Skip to Content

How Often Should I Water My Spider Plant? Answered

Spider plants are great for adding texture and greenery and make a beautiful addition to any room in your home.  

Spider plants are relatively easy to care for, however, if you’re new to owning houseplants you might be curious to know: How often should I water my spider plant? Spider plants should be watered once weekly.

In this article, I will explore some key information about spider plants, including whether you should water your spider plant with distilled water and whether they like a lot of water. Keep reading to find out more.

Spider plants are extremely easy to grow and are, in my opinion, a perfect choice for someone who is new at being a plant parent.

Spider plants have a reputation for being impossible to kill, and while they don’t need much attention, no plant is invincible.

How often should I water my spider plant?

How Often Should I Water My Spider Plant?

Normally, spider plants are a relatively forgiving plant, but they can be prone to becoming waterlogged quite easily if you’re not careful. As a result, you should water your spider plants about once a week. 

You should make a schedule that you stick to to ensure that you remember when you last watered your spider plant. In addition to monitoring your plant, you should always do a soil test before you next water your spider plant. 

Simply test the soil by sticking your finger in your spider plant’s soil and assessing the moisture level. If the soil still feels wet, make sure that you wait a few days before watering it again.

Checking the soil every time you water it is a simple act that will help keep you from overwatering your plant.

Should I water my spider plant with distilled water?

Many people tend to exclusively water their spider plants with distilled water as a precaution, but the option is up to you.

This simply comes down to the fact that spider plants tend to be sensitive to chlorine and fluoride in some tap-water supplies.

These chemicals can sometimes cause leaf tips to turn brown. To prevent this from occurring you can try watering your spider plant with rainwater that you’ve collected or distilled water. This should help to prevent the browning.

However, this isn’t the only way to water your plant if distilled water is expensive or if you do not have access to rainwater.

Although your spider plant’s leaf tips might turn slightly brown, the plant can still continue to grow well.

While the tips might be slightly brown, it doesn’t mean that it is life-threatening and your plant can still do well without distilled water or rain water.

If your plant has lots of brown tips on its leaves if you usually use tap water to water it, you can use distilled water to help flush out the minerals and chemicals that are in your water supply.

Does spider plants like a lot of water?

Spider plants are susceptible to root rot if waterlogged, so you won’t need to water them too often.

Generally speaking, once or twice a week is sufficient enough, and you should always monitor when you last watered them to prevent overwatering them.

Generally speaking, you will need to plant your spider plant in a pot with drainage holes. Cover the drainage holes with broken pottery to keep the soil from washing out, and plant in standard potting soil. 

Before watering, check the soil of the plants to see if it’s dry. To do this, you should place your finger into the soil.

If it’s still moist, you should wait another day and repeat this until the soil is completely dry. If the soil is completely dry to the touch, then it’s time that you gave your plant some water.

Signs that your spider plant has been overwatered 

Wilting

If you know that you’ve recently watered your spider plant and its leaves are still wilting, then it’s a good sign that you’ve overwatered your plant.

As excess water fills up the soil, the roots become deprived of oxygen and root decay can occur. As a result, this hinders the  leaves’ effective intake of water, causing them to wilt.

Root rot 

When you overwater your spider plant, the waterlogged soil becomes a welcoming habitat for fungi and other pathogens that cause root decay.

To check for root rot, uproot your spider plant and check whether the roots are a greyish color and feel slimy. Another indication that your plant has root rot is that it also tends to have an unpleasant smell.

Leaf discoloration 

If your spider plant has been overwatered, a clear sign is your spider plant’s foliage changing from lush green to a pale green hue. As the discoloration worsens, the leaves will turn from pale green to yellow before turning brown.

Waterlogged soil 

If the soil on which your spider plant grows appears flooded, it’s because it can no longer hold any more water.

Soil that has poor drainage capabilities is more likely to cause spider plant overwatering, as it cannot drain moisture fast enough.

This is why having a pot with drainage holes is incredibly important for your spider plant to thrive, as your plant won’t be sitting in stagnant water. Waterlogged soil may also show signs of fungal growth, including mold and mildew.

Browning leaves 

If brown spots begin to appear on your spider plant, you’re most likely overwatering it. These unsightly spots start off as minute-sized specks before morphing into larger brown patches.

These leaves can eventually wilt and begin to fall off if you don’t rectify the issue.

In summary 

While spider plants are forgiving plants, they’re not impossible to kill. You will need to make sure that you are watering it around once a week, and always make sure that you do a soil test before you water it. 

Spider plants are susceptible to becoming waterlogged, so making sure that you check the moisture of the soil with your finger before you water them is fundamental to their survival.