Photo taken on Nov 13, 2011 | Photo by Andrei Katrovskiy
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Spider plant is a hardiness champion. It's not so obvious when you just look at it: how it manages to survive when you forget to water it? The plant hides its reserves under the ground, as if saying hey, don't think that I'm a cactus or some other succulent! Come on, give me some water, look, I'm so slender.

Bottom right photo: underground rhizoids without root-hairs — that means, these roots don't consume, they only serve as a repository. And the fluffy roots on top right photo — these are air-roots. The air in the hothouse is very humid, and my spider plant grew a lot of large fluffy air-roots I can presume it used these roots to get more water from the atmosphere. And, of course, when these roots find some soils, they will be quick to use the chance to tuck into it.

Spider plant is native to eastern coast of Africa from Ethiopia to Mosambique; Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon, etc. I looked up what is the climate like in Zimbabwe: it's moist hot summer, cool dry winter and very hot dry spring. No wonder this plant isn't afraid of central heating during Russian winters. In nature spider plants grow in shady forests, under the trees. Mother nature perfectly prepared this plant to indoor living.

species Spider plant, spider ivy Chlorophytum comosum