Transplanting into a better soil is about the only thing I can think of to save this spider. Just be careful when you dump the dirt out of the pot so you dont damage the roots to much, also take off all the dead dried foliage. I'm sure you can save it. Others will give you more advice :>) Good Luck

Spider plants are enduring and strong. I recommend first thing soaking the plant in a bucket for an hour the refresh the soil, and then let it drain. I would wait until spring for repotting, repotting now may be the end of it. You can send me personal messages and I will help you keep it alive though the winter and help you repot it in spring

Rhamel....

It looks like there is a lot of salt/mineral build up on the pot/soil. I would definitely soak the plant in some warm water and then copiously flush the pot with warm water to try to remove some of that mineral build up. Every time you water, you should let the water run through the pot and drain it in a sink, rather than letting the plant sit in the water, because that will help with that buildup of minerals.

I would also put it somewhere that it will receive a lot of bright indirect light. If you can put it directly on the windowsill of an unobstructed northern or eastern window, that would suit it just fine. Southern sun might be a little too intense for it, especially because it is used to languishing in very little light.

I personally would probably try repotting it, because I am a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to doing things with my plants I probably shouldn't and I hate
to see plants in crappy soil, but it IS riskier to repot houseplants at this time of year when the days are shorter and the plant is slowing its growth down. It may be better to wait on that, especially if you aren't used to mixing your own soil. Many pre-packaged soils aren't that great for plants.

I probably would not mess with the "stem" of dead leaves at this stage of things because the plant looks a bit fragile and you don't want to accidentally pull the top part off of whatever living roots are still connected to that "stem". Once it is stronger, yes, I would definitely gently try to pull off the brown papery leaves. They're not doing the plant any good. All they do is offer a hiding spot for pests.

This post was edited by summersunshine on Sat, Oct 25, 14 at 14:08

I agree about the soaking thoroughly before doing anything else. But I would seriously consider repotting now as well. Often plants that are not in active growth respond to repotting much better than those that are -- less stressful. IME, repotting house plants can be done at pretty much any time of year and spiders are particularly tough, as the survival of yours in dismal conditions can attest.

Just use a good quality, fast draining potting soil (avoid Miracle Gro). And try not to disturb the roots much when removing. I'd also gently trim off the dead leaves and the remains along the lower portion and plant a bit deeper so that the lower portion is below the soil surface. That should just encorage roots to develop along that elongated portion.

I just wanted to say... poor thing! Good luck with saving him. They are really hardy. My one got scale. I submerged the whole plant....leaves to roots into a bucket of soapy water with rubbing alcohol in it and the plant beat the scale and survived and is still doing awesome.

Thanks so much for the counsel - and kind wishes for the plant.

What great ideas for easing the move to a different location and eventually into a new, well-draining, container mix.

It seems to have reached a steady-state where it was, and the green leaves that exist really do look fine, so (especially with the great advice here) I'm not too worried about survival of this toughie in the long run.

Found out the plant was originally moved to that cellar because of fungus gnats (And am sure that the potting mix has dried out more than enough over the years to take care of that problem.)

Thanks again.