Spider Plants » Canaries in the Coal Mine

These Spider (Chlorophytum) starter plants will be planted in recycled soda bottle sub-irrigation planters (SIPs) at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden workshop sponsored by the GreenBridge program.

Each participant in the Houseplant Sub-irrigated Planter (SIP) workshop this coming Wednesday can make and take home a recycled soda bottle SIP with a Spider plant (Chlorophytum) growing in it. We will make the SIPs in class.

Why a Spider plant you may wonder. The Spider plant will prove that the main reason cited for drain holes in pots is simply not true in reality. Sadly, many who preach about the need for drain holes know better and are lying to serve their own self-interest.

Lying is a strong word but there is no point in using weasel words when the consuming public is intentionally deceived like this. It is reminiscent of the tobacco companies behavior. Know that I have been called "the enemy" by them right to my face and cursed at for publishing this blog.

The bogus claim for drain holes is that you need to flush soluble salts from the soil. The typical symptom of excess soluble salts is browning of the leaf tips (called tipping). While this can be a signficant factor in the greenhouse where they are pushing the growth of plants with loads of water and chemical fertilizer, it is a low rung problem for consumers.  

Spider plants happen to be very sensitive to soluble salts. I recommend growing them because they are much like the canaries that coal miners used to use to detect toxic gas such as carbon monoxide. If you grow one or more Spider plants in SIPs and you do not get brown tips, you will prove to yourself that you do not need pots with drain holes. 

I have grown many, many sub-irrigated Spider plants both in Southern California and now here in Brooklyn. I have never had a problem with tip burn.

The bottom line is that you do not need pots with drain holes and that sub-irrigation is a vastly superior method of growing plants in containers.

Come to the workshop and learn some more houseplant secrets, including who is lying and why they are spreading bad information. You will also learn how to grow a wide variety of high quality sub-irrigated houseplants like these.

Prior Post: Don't Be A Drain Hole Dodo

Comments

[Al Gracian 3]

"The bottom line is that you do not need pots with drain holes and that sub-irrigation is a vastly superior method of growing plants in containers."

This statement really needs some context. Specifically, it can only be applied to indoor growing situations. Any outdoor container plants NEED either a drain hole or an overflow hole [SIPs].

[Al Gracian 3]

"The bogus claim for drain holes is that you need to flush soluble salts from the soil. . . . it is a low rung problem for consumers."

I've thought a lot about this lately. My questions are:

1) What type of water are you watering these plants with?

2) What types of fertilizers do you use?

3) What type of potting mix do you use?

4) How much water does one of your spider plants require each week?

5) How much potting mix does one of your containers hold?

These are all variables that will drastically effect your experience & whether or not excess salinity becomes an issue for you.

A consumer may be watering plants with hard water that has gone through a "softener". Such water contains higher levels of salts. Meanwhile, someone else might be watering with distilled water.

One consumer may be using a coir based mix that happens to have high levels of salt.

The transpiration rate of a certain plant might be so high that it needs watered much more often than someone else's plant. The rapid turn over of waterings WILL accelerate the build up of ANY minerals that are in the water.