size that you can see them surviving on their own. Too small and they won't be able to absorb enough light. 

Snip the babies off, fully remove any woody green stems. It's not necessary and only adds risk of it going brown and introducing rotten plant into your cuttings. If any leaves are facing the wrong direction and would stop you planting it, feel free to remove them. Now is your chance to neaten them up.  

Pack the medium into the pot. With whatever you use the key is to pack it in tightly enough to be able to hold the plant upright, but not so tight that the roots can't wiggle their way out and grow. This is less of an issue with moss, but it never hurts to be careful. Make a hole in the middle with your fingertip, place the baby in and then gently pack around the edges. It should stand up on its own. 

So let's talk about the propagation box. I have a layer of perlite at the bottom. This is a big box so it helps add stability, absorbs extra moisture and then releases it back into the box. But I just line them up in here and then mist. I open the box once a week and mist again. Keep it in a warm, sunny spot and you'll have baby spiders to plant out in no time.