Kelly, although water accumulated in the pot explains the reason your variegated Spider is having problems, you said your other Spider Plants were browning, too. There's something else going on, but I can't figure it out, unless your Spiders are in the same type of pots, and all are holding excess water. Is there a silvery glow in the center of brown? Approximately, what percentage of rotted roots were there? When you started this thread, you said you had no idea what you were doing, 'though I think you were being modest-you figured out part of the problem, ID'd rotted roots, and discussed proper watering.' On the other hand, you still may need help. How long have you been growing plants? You knew not to over-water, felt the soil, etc. Sometimes, checking the top two inches isn't enough. Inserting a stake deep within the soil, removing and checking the stake, 'like you would baking a cake,' to see if it comes out clean or muddy. Another way is by lifting to test weight. A container with dry soil can feel weightless. 'almost, depending on pot size.' Moist soil weighs more, wet soil is heavy. It takes a few tries to be accurate...test when soil is completely dry, and after a drink of water. Another problem can be salt accumulation caused by fertilizer, or even water. Although, I try watering my Spiders w/water that sits out at least 24 hours, 'they say, water straight from the tap will cause brown leaf tips,' soil should be leached every so often. I take mine to the sink, hose until water drains out of holes. At the same time, leaves are showered. You mentioned fertilizing once, but who knows with what and how often plants were fertilized before hitting the stores..Or in two of your Spider's cases, the sellers you bought from. One more thing I wanted to mention. Cutting brown tips without leaving a little brown on can spread..When I suggested clipping the ends, I think I suggested leaving about 1/8" of brown when you clipped. Don't be afraid of clipping tips, as long as a little brown is left on each leaf. Before your Spiders next watering, 'check before giving a drink,' fill up an old container, (I save old, clean milk containers,) let sit overnight..Water 24 hours or later. I really hope your Spiders make it. Toni

Hi Shelley, We have also been dealing with a large number of the Black Widow spiders. We re-located to northern California from the Mobile, AL area, and found our new neighborhood was just crawling with all sorts of spiders, including a BUNCH of black widows. Here in the San Joaquin valley outside of Stockton, CA, the very hot and dry summers lead to large numbers of these pests. Since I discovered the problem late one night a few months ago, I have killed about six dozen VERY LARGE black widows here just around the outside of our home. The method I used to get them under control here went like this: I am VERY afraid of any spider, ESPECIALLY these, so I used flying wasp and hornet spray (Raid) to kill them from a safe distance. I found this spray will kill spiders almost on contact, in about 30 seconds or so. Hit them directly on the body with one good spray, and they will drop rather quickly. I found that my spiders would hide away from their webs in the heat of the day and come out in the evening hours. I did most of my spider hunting around dusk using a high power flashlight. Black widow spiders spin a unique rather unorganized looking web that is easy to spot once you know what to look for. Most of mine were near ground level with webs going from the house to the ground less than a foot off the ground. Also they were found behind plants, in bushes between flower beds and the house. A few were up on the eves of the house, but mainly they stayed low to the ground. My neighbor left a work truck parked in his driveway without moving it for a month or so. We killed two dozen just under his truck and in the pick-up bed. Our black widows are somewhat larger than I remember back in Alabama. Here they averaged between quarter and half-dollar size, with a few larger than that. For round two, after a week of evening spider hunts with the hornet spray, I went looking for a product to keep them away for good. I found a product called Cyper WP, which is a white powder insecticide you dilute with water and apply with a garden sprayer. ( same as DEMON WP or CYNOFF WP ) Search CYPER WP on GOOGLE This product is recommended for spider control, and it serves as a good all-around pest control agent as well. I purchased it from Pro Pest Products just outside of Atlanta, GA on the web. www.doyourownpestcontrol.com they had good prices and very fast shipping. Their number is 1-800-476-3368 I used this as directed, and after a few weeks or so, we have no more spiders of any kind hanging around. ( or any other insects for that matter....it kills almost everything considered a pest) Once dry, it remains active for about six months or so, according to the online product reviews I read. It also claims to be rather pet-safe after it is dry. I am very satisfied with the results I have seen here. I hope this helps with your spider troubles. Feel free to send me a message if you need any more information. Best Regards, Ryan B.

I have planted sixteen of these plants. I planted eights last fall and eight this spring. The eight I had planted in the fall or doing well have grown nearly two feet. But, six of the remaining eight that I planted late this sping appear to have the same problem your plants do. One is nearly dead with only a few twigs remaining. I pulled the brown/black damage off of the remaining plants and they seem to be doing better. There is new growth on the plants. I thought that I might have underwatered them. The eight plants that are doing well get a great deal of east light. The other eight which are not doing well get east and west light. From what I see, the plants with the most west light are doing worse. \ I have pulled and cut the brown/back spot from the trees and increased the watering. Two of the trees do seem to be doing a litle better. As far as pet urine and feces goes, I see little animal feces in my yard. And the damage is mostly in the upper parts of the trees and it seems to impact some limbs more than others. I suppose animals could be urinating on the lower limbs and as the limbs die, the upper part of the brances die first. I'm curious about what you discover.

spider are our friends .. ignore them ... they are predators ... its simply fall morning dew.. that makes the webs apparent apparent ... need a pic of the arbs re: the black stuff internal shedding is normal.. and increased by transplant ... ken