Overwatered spider plant is easily identified by root rot, stunted growth, leaves turning yellow, and brown spots. In some cases, you may notice completely brown leaves or brown tips and leaf edges.
If you are noticing these signs and symptoms of your plant, including wilting leaves, this guide will give you expert information on how to save your overwatered plant. Keep reading and also learn the possible causes of overwatering on your plant.
Why Is Your Spider Plant Overwatered?
Your spider is overwatered because you might have been increasing the watering, by the type of irrigation that you may be providing, depending on the season and watering needs, absence of drainage holes on the pot, humidity level variation, and adjusting to its the growth stage it is being overwatered.
– Increased Watering Frequency
Continuously applying water to your plant gives no room for evaporation and transpiration and this will cause high moisture content in your plant’s potting mix.
Irrigating your plant three times a day in winter will increase soil moisture. Leaving a hose pipe in the plant container may also be the culprit behind the yellow leaves on your overwatered spider plant.
It is not necessary for you to continue watering when the top inch of the soil is not dried out yet. Doing so will only enhance overwatering.
– Type of Irrigation
Overhead irrigation may cause dampness on the spider plant leaves, thereby reducing transpiration. Continuous use of overhead irrigation brings an imbalance between water going in and out of the plant, a scenario that may result in overwatering.
Watering spider plants from below using a tray or saucer without pebbles may increase the uptake of water by the soil and plant. Keep in mind that the tray should have pebbles to avoid contact between the bottom of the pot and the water in the tray. This way, you save your plant from overwatering.
– Winter and Summer Watering Patterns
Summers are normally hotter, so the evaporation process is increased. If evaporation increases, this means that topsoil will dry out at a relatively faster rate. However, whether you start watering your plant every day because it’s summer, you are likely to have an overwatered spider plant and only water when the soil’s top two inches appear dry.
On the other hand, in winter, evaporation is lowered due to the unavailability of the sun. In this scenario, if you water your plant frequently, it will be overwatered since evaporation is very low. You may need to reduce watering during this dormant period to once a day, then wait for the topsoil to dry.
– Inappropriate Potting Soil
Using soils such as clay for potting is not advisable when dealing with the spider plant. Clay soils have very small soil particles and virtually unavailable pores, so it does not allow the quick flow of water. When water enters the soil, the evaporation process is lowered by the small pores because of very low air circulation.
Purchasing of wrong potting mix causes overwatering. When buying the potting mix for your spider plant, avoid those that hold moisture for too long. Rather, purchase those with higher soil particles because they give better aeration.
– No Drainage Holes
The container of your spider plant should have more drainage holes to allow excess water to go out of the system. A plant container with few holes will hold most of the excess water which will, later on, cause overwatering.
A container with no drainage holes at all will eventually hold every water particle that enters the container. Excess water will stay in the soil, thereby increasing the moisture. The result is obvious in this case—overwatering, and the plant will be exhausted.
– Humidity Levels
In areas of high humidity levels, continuous watering of your spider plant can become a problem. In this condition, both transpiration and evaporation are lowered because the air around the plant already has a huge amount of water in it.
It takes more time for the soil to dry out, while the rate of transpiration also significantly reduces. As a result, water is stored in the plant for a longer period in humid conditions. Frequent watering in such conditions will cause moisture saturation in the soil.
– Growth Stages of the Plant
You may need to water the spider plant according to its growth stages. If the plant is still young, it has to be watered frequently to increase root formation and also the development of leaves.
When the plant grows with healthy leaves and roots, continuous watering may not be a very good idea, and it will stress the plant. When the snake plant is now grown, most water will be used for survival and nutritious needs. Lower amounts of water are required in this stage because it is not used for anything important.
How to Revive Your Overwatered Spider Plant?
You can revive your overwatered spider plant by migrating your plant, changing the soggy soil to a draining one, adopting a watering schedule, treating the root rot, trying and propagate the plant in order to enhance it, and pruning it, and you may also repot it.
– Quit Watering Until Recovered
Even if your plant still requires loads of water, you need to stop irrigating when you start observing the symptoms of overwatering.
Ceasing irrigation procedures for a while will provide enough time to remove extra moisture in the potting of your plant while opening up air pores at the same time. The root system of your spider plant may be revived as the soil dries.
It may take two weeks to see improvement in your spider plant, that is if it has healthy roots. If the roots were severely damaged, it may take a little longer.
If your plant wasn’t affected by root rot yet, you will start to see changes as soon as possible. In the event that the spider plant was already affected by this fungal disease, then you will have to look into the roots because stopping watering alone won’t help.
– Migrate Your Spider Plant
Relocate your plant to an area with dry soil to use the energy left on reviving itself. Overwatered soils create a habitat for fungi and also close the air pockets, a scenario that suffocates and weakens the plant.
Relocating spider plants helps in their recovery because they will gain strength in an environment with better growing conditions. You will still need to make sure that you follow proper watering schedules if this strategy has to work.
– Check the Soil for Drainage Issues
Sometimes your plant may not have any other symptoms of overwatering except for visibly waterlogged soils. In that case, consider dumping any standing water in the tray or saucer.
Tilt the container to remove excess moisture. You can then move your plant to a spot with more bright indirect light to quicken the processes of evaporation and transpiration. Extreme exposure to direct sunlight may scorch the leaves of your plant, thereby causing further damage.
If you have kept your spider plant in the same soil for around 12 months, you may need to get rid of the old potting mix. This is because potting soil becomes compacted when used over long stretches of time.
This increases the substrate’s water-holding capacity to levels that are higher than desired, a state that might cause waterlogging conditions. Using new soil will improve drainage properties.
– Treat Root Rot
Uproot your plant and use a spray to wash the soil on the roots of the plant. Make sure that healthy roots are not affected or broken down. You then need to cut off black or brown roots since healthy roots are supposed to be white. Be sure to use sterilized shears for this procedure to avoid transferring infections to your plant, possibly causing more damage.
If you remove some roots, consider also removing some foliage to bring a balance between the two. You can target the soft leaves and those with leaf tips that are turning brown if any. Treat the infected roots by dipping them in a fungicide such as hydrogen peroxide. You can purchase fungicides from your nearest garden store.
Repot your spider plant in a fresh potting mix as this reduces the continuous spread of spider plant root rot. Avoid overwatering so that you will always leave room for air to penetrate through the mix to your plant’s rooting system. Doing this will help to rejuvenate spider plant.
– Watering Schedule
When the soil is dried a bit and also water in the morning and evening. Increase the watering frequency in the phases of growth. Always remove excess water to avoid the closure of air pockets. Avoid overhead irrigation to reduce leaf dampness. Overall, adopting a schedule will help your plant so much.
Increase the watering frequency in spring, summer, and flowering stages. Reduce watering patterns in winter as the plant will be in its dormant stage.
– Propagation
In case root rot gets severe and you can probably foresee your spider plant dying, you may need to consider taking one or two plantlets from its stems. Place these plantlets in a moist container with the new potting mix.
Roots will start developing in no time. When this happens, provide all requirements that make your plants grow. Keep in mind that This method helps you to have a new spider plant to replace the one that you would have lost to overwatering.
Remember to let the soil dry between waterings to further protect your plant from some pest infestations that are due to overly wet conditions.
– Repotting
Your spider plant may be showing all other signs such as leaves becoming yellow, wilting, brown spots, and so forth. If root rot is not in the equation, there might not be a need for repotting. On the other hand, you must make sure that the container of your plant has holes to let surplus water run out.
Pocking a few holes in the potting mix using, say, a matchstick can also increase its drainage capacity.
– Pruning
Prune or trim off the leaves that have turned yellow and also the flowers to make the plant refocus on a healthy recovery. Trimming the unhealthy flowers and leaves also assists in helping the plant to grow new ones. You will be getting rid of the leaves that have been degenrated.
Conclusion
Now that you have read through the causes and revival strategies for overwatered spider plants, it’s now easy to understand and solve these issues.
Let’s sum up the ideas mentioned above to make sure you are fully prepared to redeem your beauty.
- Avoid excessively watering your plant.
- Trim off leaves that are turning yellow.
- Wash the roots and trim off roots that have been damaged by root rot.
- Repot your plant and use a new potting mix for better drainage.
- If there are no signs of root rot, remove excess water by tilting the container or pock holes in the soil.
It’s now time to gain experience with your plant and become an expert in preventing waterlogging conditions, as well as taking care of an overwatered spider plant. We wish you the all goodness as you go and bring back your dying spider plant to life!
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