I have a spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) in my study window that was given me by my friend Misha a few years ago. It is lovely but…
My study only has a small window and that is over a radiator so I can’t let it dangle too much or the leaves get crispy baked. Every year it throws out dozens of spiderlets and these end up being piled up higher against the glass until by mid-spring they are blocking out half of the light and my study takes on a jungle-like greenish dusk as the sunlight peers through the greenery.
It was only this week, when I removed the fronds, that I realised how overgrown it was.
Removing the spiderlets and repotting them took a while as there were over 100… but I did double a few on the grounds that I didn’t have that many small pots to spare!
The great thing about these as houseplants is they propagate as easily as breathing and can survive willful degrees of neglect. Half dead plants going grey and limp can spring to life at a single watering!
I say Courtyard Conservatory because these are houseplants but the great spider cull of 2023 is in aid of the Limes Allotments plant sale next month so could as easily be Courtyard Allotment!
The cull is over for this year. I am ignoring the spider fronds dangling from other plants scattered around the house…
Jan Edwards 