You might say that Spider Plants are the unsung superheroes of indoor plants. Superpowers include: staying alive despite the machinations of their would-be super-nemesis, Neglectful Plant Owner, and their trusty sidekick, The Housecat.
Not only do spider plants refuse to give up their compulsive habit of staying alive, they also spawn cascades of Tribble-like babies who will someday grow into neglected plants in office cubicles and bathrooms of their own.
This time last year, I’m not sure I’d ever even heard the term “propagating plants.” I must’ve known that somebody, somewhere did this on purpose. I think I assumed it involved a Mommy Plant and a Daddy Plant and something something Barry White music in the background.
As it turns out, it’s easier than you think to play God with plants. At least, that’s what I’m hoping, since I’m in the process of propagating Spider Plants for the VERY FIRST TIME (please be gentle with me, fronds….).
My friend Sarah has a spider plant that was a former denizen of her office, back in the Before Times when people went into multi-person offices often enough to keep plants alive. The plant had lots and lots of plant babies, so she gave me a bunch of them after giving the parent plant a “haircut.”
Having never propagated any plant, ever, I decided to have yet another Unscientific Scientific Experiment™. Some cuttings would be rooted in water for a few weeks before planting, while other cuttings will go straight into seeding soil.
For the ones going right into soil, I used some rooting hormone, which I guess is like steroids for plant cuttings. This prolly means the spider plants won’t qualify for the Olympics, but on the bright side, they’ll be welcome to play for the Mets.
To be all “science-y,” I even planted the water-rooting cuttings in Erlenmeyer flasks…except when I ran out, and used a shot glass from the Jacksonville, Florida airport for the last one. (For added authenticity, it even has some powder around the rim that it will undoubtedly say came from “a powdered donut,” which happens pretty often in Jacksonville…)
Will the Spider Plant save the day (by which I mean, manage to not-die)? Tune in next time to find out!
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