We love growing spider plants both inside and outside. The most common issue with spider plants is "leaf tips turning brown".
In this article, I will guide you on what to do to treat brown leaf tips of spider plants.
Note: I have repeated this in a lot of articles - when you see brown spots or brown tips on any plant, it's definitely due to some kind of stress that the plant is going through. We just need to figure out what causes the stress.
Instead of making your confused with every possible cause, I am listing the most common causes so that you can treat accordingly.
I’ve listed the causes in order of how commonly they occur, with the most common first and the least common last.
This post is only about the brown leaf tips. If you are facing brown spots or browing on middle of the leaves, check this older guide: Spider plant leaves turning brown
What causes spider plant leaf tips turning brown
Here are the causes:
- Build-up of salts from the water source and fluoride in water.
- Too much sun and less water
- Root bound
- Overwatering with poor drainage (mostly for potted spider plants)
Request to my readers: I learned through mistakes, and I want you to help with my previous experiences. I love writing these types of guides. I will appreciate it if you subscribe to this site. This is something that I am expecting from you.
Build-up of salts from the water source and fluoride in water
If you are using tap water, avoid it and use rainwater. If rainwater is not an option for you, go for RO water or distilled water.
Spider plants dislike the fluoride in tap water.
What to do?
If you use tap water, try letting it sit for a day before using it or get some of the water purification stuff used for aquariums.
I put a few drops of aquarium water clarifier in the water before pouring it on my spider plants. Get all of the bad chemicals out.
Note: Unfortunately, that won't remove fluoride, which spider plants hate. It only helps chlorine dissipate.
You can use RO water, distilled water, or rainwater. I won't suggest buying deionized water, as it will cost more.
You should also avoid hard, alkaline water for your spider plant. A few drops of white vinegar in a quart of water will help bring the pH down.
You can try products like "pH down". pH down is cheap and works very well. Of course, one needs a pH meter, as well. A small bottle will last an ordinary person many years.
Spider plant leaf tips turning brown due to too much sun and not enough water
The above spider plant is placed outside (where it gets direct sunlight).
Too much sun and not enough water can cause enough stress to your spider plant and may turn the leaf tips brown.
The best suggestion is to put it in a place where it can get bright indirect sunlight.
The tips will get crunchy and dry in this case.
Water your spider plant deeply and let the soil dry before the next watering.
Root-bound causes brown leaves on spider plants
Root-bound causes brown leaf tips on spider plants.
When you buy a new spider plant, the pot size might be good for it. But as the plant grows larger, it might need a larger pot to avoid root-bound.
If you see the roots coming out from the bottom or side hole of the pot or container, it's time to repot.
I am not going to explain overwatering here. The symptom here will not be only the brown leaf tips.
You may also notice droopy leaves. Just stop watering for one to two weeks and let the soil dry completely.
Lastly, I wanna say to you that I have grown a lot of spider plants both inside and outside. With good care and maintenance, I still get issues with my spider plants sometimes, and this is absolutely normal.
They will recover if you figure out what's wrong with your plant. Good luck!
