I spent my childhood years (also known as the middle years, age 6 - 12) and my early teens in the 1970s. It was the psychedelic, flower power, free love era that consisted of interesting things such as mood rings, lava lamps, disco balls, skateboards, strobe lights, 8-track tapes, CB radios, avocado green appliances, smiley faces, sea monkeys and pinball machines. Fashion in the 70s was, for lack of a better word, wacky. Platform shoes, clogs, moon boots, bell bottoms, tank tops, big hair, feathered hair, crimped hair, hippie hair, mini skirts, iron-ons, striped tube socks, tube tops, hot pants, tattoos, tie-dye shirts, tie-dye pants, hip huggers, satin jackets, wallabees and jogging suits were just a few of the wacky styles. And who could forget the popular, highly-flammable polyester leisure suits with their flamboyant colours, winged collars and wide pockets on the legs of the pants?

“What the hell were they thinking?”

But there was something wonderful about my early years, because interestingly enough, there was another fad that hit during the 1970s – houseplants. Concern about the environment increased during that decade and growing indoor plants achieved phenomenal popularity. Everyone was buying houseplants and creating their own green spaces. Homes were decorated with a variety of plants, college students filled their dorm rooms and apartments with greenery, and parents even bought plants for their kids to take to college with them. Though the trend was mainly focused on foliage plants such as Swedish Ivy, Spider Plants and Ferns - Philodendrons, Jade Plants, Peperomias, Dracaenas, Crotons, Cacti, Succulents and even Coleus plants made their way indoors in the 70s.

Macramé hanging baskets were very popular during those psychedelic years, and the plant to hang in them was the Chlorophytum Comosum, known as the spider plant or, with some people, the ‘airplane plant’ (I’ve even seen it referred to as the ribbon plant but this is quite rare). Even though decades have passed since the flower power days, and trends have come and gone, this lovely plant is still hanging around in many homes – minus the macramé, of course.

There is a wealth of information available for this plant; below is my own contribution on what type of care it needs to thrive.


Growing A Retro Spider Plant

Chlorophytum Comosum, perfect in a hanging basket, is one of the most commonly-grown and easily identifiable indoor plants. It’s available everywhere throughout the year, and its immense popularity is perfectly fitting for a plant that adapts to – and easily tolerates – a wide range of indoor conditions. Fast growing, with attractive arching leaves, a Chlorophytum is also cherished for its ability to produce plantlets continuously. You can fill up your entire house with spider plants just from the ‘baby’ spiders you will keep potting up from the ‘mommy’ plant.

Chlorophytum is a large genus that consists of over 200 species, and although the plants are native to Southern Africa, they are also found in Australia, Southern Asia and even South America. There are a few cultivars available, most of which are variegated, although there is a Chlorophytum Comosum with dark green, satiny leaves. The variegated spider plants have green edges with white or yellow centers, or white edges with green centers.

A spider plant is relatively free of diseases and pest infestations, as long as it is kept healthy, which makes it that much more appealing. It is not beyond being attacked by any of the common infestations such as mealybug, scale or spider mites, but it doesn’t seem to be highly susceptible to them when the cultural needs are met accordingly and the plant is in peak condition.

Spider plants with variegated leaves require bright light – indirect sunlight is ideal - to maintain their variegation. They will adapt to lower light but the distinct colors will be lost; the leaves will turn into a single shade of green. In dimmer areas, growth will slow down and the plant may stop producing plantlets. Therefore, if you want maximum growth and a frequent production of ‘babies’, place your plant near a very bright window. Some early morning or late afternoon sunshine is ideal, but protect against the strong rays of the midday sun, which can burn the foliage.

Dry air is tolerated very well, although it could cause brown leaf tips if prolonged. In all the years I’ve been growing these plants, I have never seen any of them complain about low humidity levels if it’s a temporary situation. But even so, higher humidity levels are always much more appreciated. Although the preference is a slightly cooler location, the Chlorophytum Comosum will handle warmer room temperatures of 18-24° C (65-75° F) very well. Avoid cold drafts and frosty areas.

The root system of this plant is large and tuberous, which allows the Chlorophytum Comosum to handle water inconsistencies better than most plants. The succulent roots also come in handy during droughts – the periods when you forget to water! Use a fast-draining soil to avoid over-watering and always allow it to dry slightly between watering sessions. During the spring and summer when the plant is growing rapidly, water thoroughly and keep the soil evenly moist at all times. Although a spider plant does not have a true dormancy period, it will slow down somewhat during the winter season, so allow the medium to dry out slightly more during that period. If you prefer to wait for signs of thirst before watering, the spider plant’s leaves will turn pale and droop when the plant is parched. Remember that it’s better to under-water than to over-water. But don’t wait too long to hydrate either! You can also switch to the hydroculture growing style. Convert a full grown plant or start a new one – by rooting it in water - from one of the plantlets. Either way is acceptable. Spider plants adapt quickly to the system, like they do with everything else, with very few negative reactions.

Brown leaf tips, which inevitably appear, are perhaps the only negative feature of this otherwise faultless plant. Besides dry air, sensitivity to fluoride or other chemicals in tap water can cause brown tips. Switch to distilled or bottled water, or alternate between the former two and tap water to see if the browning is reduced. An accumulation of salts from water and fertilizer also cause the browning of leaf tips. Leach the soil of your plants occasionally. To do this, water the soil repeatedly with large amounts of water to flush out excess salts. Try to do this at least 3 or 4 times per year. In addition, remove the brown tips with a pair of scissors to improve the appearance of the plant.

There isn’t really much else to growing this plant successfully. Even under the worst care, this robust plant will manage to hang around. It may end up looking unattractive but it will cling to life, refusing to surrender to the big greenhouse in the sky. And because it’s so difficult to kill a spider plant, it’s a perfect choice for a beginner and a neglectful grower.


(Click here for more great info on Chlorophytum Comosum

What Are Some Of The Things We Watched In The 70s?


Movies

Alien	Papillon
American Graffiti	Rocky
Animal House	Rocky II
Carrie	Saturday Night Fever
Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Dawn of the Dead	Star Wars
Deliverance	Superman
Dirty Harry	The Deer Hunter
Grease	The Exorcist
Halloween	The Godfather
Jaws	The Godfather Part II
Kramer vs. Kramer	The Omega Man
Love Story	The Omen
Mad Max	The Poseidon Adventure
MASH	The Rocky Horror Picture Show
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Sitcoms:
All in the Family	One Day at a Time
Barney Miller	Rhoda
Benson	Sanford & Son
Chico and the Man	Soap
Diff'rent Strokes	Taxi
Eight Is Enough	The Bob Newhart Show
Facts of Life	The Brady Bunch
Good Times	The Jeffersons
Happy Days	The Odd Couple
Laverne & Shirley	The Partridge Family
M*A*S*H	Three's Company
Mary Tyler Moore Show	Welcome Back Kotter
Maude	WKRP In Cincinnati
Mork & Mindy

Dramas/Law enforcement/Medical/Others:
ABC After School Specials	Night Gallery
Adam-12	Quincy M.E.
Emergency!	Rockford Files
B.J. and the Bear	Sonny & Cher
Baretta	Starsky & Hutch
Charlie's Angels	The Benny Hill Show
CHiPs	The Bionic Woman
Columbo	The Carol Burnett Show
Dallas	The Dukes of Hazzard
Donny & Marie	The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
Fantasy Island	The Incredible Hulk
Hart to Hart	The Love Boat
Ironside	The Rookies
Knots Landing	The Six Million Dollar Man
Kojak	The Streets Of San Francisco
Kung Fu	The Waltons
Little House on the Prairie	The White Shadow
Marcus Welby M.D.	Wonder Woman

Game Shows:
Family Feud	The Dating Game
Hollywood Squares	The Gong Show
Let's Make A Deal	The Joker's Wild
Match Game	The Newlywed Game
Password	The Price Is Right
The $20,000 Pyramid

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