Chlorophytum comosum Ocean Spider Plant
CHL-OCE-3
- Description
Usually grown as a houseplant due to it’s ability to take abuse but it is actually proving to be quite hardy down in the South of England thanks to our generally milder winters. Despite the foliage being knocked back by the first heavy frosts it is more than capable of tolerating light frosts and we have often had it in leaf outside well into January. Although the foliage has been killed off by the mid to late winter cold, more often than not the roots have survived (when grown in the ground) and new shoots have appeared by late May to early June.
The key to their outdoor winter survival seems to be to plant in a sheltered spot with a very well drained, nutrient poor soil and a thick mulch such as bark chippings to stop the ground from freezing. If it is not an extremely cold winter and the ground does not freeze then the thick, fleshy tuberous roots usually survive. If you are in a particularly cold area or an unusually cold winter is forecast then lift and bring under glass or remove any plantlets, pot and grow on under glass until the following spring once all frosts have passed.
They look exceptionally good in container plantings and hanging baskets especially when the trailing inflorescences with small white flowers and young plantlets appear. If growing this way they must be kept under cover for the winter as pots and baskets can easily freeze solid killing the tubers.
Sent as a young plant in a 9cm pot. May be cut back for shipping. Sent as dormant plants in winter. Please note we grow these as summer garden bedding plants (not houseplants) as they are proving to be reliably root hardy in milder parts of the UK. They are exposed to cold during the winter which cuts back the top growth but maintains more cold tolerant stock. This means they will be sent cut back and dormant in winter and may still have some old, cold damaged growth in early spring as new growth comes through.
- Position
- Flowering
- Growth