Spider plants can be a bit picky about the humidity they live in. Whenever I look at my spider plants sitting in my living room window, I know they live in whatever humidity they grow best in.
These beautiful, lush plants can be a low maintenance addition to any home. But how do you know if the humidity around the spider plants is sufficient? Keep reading to find out!
Spider plants love moisture. Although these plants can tolerate low humidity, they do best in a pleasant, humid environment. Dry air causes spider plant leaves to turn brown. An occasional light mist will keep the air around the spider plants moist enough for beautiful, lush plants to grow.
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How Much Humidity Do Spider Plants Need?
Spider plants do well in low humidity conditions, but thrive in higher humidity conditions. Ideally, keep the humidity around the plants between 40% and 60%.
Most houses are around 30-40%, and that can be fine, but keep an eye on your plants. They may not thrive in this lower range and will be slow growing.
If the humidity in your home drops below 30%, you will see signs that your plants are drying out.
How does humidity affect spider plants?
Essentially, humidity is what helps a plant “breathe”. Plant leaves have small openings called stomata. During photosynthesis, the stomata open and close to let carbon dioxide in and oxygen out.
When the air is dry and low humidity, this air exchange quickly absorbs moisture from plants and dries them out. With high humidity, the water in the air prevents plant tissues from losing too much water.
Like most plants, with the right humidity they will quickly grow into healthy, lush plants. However, if you have humidity issues, your humidity is more likely to be too low than too high. Fortunately, there are very clear signs when your spider plant needs more (or less) moisture.
If the air is too dry or not very humid, in other words, the tips of the leaves of the spider plant dry out and turn brown. There’s nothing you can do to save the leaves once they turn brown, so just pull them off. Don’t worry though, because the rest of your plant will still be fine.
It is very difficult to create an environment with too much humidity for a spider plant. If there is too much moisture, the spider plant will react in several ways.
Since high humidity would make it difficult for excess water to evaporate, the biggest threat is stress from excess water. Symptoms of too much water include:
- Rotten root.
- The leaves turn black.
- Increased risk of spreading diseases like powdery mildew.
Signs Your Spider Plants Need More Humidity
The easiest way to tell your spider plant needs more moisture is through the leaves. In a dry or low humidity environment, there are several ways to tell that the plant needs more humidity:
- The leaves dry up and turn brown. The brown tips take on an almost crispy texture. When this happens, you have no choice but to remove the dry leaves and replace them with new ones.
- As the leaves dry, they curl. It is most important at the end of the leaves.
- If the humidity is low due to excessive sunlight, the leaves will burn.
- If there is not enough water in the plant to support the plant tissues, the leaves will drop off and the plant will look wilted.
Signs Your Spider Plant Has Too Much Moisture
Spider plants are more sensitive to excess water than anything else. With high humidity, excess water will not be able to evaporate and will cause the same stress as excess water.
While it is commonly believed that plants need water, they also need air. Overwatered spider plants drown.
Ways you can tell your plant is experiencing excessive moisture include:
- The most common cause of water stress is leaf blackening.
- Excess water turns the plant into a breeding ground for fungal infections.
- Moisture promotes fungal growth in the soil or plant.
How to measure the hygrometry of your home?
There are several ways to measure the humidity in your home. The easiest method is to simply purchase a moisture meter, also known as a hygrometer.
A basic hygrometer can be found at most hardware stores or anywhere that sells plant supplies at a fairly low price.
If you don’t have a hygrometer handy and still want to test for humidity, there is a method known as the ice cube method.
- Put four or five ice cubes in a glass of water and leave the glass in the room where you want to test the humidity.
- Walk away for five to ten minutes.
- Touch the glass when you return. If there is little condensation, the humidity in that room is too low. If there is too much condensation, the humidity is quite high.
Use a moisture meter
A moisture meter is very easy to use and a powerful tool for creating the perfect environment for your plants.
Simple electronic hygrometers have a small display that at least shows you the humidity and temperature. More complicated hygrometers will display a variety of other measurements, including a humidity range or comfort level.
An electric hygrometer does all the work for you. When first installed, it is generally recommended to hold the hygrometer about one meter above the ground, for example on a table or shelf. Let the hygrometer run for at least three minutes before trying to take a reading.
The meter needs this time to correctly detect the temperature in the room and calculate the humidity.
It is important to note that there will be different levels of humidity even in the same room. For a really accurate reading, consider measuring the humidity in different places in the room and taking the average of those readings.
Spider plants help with high humidity.
Although exposing a spider plant to excessive moisture is difficult, it is not impossible. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to help your spider plants if they find themselves in this situation.
Avoid excessive watering
The best way to create an environment that is too humid for your spider plants is to overwater them. This problem only gets worse in high humidity if the excess water cannot evaporate. It’s best to let your spider plant dry out mostly between waterings.
Avoid watering the leaves.
Related to the previous point, be sure to add water directly to the soil instead of pouring water over the leaves of the spider plant. Excess water on the leaves creates the perfect environment for the development of fungal infections.
Improve air circulation
Adding something like a fan or opening a window can move air into a humid space and reduce humidity. This allows excess water from the plant to evaporate.
Place your spider plants near windows.
It’s no secret that plants love the sun. Placing plants near a window will not only give them plenty of sun, but the heat can help dry out excess moisture.
A word of warning, though, spider plant leaves will burn too much sun. If you notice this happening, remove the burnt leaves and move the spider plant a bit away from the window.
grow lights
If you don’t have access to good sunlight, a grow light can be a great alternative. However, be careful when choosing a grow light.
Spider plant leaves will burn too much direct sunlight, so you may want to use a lower intensity grow light or not place the spider plant directly below it.
Use the right type of flooring
Different plants have different soil requirements. Spider plants do well in general potting soil. This type of soil retains the water the plant needs and allows the excess to drain off.
Use the right jar
Whatever pot you choose for your spider plant, there must be good bottom drainage to prevent excess water from pooling around the roots.
Also, spider plants grow very quickly in the right environment and if care is not taken, their roots can get stuck.
Methods to improve humidity
There are several ways to improve the humidity around your spider plant so that it doesn’t get too dry.
misting
Often a spider plant only needs a simple mist of water to bring the humidity up to the required level. But there is a risk of fogging the leaves, it attracts mold growth when the temperature is high.
group plants
Keeping multiple plants together instead of having a single spider plant reduces the amount of water that evaporates.
Think of the coolness of a forest compared to a single tree in an empty field. Together, the grouping of plants creates an artificial microclimate.
Since photosynthesis naturally releases water into the air, plants together will increase the shared humidity around them.
gravel buckets
Pebble or gravel cubes are a crude way to increase humidity. It’s just a shallow reservoir filled with gravel or pebbles and water.
The spider plant pot can be placed just above the pebbles, and as the water evaporates, the plant will benefit from the extra moisture in the air. It can also be used as a drip tray when watering your spider plant.
humidifier
If you need a lot of extra humidity, a humidifier is the right choice. Simply put, a humidifier adds moisture to the air.
indoor greenhouse
There are several types of indoor greenhouses, but most of them are covered with shelves and surrounded by transparent walls. The shelves themselves can be made of wood, plastic or metal.
The awning can be a plastic tent or have glass sides. An indoor greenhouse can create an environment that traps warm, humid air inside. This, combined with something like a gravel pit, can create a rainforest-like environment.
final thoughts
Humidity is an important factor in the health of your plants. Fortunately, this is an easily manageable factor when it comes to spider plants.
With a moisture meter, you can monitor the environment your spider plants live in to ensure they are living their happiest, healthiest lives.
The main point to remember is that your spider plants should not be kept in low humidity conditions. Keep the air nice and moist for them and they will thrive.
Depending on your home, no set method may work for you. You need to experiment with your spider plants and find a way to provide them with the best humidity in your home.