Spider plants are supremely easygoing houseplants – requiring little more than just regular watering approximately once a week, and repotting every year or two.
They tend to be such fuss-free indoor companions, in fact, that you might feel a sudden sense of shock when you look in your specimen’s pot and notice thick white protuberances in the potting soil. Rest assured – all is well in houseplant land.
Those thick white things you’re seeing are just the swollen roots of your houseplant – and yes, they are supposed to look like that!
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These white, fleshy growths may have appeared when you repotted your houseplant. They could also have emerged from drainage holes at the bottom of the pot or the top of growing medium.
They are just tuberous roots.
However, I have to say that calling them “just roots” really doesn’t do them justice.
Also known as “spider ivy,” “airplane plant,” “St. Bernard’s lily,” or “ribbon plant,” these tubers are part of what makes Chlorophytum comosum One of the easiest plants to take care of!
Would you like to learn more about this part of your plant’s anatomy?
You would, of course!
Keep reading and you’ll get to know the workings of your houseplant’s underground world, so to speak.
Here’s what I’ll cover:
We’re going to get up close and personal with the subterranean anatomical features of your spider plant.
Before we begin, you can find complete instructions on how to care for these plants by visiting the website. Our article on spider plant care and growth will help you..
What should the roots of spider plants look like?
I’ve heard a few horror stories about indoor gardeners seeing those large, white tuberous roots while repotting their specimens, assuming that there was something wrong with their plant and taking the drastic step of trimming off these storage organs before repotting.
Let me make it clear that there’s absolutely no reason to do that – and taking such brutal steps will possibly kill your specimen or at best, make it hard for it to recover from the ordeal.
Now that you have a better understanding of what It is not clear how to get there. to do, let’s consider what you should see when you remove the pot from your specimen’s root ball.
When you unpot these houseplants, you’ll likely notice a couple of different types of roots running through the soil.
You’ll find small, thin ones called “feeders” – and this is the main type you’ll notice in younger specimens that are just becoming established.
The thin structures that you see will look like the underground anatomy in many other houseplants.
As well as C. comosum specimens settle into their potting medium and start to grow, they’ll soon start producing larger, tuberous roots as well – the type that indoor gardeners sometimes find so perplexing!
These roots are long and white. They taper at the ends, but thicken up in the center. Left to their own devices, they can grow as large as six inches by four inches.
Why Thick Roots?
These thick white organs are what make spider ivies such resilient houseplants – they are able to store water in these tubers, just as The succulents They store water in the leaves and stems.
The storage organs are a great way to store things. C. comosum To survive in a dry climate.
This adaptation allows the species to thrive in a variety of different habitats – which is why it has a widespread range in its native habitat. It is not a fussy hothouse, but can grow in different environments. раним.
The ability to store the water is also beneficial for other reasons. C. comosum It is possible to endure the irregular and sometimes unpredictable visits of the bearer. Watering can! Because of this resilient adaptation, you’ll have to really neglect it to make your Spider Plant Wilt.
However, water isn’t the only thing these tubers store – they also store nutrients for later use.
What to do if your pot is filled with roots?
The tuberous roots that you discovered when you unpotted a houseplant should have given you the message that everything is fine and this is a normal part of underground anatomy. C. comosum.
But if your plant’s pot is particularly full of these tubers, so much so that there’s barely any Growing medium You might wonder what to do if the container is left unattended.
If you have unpotted your spider plant and see that the white roots are growing so thick that the specimen is pot bound, or if tubers are emerging from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot or out of the top of the growing medium, it’s time to consider a larger container!
These three scenarios, along with a more frequent need for water, indicate that it’s probably time to repot your specimen.
Transferring a pot-bound root ball into a new container requires that you massage the tubers first to loosen up.
The houseplant will be able to adapt more quickly and easily.
And if you’d like more tips on repotting spider plants, be sure to read our article. (Coming soon)
Healthy Houseplants: How to Root them
So now you know – the thick white structures growing in the soil of your spider plant are simple tuberous roots.
These thickened storage organs will help your houseplant to survive periods of low water availability and keep a backup of nutrients.
Were you worried when you noticed enlarged tubers in your houseplant’s potting soil? You might be relieved that this part of anatomy is perfectly normal. Let us know if you have any questions – just use the comments section, below!
And if you’re still not sure your spider plant’s underground parts look quite right – feel free to post a photo and explain your concern. We’d be happy to help!
Want to Know More? Learn more about spider plants and how to grow them.? You’ll find further informative articles right here: