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Why Is My Spider Plant Pale and Limp – 5 Damaging Reasons!

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Are you searching for a beautiful hanging plant to make your room more attractive?

Spider plant is definitely an excellent idea.

You have decorated your house with a spider plant, in its full lush and maintenance, but the plant started to become pale and limp after a few days.

That leaves you worried about your plant, thus making you think, why is my spider plant pale and limp?

These plants are usually mistaken as the type of hanging plants, but these beautiful plants grow upward in an umbrella-like shape to create clusters resembling the spider web in their mature stage, thus named spider plants.

Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) or airplane plants contain long variegated and curly leaves, which help in enhancing their beauty.

Let us move forward and see all the possible reasons why your plant is becoming pale and limp.

Spider plant on a table—why is my spider plant pale and limp
Why is my spider plant pale and limp? – Image via Reddit.

Why Is My Spider Plant Pale and Limp?

The natural color variation of the spider plant differs from one plant to another. Maybe your house plant is healthy with lighter green leaves.

You only need to be worried if the leaves just started looking pale—if the change is recent. In most cases, the spider plants turn pale due to inadequate light or water-related problems.

I have studied and learned several essential factors for your spider plants’ healthy life and maintenance.

I will guide you all about these factors so that you can retain them in your mind and prevent this from happening in the future.

These include:

1. Improper Lightening

As mentioned earlier, one of the most direct causes of spider plants turning pale is inadequate light—lack of light can cause the spider plant to turn yellow and droop.

Although spider plants can adapt to any situation, they prefer indirect bright sunlight for their proper and healthier growth.

But the best thing about the spider plant is that it accepts almost all kinds of treatment.

It can survive in minimal lightening but will not stay as vivid if it does not get suitable conditions.

That change does not occur immediately, and usually, your plant goes pale and limp as the growth occurs (it does not receive adequate light during the transition).

Also, it would be best if you stayed careful in exposing your spider plant to direct sunlight as it can cause the death of your spider plant.

The leaves start losing their green appearance, and hence brown tips appear on the ends of the leaves if the plant receives prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.

Solution

You first need to reposition your plant to a sunny spot if it doesn’t receive enough light throughout the day.

  • Please do not place your plant in direct sunlight.
  • Even though spider plants do not mind a bit of direct sunlight, indirect sunlight or shady lighting is better.
  • You can place it near the window when there is moderate sunlight.
  • If you live in an apartment or there is no natural light source in your house, you can also provide your plant with artificial light.

If you find any dead or dying leaves in your plant, you need to remove them to help the plant care for healthy leaves.

2. Improper Watering

Water is essential for all living beings, and plants are one of the most beautiful beings that enhance nature.

Water is essential for the survival of all plants, but finding the correct balance can sometimes be quite tricky.

Once you figure out your plant’s watering needs, your plant will thrive long.

The common mistake indoor gardeners make is that they overwater their indoor plants.

The indoor plant that is underwatered feels unhappy, but the one that gets overwatered feels drowned; that is why it is worse than underwatering.

Never allow your plant to stay in water for a long time as it causes root rot which becomes a reason for yellowing and wilting of leaves.

The summer months are the spider plant’s growing months, thus needing a little more attention than usual.

Before spring, you must prepare to take proper care of your plant. It includes everything, including fertilization, re-potting, enough lighting, and especially watering.

Do not overwater your plant because too much watering can cause root rot, leading to the yellowing and limping of leaves.

Also, water takes more time to dry in winter than in summer; therefore, it is better to check whether the soil is dry or not before watering.

Overwatering can lead to other diseases, including pest problems and fungal infections.

Pale and limp spider plant—why is my spider plant pale and limp
Why is my spider plant pale and limp? Improper watering might be the reason in your case—Image via Reddit.

Solution

If your spider plant loses its color or turns yellow, it is an indication that your plant needs less water.

  • In some cases, dark spots can also be detected on the edges of leaves due to overwatering.
  • In any of the cases mentioned above, you should need to reduce the watering.
  • Water only when the soil appears or feels dry.
  • You can use the finger test method to check the moisture content of the soil.

In this technique, simply put the finger about one inch deep in the soil around the spider plant; if the soil sticks to your finger, there is still some moisture in the soil.

If your finger comes out clean, it is time to water the plant.

3. Less Fertilization

Another reason your plant looks pale and limp is that your plant is deficient in essential nutrients and minerals.

If you are new to gardening, the idea of fertilization might make you wobbly.

Maybe you refrain your feeding plant too often.

I know the thought of fertilizing your plant makes you uneasy. That happens with all the new gardeners.

But a spider plant needs a regular source of nutrients for proper functioning and maintenance—especially for those living in pots and containers.

But before fertilizing your plant, you need to know that fertilizers work best for indoor plants in diluted forms.

Suppose you use fertilizers in their pure form.

In that case, you may overfertilize your plant due to the concentrated solution—which results in burning and yellowing leaves.

Solution

Creating a consistent feeding schedule helps prevent any nutrient deficiency in the future, which keeps your spider plant looking healthy and lush.

If you are looking for a fertilizer suggestion, I recommend you use the fertilizer containing nitrogen, which is essential for maintaining the spider plant’s appearance.

You can dilute the fertilizer up to half of its strength.

4. Same Container

If you have tried all the solutions regarding the causes mentioned above and your plant is still pale and limp, there is one more thing you need to notice.

That is, how long ago did you re-pot your plant?

A healthy indoor spider plant needs to be replaced in a new and bigger pot; failing to do so results in troublesome scenarios.

It is because plants have no more space to grow, which could cause weakness and limpness in your plant.

Sometimes the spider plant roots grow through the container’s drainage hole, which weakens the roots, thus poorly affecting the plant’s appearance.

Solution

It is recommended to re-pot your spider plant an average of about once per year.

  • Actually, you do not need to re-pot your spider plant exactly once a year; you can use judgments for your plant.
  • It means you can wait until the roots are ready for this change—they start to circle around the bottom of the pot and keep most of the soil together by themselves.
  • Alternatively, you can change the pot after a year.
  • It does not mean you can wait too long to observe problems, such as the plant’s growth becoming stunted or roots becoming apparent through the drainage holes.
  • Therefore, if you want to make your plant healthy and vivid, keep a proper eye on it.

The fact is that when you re-pot your spider plant, it will express its gratitude as the plant grows excessively well.

5. Root Bound

The problem can be related to the container size if you haven’t re-potted your plant for a long time.

A potential reason your spider plant does not feel happy is that it has outgrown its pot or container.

Besides the limp and pale look, the vital sign your plant wants to upgrade its container is the roots protruding from the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot.

Spider plants with bound roots feel suffocated and eventually die because plants do not receive enough nutrients and oxygen.

The roots have nowhere to go, and as a result, the plants show distress with yellow leaves that are not growing any further.

Solution

The best and fastest way to revive your spider plant is to:

  • Remove it from the current container, and before re-potting it in the larger container, gently tease the roots out from the tight root ball with your fingers.
  • After doing so, grab a bigger pot containing excellent quality soil and re-plant your spider plant in a new bigger home.
  • Remember, when you choose a pot while re-potting, it is better to choose a pot that is at least one to two inches larger than before.

Spider plants tend to produce more offsets and thus need plenty of space to grow.

That was all about why is my spider plant pale and limp.

Why is my spider plant pale and limp? Best TIPS For Spider Plant 🌱 Complete Care for Spider Plant – YouTube

FAQs

Now, let’s take a look at some frequently asked questions.

Do Spider Plants Need Humidity?

To understand the need for humidity, we initially need to know the native region of the spider plant.

The Chlorophytum comosum grows natively in Australia and South Africa. In their natural environment, they get a bulk of humidity. Thus, these plants prefer living in a humid climate.

If you provide your plant with that suitable condition, your spider plant will stay fine and healthy.

What Temperature Does a Spider Plant Need?

You need to ensure that your temperature is set near 65 degrees to trigger the growth of your spider plant.

Spider plants can withstand temperatures that depress to 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you keep it indoors, I do not think the temperature will ever get that low.

If you keep your plant at an elevated temperature, i.e., more than 90°F, it will ingest its micronutrients, including the dangerous ones, ultimately leading the plant to death.

That is all for this post!

Now it is time to move toward the conclusion.


To Wrap up

So, why is my spider plant pale and limp? I hope you understand the reason.

  • There are distinct reasons your spider plant can limp and pale, including inadequate lightening, improper watering, improper fertilization, and at the very least, the container in which your plant stays.
  • It would be best to find out why your plant is limping and then treat it so it can revive its healthy growth.
  • Spider plant is native to an area containing high humidity, so it is better to provide your plant with this type of condition.
  • Also, try to maintain the temperature within the suitable condition for your plant.

I hope you find this post helpful. If you like this post, do not forget to share it with your friends.

Regards,
Moiz Atiq.