I’ve got a very old small spider plant that an old gf gave me way back when. The thing has been struggling along the past few years and I’ve finally decided it deserved some TLC.
I want to transplant it to a bigger pot, but I am puzzled by the configuration of the plant. I’ve removed it from its original pot and soil. Here’s what the “naked” plant looks like.
At the top of the plant is the base of the leaf cluster. This part obviously goes above ground.
The bottom consists of the roots. This part obviously goes below ground.
In between is a section of “stem” that puzzles me. It is a pencil-thick, gnarly, twisting stem about 4 or 5 inches long with little nubs on its surface that I assume are potential runners/shoots. Where does this go? Do I let this part sit on the surface of the soil, or does it get buried as part of the root system?
What I’d call a Spider Plant doesn’t have a stem. Could you post or link to a picture? Spider Plants are pretty tough, if what you have actually is one just stick it in a big pot with new compost and water in.
If the stems have puffs of green at the end, that look like tiny versions of the plant, and have little roots, then those are presumably shoots – the plant sends out runners to start new plants if they find new soil. The Wikipedia article that Small Clanger referenced seems to call these stems “stolons” and the li’l plant at the end a “plantlet,” if I’m understanding their terminology (I ain’t no botonist.)
In transplanting, you can either:
(1) Stick the root end of the runner in the soil, and it will start a new plant, or
(2) Let the runners (stems) hang over the pot.
I take the middle part with the nubs to be the area where leaves once existed and the roots are sprouting. You can lower the plant in the soil so the roots on the stem are under the soil. Don’t feel bad about breaking of some of the tuberous roots that are already in the soil. A thinning of those doesn’t hurt and sometimes is necessary on badly root bound plants. It’s very hard to mess up a spider plant so it dies.