Spider Plant Disease?

greenthumbomaha · December 18, 2018

I'm not big on houseplant care, but I did bring home a few off the TLC rack yesterday. I had concerns about the health of this spider plant, but gave in. It doesn't seem as it was ever overly wet, but I don't know enough to rule fungal disease in or out.
Research shows this plant is overly sensitive to Fluoride. I don't know if Lowes uses filtered water.
Does this look like a fungal problem?
It is isolated in my bathroom No insects are visible with a scope. Only a few leaves have this brown stripe down the center of the leaf.
Thanks for any help!

- Lisa

GrowingCoastal · December 20, 2018

As far as I know spider plants are unkillable. As long as it has adequate light I bet it will outgrow whatever affected it.

ContainerTed · December 20, 2018

I've rescued several of these and don't worry. Cut away all of the brown foliage and give it a very light dose of fertilizer. Water with rain water or even distilled if you still have concerns about the fluoride. I've always put regular tap water on great results.

Lowe's employees are not required to take a lot of care of the plants they sell. For a long time, it was hard to get them to even water them.

Put your plant(s) into a sunny window or add some lighting this time of year. They need time to recover from the stress that put them on the cheap shelf. Then after a couple of weeks of plenty of nutrients and adequate watering, you can make sure they get some sunlight each day. By springtime, you may see some new growth that may resemble a strawberry leader reaching out. When it seems to terminate in a new plant, get the roots of that new growth into some soil and it will become a new plant. After a while, it will begin sending out leaders and you can cut the first one. As you can see, propagation is as simple as making new strawberry plants by growing the runners.

Easy/Schmeasy. Hit me with any other questions.

Worth1 · December 20, 2018

I had one growing in the fork of a tree for years.

SpookyShoe · December 20, 2018

They are invasive here. Give it plenty of light for indoor growth. I agree they are hard to kill. Elephant ears are invasive too.

Donna, Texas Gulf Coast

July 17, 2019

I think those leaves are just dying. I don't think it's a disease. I wouldn't worry about it. It's possible that it was underwatered a while back and is just showing it now.

greenthumbomaha · July 17, 2019

Mine is long gone, and it never achieved a full lush appearance. I believe you are spot on, shule1. I no longer buy TLC indoor plants at Lowes, but I do buy their outdoor reduced plants after careful inspection.

- Lisa

December 20, 2018	#3
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	I've rescued several of these and don't worry. Cut away all of the brown foliage and give it a very light dose of fertilizer. Water with rain water or even distilled if you still have concerns about the fluoride. I've always put regular tap water on great results. Lowe's employees are not required to take a lot of care of the plants they sell. For a long time, it was hard to get them to even water them. Put your plant(s) into a sunny window or add some lighting this time of year. They need time to recover from the stress that put them on the cheap shelf. Then after a couple of weeks of plenty of nutrients and adequate watering, you can make sure they get some sunlight each day. By springtime, you may see some new growth that may resemble a strawberry leader reaching out. When it seems to terminate in a new plant, get the roots of that new growth into some soil and it will become a new plant. After a while, it will begin sending out leaders and you can cut the first one. As you can see, propagation is as simple as making new strawberry plants by growing the runners. Easy/Schmeasy. Hit me with any other questions. __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

December 20, 2018	#2
GrowingCoastal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC Posts: 1,253	As far as I know spider plants are unkillable. As long as it has adequate light I bet it will outgrow whatever affected it.

December 20, 2018	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I had one growing in the fork of a tree for years.

July 17, 2019	#6
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	I think those leaves are just dying. I don't think it's a disease. I wouldn't worry about it. It's possible that it was underwatered a while back and is just showing it now.

July 17, 2019	#7
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	Mine is long gone, and it never achieved a full lush appearance. I believe you are spot on, shule1. I no longer buy TLC indoor plants at Lowes, but I do buy their outdoor reduced plants after careful inspection. - Lisa