Hi Ross- stop watering them so much!!! They dont need it

Thanks. I was trying my best not to overwater them. Some things I read online say the brown is because they are not getting enough water, others because they are getting too much! How often would you recommend watering them?

Try picking up the pot before you water...... If the pot is really lightweight the plant needs a drink, but if it's heavy, wait a few days and test it again. It's been my foolproof method of watering for many years. Of course it only works if the pot is of a manageable size! LOL! My Ficus pot and the Yucca pots are too heavy to lift!

No I use rainwater already Mentha ... although I only recently started doing that, so maybe it will take a while. I have removed the black parts before with sterilised scissors, but they went black again. Will just need to see. I will try not to water as much, and I will try that Marcy! Think I'm better sticking to my cactus which I know more about!

Hi Ross,

That;s not a self watering pot is it?

Otherwise it looks like the reservoir is full of rocks. Is water collecting among the rocks on top of which I hope the interior pot is placed (I see the inner ridge).

I'm a tap water gal myself here in NYC, we have excellent water.

But other than their tips, I think they look good & healthy. Could you perhaps try to ignore the tips?

I have a pair of unwanted, neglected ones I've been rehabbing for 2 months. Your post reminded me to pinch off my couple of brown tips. I'll ignore it otherwise, except that these 2 seem especially thirsty. I've struggled to keep up their watering. Mine seem to be weirdos in that respect.

I've been growing spider plants for awhile now and have 13 cultivars. I was fighting brown tips until I increased watering. These are fairly large, 8" baskets, indoor, south window, I water every 3 days now and no longer have any brown tips. The baskets are dry in 3 days. If I forget to water I get a few brown tips.

Hi Steve,

Pls. explain what you mean by "13 cultivators" I've seen the term 'cultivar', but never cultivators??? Perplexed, thx in advance.

Auto correct does not always read my mind.

Thx Steve. just wondered if it was something else (not familiar w/ autocorrect, so I didn't realize that was it.)

So if I understand cultivars right as varieties, are you saying you've got 13 different varieties of spider plants? Really, all chlorophytums? I had no idea there were so many, all visibly different? Thought it was maybe just 5 or 6, who knew?!

Ross, I could have written your original post -- having exact same problem. I use warmed distilled water and still they look sick and brown. Do PLEASE tell when you find the solution.

Karen, here are the names to the best of my knowledge.
Chlorophytum comosum
C. comosum "Bonnie"
C. "Mandaianum"
c. ""Variegatum"
C. "Vittatum"
C. "Streaker"
C. "White Lightning"
C. "Golden Glow" aka "Hawaiian"
C. "Milky Way"
C. "Ocean"
C. "Pacific"
C. "Atlantic"
C. "Green Bonnie"

and my newest, Miniature Chlorophytum (Chlorophytum 'Minimus').

I started with a collection of pups from a collector in Florida. I have been able to watch all grow in to adult plants with pups. Some are much faster growers than others, 1 or 2 are pretty slow and some want more light than others.

I think the 8 inch baskets are a bit small, I should have used 10 or 12 inch, it would cut back on how often I water.

For those asking about water, I used to use rain water or filtered water. Now I use tap water that I allow to gas off for 24hrs.

A lot of it with me could be where I live! I live in Glasgow, Scotland, so it is not humid or hot. It is sitting around about 4/5 degrees centigrade just now, and my house gets quite cold. So this could be an issue. I really do not know what the best thing is to do. I snipped off the brown ends with sterilised scissors and they are going brown again already. Definitely think I'm better with cactus!

Spiders take cold temps, -2C/25F is the lowest I have heard of and heat up to 105F. Indoor here I get as cold as 60F and as warm as 80F. When the sun is low on the horizon they get direct sun, from late spring thru late fall they only get indirect light.

I trim brown ends and they are fine until I let the plant get dry for more than a day or two.

I have found today this beautiful Chlorophytum with much shorter leaves (hence I think it's a dwarf CV.) and thicker in the middle of the leaf. Is it a Mandaianum?

I would not use warm water. Mine has slightly brown tips but they are not unsightly. I use tap water (cold). I am trying not to overwater, which I have a tendency to do. I think I killed 2 cactus accidentally by overwatering them.

Houseplants prefer water that is room temperature. I love the new spider plant Gigoris.

I have a few spider plants I have grown from pups. Last spring after a growth spurt the plant had brown tips that were just like the ones on your plant. It was outside under a porch, so humidity was fine. I was pretty certain I had not overwatered or let it go too dry. I had repotted it 6 months ago and it went on a huge growth spurt, but still felt that was the only thing that could be an issue. It seemed to do the trick. Nothing else was changed in it's care.

Steven, I would love it if you posted some pictures!

HI. Do you have the spider plant variety "Atlantic?" I am looking for that variety. We could trade, I have 13 varieties of Spider plants. Let me know if you are interested .

Looks good to me. All mine have brown tips.our water is bad and air is hot and dry.

Far as I can tell it don't hurt them.

I need to find a drawf,thems some cuties!