10 Popular Types of Spider Plant to Grow at Home
Chlorophytum comosum, or the Spider Plant is one of my favorite indoor hanging plants. In this guide, I’ve rounded up ten of the most popular types of spider plants to grow at home. These work great in a number of interior spaces, including kitchens, hallways, living rooms, and studies.
10 Popular Types of Spider Plants to Grow at Home
1) Bonnie Curly Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum ‘Bonnie’)
The Bonnie is a curly spider plant variety with long, narrow leaves that grow in a waved pattern. This plant is native to southern Africa, but it is a common alternative to the popular variegated Spider Plant worldwide.
This Bonnie plant has solid green, slightly wider leaves than other varieties. Like other Spider Plants, this one may be harder to get your hands on than the variegated options.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can reach around eight inches tall and wide. |
| Environmental considerations: | Grow best in bright, indirect light. Well-draining, slightly moist soil. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. |
2) Variegated Bonnie Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum ‘Bonnie Variegated’)
The Variegated Bonnie Spider Plant is a curly variety with variegated leaves. Its leaves are long and thin, with green stripes on the outside and a cream stripe in the center.
This species is native to South Africa, but it is popular worldwide. Its curly texture makes it a striking focal point in indoor spaces.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can grow to be around eight inches tall with an eight-inch spread. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, indirect light. Well-draining, slightly moist soil. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. |
3) Zebra Grass (Chlorophytum laxum ‘Zebra’)
The Zebra Grass plant has long yellow-cream leaves with a green stripe down the center. This plant’s foliage has a similar texture to grass and is likely to stay shorter than other Spider Plant varieties.
Zebra Grass is native to tropical parts of Africa. It produces plenty of baby plants from the ends of its stems, making it a great contender for propagation.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can reach eight to 12 inches in height and around an 18 to 24-inch spread upon maturity. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, indirect light. Well-draining, peat-based soil. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit |
4) Variegated Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum’)
The Variegated Spider Plant ‘Vittatum’ is known for its green leaves with a solid cream stripe down the center. These narrow leaves arch outward from a rosette at its center, creating the classic Spider Plant look.
This plant is native to South Africa and grows well outdoors in Mediterranean climates or indoors around the world. It has earned the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can grow to be one to two feet tall and wide. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, indirect light. Well-draining, slightly moist soil. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit |
5) Variegated Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’)
The Variegated Spider Plant ‘Variegatum’ is similar to the Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum’ variety. The only difference is that the leaves are reversed.
While ‘Vittatum’ has a cream stripe down the center, ‘Variegatum’ has cream edges and a green center. This plant is native to southern Africa and cultivated as a houseplant around the world.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can reach two feet in height and spread. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, indirect light, or partially shaded environment. Well-draining, slightly moist, loam-based soil. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. |
6) Ocean Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum ‘Ocean’)
The Ocean Spider Plant is a compact variety with green leaves and thin, cream-white edges. It produces star-shaped white flowers and baby plants from long runners that cascade around the plant. This plant looks lovely in a hanging basket where its leaves are free to grow and spread around its pot.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can grow to be around eight inches tall and wide. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, indirect light. Well-draining, slightly moist soil (keep drier in the winter). Moderate to high humidity. Ambient temperatures around 60 degrees Fahrenheit |
7) Hawaiian Spider Plant (Chlorophytum viridescens ‘Hawaiian’)
The Hawaiian Spider Plant is also known as Golden Glow or Golden Light. This plant is similar to the Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum.’ However, instead of a cream center, this plant’s leaves have a yellow hue down the middle.
This plant is a hybrid that is smaller than some Chlorophytum comosum varieties. It produces many plantlets, making it a great choice if you want several Spider Plants to decorate your home.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can reach anywhere between six to 12 inches tall. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, indirect light. Well-draining, slightly moist soil. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. It can handle lower temperatures, but this may affect its growth. |
8) Chlorophytum amaniense ‘Fire Flash’ (aka Chlorophytum orchidastrum Green Orange)
The Fire Flash Spider Plant is also known as Chlorophytum orchidastrum Green Orange. This plant is a rare variety that looks different than other Spider Plants. It has bright orange stems that produce broad, dark green leaves.
This variety is native to tropical and subtropical parts of southern and western Africa. It produces small, white flowers in the summer and lively foliage year-round.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can grow to be one to two feet tall and wide. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, indirect light. Well-draining, slightly moist soil. High humidity. Temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit |
9) Spider Flower (Cleome hassleriana)
The Spider Flower may be associated with the Spider Plant given its name. However, this annual flowering plant belongs to the caper family Capparaceae and is native to South America.
The Spider Flower is beautiful in outdoor gardens, as it develops strong stems and showy blooms in bright pink, white, or purple. This plant attracts pollinators from birds and bees to hummingbirds and bats.
| General care requirements: | Easy and beginner-friendly |
| Growth expectations: | Can reach one to five feet tall and six to eight inches in spread. |
| Environmental considerations: | Bright, direct light. Well-draining soil. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. |
10) Bichetii Grass (Chlorophytum laxum)
The Bichetii Grass plant looks similar to the Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’. It has green, arching leaves and cream margins around the outside. The plant’s foliage has a soft, grass-like texture and produces white flowers like some Spider Plant varieties.
A difference with Bichetii Grass is that it does not produce baby plants as most Spider Plants do. This species is the perfect choice if you want the Spider Plant look without the offshoots.
| General care requirements: | Easy and low-maintenance |
| Growth expectations: | Can reach one foot tall with a two-foot spread. |
| Environmental considerations: | Lighting from full sun to partial shade. Well-draining soil with moderate watering. Moderate to high humidity. Temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. |
The Final Word
The Spider Plant is an all-time favorite among plant lovers. Since there are so many popular options, they’re an excellent way to add variety to your houseplant collection. Plus, once you’ve learned the Spider Plant’s care needs, it will be easy to keep any type of this species thriving in your home.
Brandy Wells is an American copywriter and content writer living in Spain. From hiking in her hometown near the Smoky Mountains to digging in the dirt in rural Oregon, she has always put a love of nature at the heart of her endeavors. These days, you’ll catch her writing content, and of course, taking breaks to tend to her growing houseplant collection.