I think plantmasterm is trying to clarify that the babies need to have visible root formations. I don't think anybody made that basic point above. For either method, I would agree. Tina, no, and no... unless they are in the ground and you trip over the "umbilical cord." They make it as outdoor perennials here. Where are you? Also wanted to say if you have enough babies, why not give each teacher one of each - water and soil. And I loved hopeful/Toni's clear pot idea. Al, loved your scientific-yet-understandable info above. Thanks for taking the time to share it!! What happens to the water roots when the plants are put in soil? Do they die off and new roots are formed, or do those water roots change/adapt? Is there a small amount of time that would be beneficial in water to soften or swell the roots first?

Hello Ines_99. Im alittle late in jumping in here, so please forgive me. Im sorry you got stiffed on postage on here. It does happen. Some people just cant uphold thier end of a deal, and/ or are just plain dishonest. That said, Id like to ask you if you have any solid GREEN babies that are a decent size w/ roots. If you do, ill be more than happy to send you postage before hand for a couple of them! Please email me and let me know. Post here too so ill know to look in my email. I would really appreciate it. I miss my solid green spider. As for rooting babies with no roots, its fairly simple. A small cup or budvase that the plant can sit its "bottom" in water, and usually in a couple weeks or so, youll have roots. However, when possible, I wait until the "babies" already have ariel roots. Below is my spider plant history I posted on another thread. ********************************** I am alittle late in coming in here, but Ill share none the less. Ive usually had a spider plant. I think ive had a total of 3. They have usually been very long lived and the only one that never produced seeds or babies was my solid green one. You dont see too many solid green ones, and I kind of am partial to them. I currently have a small verigated one. I work in Downtown Washington DC, and the Smithsonian Castle's gardnes in the summer usually have many, very large hanging basket spider plants outdoors on light posts. They are ENORMOUS, and usually have hundreds of babies on each plant, if not more. They are all verigated. There are usually 40 or 50 of these giant plants around, and most of them are in direct sun, and do great. My last spider died a few years ago, it never even produced a bloom spike, let alone a baby. It was solid green. So, summer 2004 when I was on my luch break, I took a small baby from one of the gigantic outdoor spiders at Smithsonian. It lived in my office, in water for about a year, and did OK. It did almost die a few times. I took it home and repotted it in winter 05/06 in a small ceramic pot. At one point, it only had 3 leaves. 1 leaf on one, and 2 leaves on the other. Slowly, it put out a couple of new leaves. I placed it outdoors in full sun for the summer, and in less than two months it is 10 times the size it was, it now has about 30 leaves, and has a nice bloom spike that has been blooming for a month, and even has a seed pod. Im hoping I can get a "GREEN" one out of the seeds as id like to keep a verigated one, and a solid green one. So they definately can take full summer sun, at least here in Washington.

Bottled drinking water isn't the same as distilled water, but it can be close if the filtration system is reverse osmosis (RO). Distilling deionizes water, the important aspect of which is it leaves all dissolved solids behind when water changes phase to a gaseous form, so it is free of any solutes when it recondenses. RO water is very close to distilled. The activated charcoal filters (especially like those sold to treat tap water .... Brita, etc.) do not remove negatively charged ions (most of the chemicals dissolved in your tapwater). Negatively charged ions do not react with charcoal or the ion exchange resins in the filters, so they won't help. FWIW - I don't think we can say, if you allow your water to rest for a day it won't cause any browning of foliage. In fact, I think a good argument can be mounted for the opposite effect to be true. Spider plants react adversely to a high level of solutes in the soil solution, so distilled water (no solutes) would be helpful (snowmelt or water from dehumidifiers would be, too). Allowing your irrigation water to rest in a container for a day, or two or 10, won't help guard against spoiled foliage. Technically, it INCREASES the potential for water to cause burned leaf tips/margins. Only in water purification systems that are throwbacks to the 50s & 60s will you find a volatile form or chlorination. This is because of it's short half life. Newer forms of chlorination use chloramine, which doesn't gas off like the previously used compounds of chlorine. Fluoridation of drinking water has always used a compound that is nonvolatile, so it too, remains in any water left out to rest for any length of time. As mentioned, and since some evaporation will occur while water is resting (especially if it is in a container that has a lot of air exposure at its opening, as with a pan or bucket) The level of chlorine, fluorine, and other solutes becomes more concentrated as water rests and a fraction of its volume evaporates. We just recently rescued a kitten from a litter a crippled feral cat had. It's at my feet now - inside a large, stiff plastic bag (no suffocation risk) - playing saber tooth cave kitten. Toss a bottle cap into the bag & he's good for at least 10 minutes - a remarkable attention span accomplishment - at least for this cat. ..... couldn't resist adding this one: Some info on spider plants from one of my posts on another thread: "While necrotic leaf tips or margins can occur in this plant from over/under-watering, in fact, it's much more common for the actual cause to be a high level of soluble salts in soils. It's also commonly reported that this plant is particularly intolerant or fluoride, but it's still more common for the cause of leaf burn to be a high level of solubles, to which fluoride can be a contributor, than it is to be fluoride itself. WHEN there is a high level of salts in the soil, low humidity can be a contributor, but low humidity alone rarely presents an issue, it must be in combination with a high level of soluble salts in the soil and either over/under-watering. Of course, you cannot correct the already burned tips (they won't 'heal'), but you can take steps to keep it from happening: A) Most important is to use a soil that drains very freely. This allows you to water copiously, flushing the accumulating salts from the soil each time you water. B) Fertilize frequently when the plant is growing well, but at low doses - perhaps 1/4 the recommended strength. This, in combination with the favorable watering habit described above, will keep soluble salts levels low, and keep levels from rising due to the accumulative effect we always see when we are forced to water in sips when plants are in water-retentive soils. C) When watering, using rainwater, snow melt, water from your dehumidifiers, or distilled water also eliminates the soluble salts in your tap water and will go a long way toward eliminating or minimizing leaf burn. D) If you make your own soils and use perlite, be sure the perlite is rinsed thoroughly, which removes most of the fluorides associated with it's use. E) Allowing water to rest overnight doesn't/won't do anything in the way of helping reduce the amount of fluoride (the compounds are not volatile), and it only helps with chlorine in a very few cases, depending on what method of chlorination was used to treat your tap water; but nearly all municipalities are currently using chlorination compounds that are entirely nonvolatile, which means they won't dissipate into the air." Al

Leon, you made this statement, "My problem (if it is a problem) is that if I plant a leaf without first rooting it I don't know and can't tell if it's rooting." Your statement got past me. There is an answer to this. It is in "Rooting Leaves 101". It is the Tug Test. Every now and then, you give just a slight "tug" or pull on the rooting leaf. If there is resistance, the leaf is rooting. If it comes out of the soil, gently replant it. I don't suggest doing this until the leaf has been rooting for at least a month. Whether babies sprout or not, if the leaf doesn't come out of the soil when you "tug", you know something is going on down below. THIS is when you have a conversation with Miss Patience!!!!! Good Luck! Rosie