Spider Plants Look Great and Purify the Air
If you’re passionate about the world of plants, you’ll have heard of the spider plant. This is the perfect plant with incredible benefits. In fact, it’s very popular because it has the ability to purify the air in less than 24 hours.
It’s also known as the ribbon plant, love bond, bad mother, or by its Latin name Chlorophytum Comosum. The spider plant is distinguished by having very long, green leaves with small yellow and white spots. It’s native to Africa and Asia, but it’s cultivated almost everywhere in the world.
Its beauty and ability as a purifier have made it very popular among everyone. Do you want to know more about it? Keep reading!
Spider plants and their characteristics
Among the main characteristics of the spider plant, you’ll see that it’s small as it doesn’t exceed 60 centimeters in height. For this reason, it’s ideal to grow it in small apartments or in small areas that require support for purifying the air. Each of its leaves is between 15 and 75 centimeters long and only two centimeters thick.
We often see it in different shades of green, but it has beautiful flowers that are small and white. They make the perfect combination! To this, we can add that it’s very easy to care for. It adapts to humid spaces such as the bathroom and the kitchen and it only requires moderate watering.
Using spider plants as air purifiers
The main feature of the spider plant and why it’s so popular is that it’s an excellent air purifier, as proven by scientific studies. It has the power to renew the air in spaces that may be contaminated with carbon monoxide.
This plant is so effective that it’s said to eradicate up to 96 percent of carbon monoxide in contaminated spaces and best of all, it manages to do so in approximately 24 hours.
Can you consume spider plants?
The spider plant is a plant that, in addition to purifying the air, has flavonoids and bufadienolides which are compounds that help reduce the aging process. This makes it normal to wonder if this plant can be eaten? Well, it turns out that yes, with its leaves you can prepare teas or infusions that are beneficial for our health.
To prepare these drinks you just have to put a little water to boil, turn it off when it reaches the boiling point, and add the leaves. Let it stand for a bit and consume. Vaporizations can also be made following the same process, but instead of consuming them, you can inhale the hot air.
The four types of spider plant
Like many plants, the spider plant has a wide variety of species and it’s estimated that there are about 200. However, we’ll name four of the best known. These are:
- Chlorophytum Comosum Variegatum: a ribbon species with beautiful green leaves edged with white or very light green.
- Cc Pictoratum: this type of spider plant has something different and that is that its leaves are a little darker than the others. Its intense green combines very well with yellow. It’s also distinguished by having slower growth, compared to the others of its kind.
- Chlorophytum Comosum Vittatum: its leaves are slightly bent and it grows a bit slow.
- C. Capense: what sets this species apart from the others is that its leaves are slightly wider.
How should you take care of the spider plant?
The spider plant is so easy to care for that even a novice gardener can successfully grow it. The only specific care it requires has to do with exposure to light. It must be away from direct sunlight so that its leaves don’t dry out. Ideally, you should place it in closed and humid rooms such as the bathroom.
Also, keep in mind that to guarantee its optimal growth, you must have it at a maximum temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The plant will resist low temperatures, but never higher temperatures. As for watering, this should be moderate, ensuring that the substrate is always wet.
For its part, you can apply fertilizer in spring or summer and every two weeks. Do you want to have your own spider plant at home? Go for it! You won’t regret it!