Mr. Houseplant is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our blog, we may earn affiliate commission on qualifying purchases.

Last Updated:April 27, 2023

The Best Spider Plant Soil Mix: Complete Guide

featured photo-spider plant soil mix

Using the right Spider Plant soil mix is crucial for growing lush and vigorous Spider Plants. This guide will teach you how to choose the best soil mix for your Spider Plant so you can provide it with all the vital nutrients needed for healthy growth.

Yes, you can fill your Spider Plant planter with any standard houseplant potting mix. However, the potting mix that you use will affect your plant’s health. Spider Plants’ roots need oxygen to be healthy, so the plant needs porous, nutrient-rich soil that contains a lot of oxygen.

Three metal buckets, a shovel, and a pruning rake next to the soil placed on the wooden surface

Providing your plant with adequate soil will boost its growth

Good aeration promotes root growth and ensures the roots are robust. A good soil mix for Chlorophytum Comosum has macropores that contain oxygen. Proper aeration keeps your plant healthy, happy, and more resilient to pests and diseases. It’s important to avoid poor aeration and poor drainage which can seriously harm your plant.

Besides choosing an optimal soil mix, you should also pay attention to the planter for Spider Plant that you will use, as it will greatly affect moisture retention capacity and aeration.

What To Consider When Choosing Soil For Spider Plant?

Factors to consider when choosing soil for Spider Plants are:

  • amount of light
  • type of pot
  • humidity

If your plant is getting more light, you should choose a less porous potting mix. On the other hand, if your plant is getting less light, opt for a more porous potting mix. When Spider Plants receive more light, they photosynthesize more and absorb more water from the soil. This means the roots will stay wet for a shorter period of time. As a consequence, there is less risk of rot diseases in more light. Hence, there is no need to make the potting mix as porous as when Spider Plants are grown in conditions of less light.

One Spider Plant is in the white pot and three are in the brown pots next to the empty brown pot and green watering can

The pot material affects the watering frequency of Spider Plants

The pot material also plays an important role when choosing the best soil for Spider Plants. Since terracotta absorbs moisture from the soil, you will need a less porous potting mix. Plastic or glazed ceramic pots don’t absorb moisture from the soil, so the potting mix should be more porous.

Humidity is another factor to consider. If you’re growing Spider Plants in higher humidity, then the mix should be more porous. If your plants live in a less humid environment, the soil should be less porous. In lower humidity, plants lose more water through their leaves through evaporation, so it is fine to use a less porous potting mix.

Are You Using The Wrong Soil Mix?

Your plant will send you signals that you’re using the wrong soil mix. The wrong soil mix can have a negative effect on your plant’s health.

If your plant develops root rot, it could be an indicator of a poor choice of potting mix or overwatering. A droopy plant with yellow foliage could also indicate inadequate soil.

Spider Plants love oxygenated, well-draining potting soil, so dense, compact potting soil is not a good choice. You should avoid dense garden soil and non-amended store-bought mixes that don’t have enough oxygen to feed the roots and keep them healthy.

What Kind Of Potting Soil Should You Use When Repotting A Spider Plant?

You should use a porous, well-draining potting medium when repotting a Spider Plant. You can either purchase such potting soil or you can make your own. Since most commercially sold houseplant potting mixes aren’t well-draining enough, you have to choose a good brand. An excellent well draining potting soil is Mother Earth Groundswell.

A blue-gloved hand pours Perlite with a white plastic spatula into the soil

Perlite improves aeration and draining of the soil

Another option is to buy any brand and create your own potting soil for Spider Plants by adding amendments like perlite, vermiculite, coarse sand etc. Giving your plant fresh soil packed with minerals when you do Spider Plant repotting ensures that all the essential nutrients are absorbed by the plant.

What Is The Best Soil For Spider Plant?

The best soil for Spider Plant is Mother Earth Groundswell potting mix. This is well draining soil and contains all the essential nutrients for your Chlorophytum Comosum.

Mother Earth Groundswell has a high-aeration formula that promotes root growth. It also incorporates perlite, pumice, and vermiculite into the mix to provide good aeration and drainage.

You can make your own homemade potting mix by adding amendments to any store-bought potting mix. Adding amendments with large particle size, such as perlite, pumice, or bark will improve drainage and aeration of the potting soil. Proper aeration is key component when choosing potting soil for Spider Plants.

The Best Soil Mix Homemade Recipe

The Best Spider Plant Homemade Soil Mix Recipe has the following ingredients:

  • 2 parts any commercial potting mix
  • 1 part perlite

Mix the ingredients and respect the proportions in order to make the optimal nutrient-rich soil mix for your Airplane Plant. Large perlite particles will make the soil more porous and promote root health.

A person with white gloves pours the black mass into the tray of a flower pot

Creating your own soil blend gives you the opportunity to customize the soil according to your plant’s needs

Making your own potting mix might be a bit time-consuming, but it gives you the freedom to create a mix that is tailored specifically to your indoor plants, considering the environment, plant size, and other individual factors.

Check out the following video to see how I make my own soil mix:

What Is The Ideal Soil pH Level For A Spider Plant?

The ideal soil pH level for a Spider Plant is between 6.0 and 6.5. Spider Plants like loamy soil and slightly acidic soil. Organic potting mix will usually fall into this range. However, if you’d like to be sure that your plant is growing at the optimal pH level, you can test the pH level using a pH meter or a PH test kit.

A white-blue pH meter that is showing a pH level of 6.2 and 25°C is placed in the brown flower pot

A pH meter showing a pH level of 6.2 indicating that the soil is slightly acidic

If the pH level is too low, you can raise it by adding certain amendments, such as wood ashes or ground agricultural limestone. If the pH level is too high, you can decrease it by adding aluminum sulfate and sulfur. When adjusting the pH level, it’s crucial to follow the instructions, because you can accidentally damage your plant in this process.

The pH level of soil affects the amount of nutrients that are soluble in water, and hence the amount of nutrients that are available to the plant. Growing your plant at an adequate pH level is important for Chlorophytum Comosum care, as it greatly contributes to creating optimal conditions for your plant to thrive.

FAQ

Can I Use Cactus Soil For Spider Plant?

Yes, you can use cactus soil for Spider Plant, but it’s not the best choice because its water retention capacity is insufficient for the plant. Cactus or succulent soil dries out fast which means that you would have to water much more often. Additionally, if your home has a lot of light and low humidity, that will make it even more difficult to keep the plant healthy in cactus soil.

Spider Plants lose more water through evaporation in low humidity, which means that the watering frequency would have to increase. A lot of light promotes photosynthesis in plants. More photosynthesis requires more water.

Using cactus or succulent soil for Spider Plants is possible, but it means that plant care would become more complex and time-consuming.

Can I Use Orchid Soil For Spider Plant?

Yes, you can use Orchid soil for Spider Plant, but it’s not recommended. An orchid mix wouldn’t retain enough water and you would have to water your Spider Plants very frequently.

Also, an orchid mix has large air pockets with are not suitable for Spider Plants, as your plant would have difficulty getting enough hydration or nutrients.

Can I Use Peat Moss For Spider Plant?

Yes, you can use a potting mix that contains peat moss for Spider Plant. You cannot use pure, 100% unenriched peat moss because it will be too acidic and will not contain sufficient minerals for the plant. You have to use a peat moss based potting mix.

Brown peat moss placed on the wooden surface

Peat moss amendment

Peat moss has a pH of 3.0–4.0, so if you use it in its pure form, it could harm the Spider Plants which require soil with more neutral pH levels.

How To Mix Soil For Spider Plant?

Mix 2 parts of any commercial potting mix and add 1 part perlite and 1 part bark. Blend the ingredients well. Perlite is a great choice if the commercial potting mix you’re using already has adequate pH levels for Spider Plants. Perlite has a neutral pH (7.0), so it won’t affect the soil pH level.

Can Soil Mix Cause Root Rot On My Spider Plant?

The cause of root rot on your Spider Plant is a combination of poor soil mix, insufficient light, and improper watering practices. Finding the cause of this problem is the first step. If you’re sure that your Spider Plants are getting adequate light and water, try switching to a soil mix that is more porous and more suitable for Spider Plants.

Yours Truly,

Mr.Houseplant-signature-tr

4 Comments

  1. Tina February 28, 2023 at 10:27 pm - Reply

    Can i use focus pocus peat free house plant mix for spider plant?

    • MrHouseplant February 28, 2023 at 11:39 pm - Reply

      Hi Tina, I’m afraid I don’t have experience with this specific brand. But in my experience, most store bough potting mixes need to be amended to be used with houseplants, as they retain too much water and don’t provide enough oxygen for the roots. If you want a potting mix good straight out of the bag, no mixing needed, here is an excellent one: https://www.mrhouseplant.com/recommends/mother-earth-soil-2/

  2. Stacie Watkins March 25, 2023 at 11:09 pm - Reply

    Can I use miracle gro tropical potting soil for my spider plant?

    • MrHouseplant April 2, 2023 at 6:05 pm - Reply

      Hi Stacie, miracle gro is not porous enough, so you shouldn’t use it without adding some perlite or another coarse amendment. Use 2 parts miracle gro, 1 part perlite :)

Leave A Comment