Spider Plant

Shade. Nearly evergreen, with lily-like strap leaves. Usually used as a potted plant — and a very easy and forgiving one — spider plant has also proven useful in outdoor settings in the San Antonio area. It fills difficult shady spots under live oaks, around AC condensers and poorly drained side-yards in the thin soils of northern San Antonio. “Mala Madre” and “Hen-and-Chickens” refers to the plant’s tendency to constantly drop off plantlets that develop adventitious roots, enabling it to form an effective spreading mass or groundcover, often without supplemental water. “Vittatum” and “Variegatum” are the two variegated cultivars.