Variegated evergreen foliage, cute white flowers in summer, and runners that dangle little plantlets ready to be snipped off and potted: the ribbon plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is one of the easiest indoor plants to multiply. Keep it near a bright window out of direct sun, away from radiators, and its foliage only grows nicer.
| Name | Chlorophytum comosum |
|---|---|
| Family | Antheriaceae |
| Type | indoor plant |
| Height | 20 inches (50 cm) indoors |
| Exposure | very well-lit |
| Soil | soil mix |
| Foliage | Evergreen |
| Blooming | summer |
Upon purchasing, if the pot is too small and that the roots already reach out to the edges of the pot, proceed to repot your chlorophytum in a slightly larger pot.
After that, every year and preferably in spring, repot your ribbon plant in a pot of a very slightly larger size.
Propagating your ribbon plant
It is a plant that very easily propagates by simply repotting the runners that the ribbon plant sends out.
All ribbon plants share the same easy care, but they differ in leaf marking, size and how freely they throw out runners. Use the table below to match a variety to the pot, shelf or hanging basket you have in mind.
| Variety | Foliage | Plantlets on runners | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Ocean’ | Broad leaves, crisp white edges | Moderate | Windowsill and tabletop |
| ‘Variegatum’ | Green centre, white margins | Free | Shelf or pedestal |
| ‘Vittatum’ | Cream-white central stripe, green margins | Very free | Classic hanging basket |
| ‘Bonnie’ | White-striped, curled and twisting | Abundant | Desks and small pots |
The ribbon plant can survive indoors, both in very well-lit spots and in slightly darker places.
The best place to set up your ribbon plant is near a window that lets a lot of light through, but isn’t in direct sunlight.
If you’re looking for a plant to put in your bathroom and that it has a window, a ribbon plant is the perfect choice.
The more light a ribbon plant receives, the nicer its foliage.
Absolutely avoid setting it near heat sources such as radiators, because moisture is what this tropical plant needs most.
Eliminate dead and wilted leaves as you notice them, only snipping off the portion that has already died off and leaving the healthy part intact.
In summer, you can settle your ribbon plant outdoors, just avoid direct sun.
The ribbon plant can’t take dry spells but also dies if there’s excess moisture in the soil.
In spring and summer
Verify that the soil mix stays moist and check that water drains properly.
Provide leaf plant liquid fertilizer every 8 to 15 days during the growing phase.
In fall and winter
Decrease the watering and wait for the soil to be dry before watering again. The cooler the surrounding temperature gets, the less you need to water.
The tips of leaves dry up and turn brown
This is a common problem for ribbon plants, and it usually means that the surrounding air is too dry.
If the leaves tend to lose their shine, it is a good idea to give it more light.
Ribbon plant parasites and diseases
Most diseases targeting the ribbon plants are the usual indoor plant diseases, red spider mites and scale insects.
Most ribbon plant troubles come down to air, light or water. Match what you see to the likely cause before you reach for a treatment.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Leaf tips dry up and turn brown | Surrounding air is too dry | Snip off damaged leaves at the base, mist with soft water, and stand the pot on a tray of water-soaked clay pebbles without the pot touching the water |
| Leaves lose their shine | Not enough light | Move it to a brighter spot: the more light it gets, the nicer the foliage |
| Plant declines after a dry spell or in soggy soil | Watering too little, or excess moisture around roots | Water regularly but moderately, check the pot has a drainage hole and add gravel or clay pebbles at the bottom |
| Fine webbing or sticky, shell-like bumps on leaves | Red spider mites or scale insects, the usual indoor plant pests | Treat as for any indoor plant attack, and keep the leaves misted, as dry air favours these pests |
Corrected early, none of these setbacks is fatal to such a fast-growing plant.
The ribbon plant is a very interesting indoor plant, thanks to its variegated evergreen foliage and its summer blooming. It bears cute white flowers in summer.
A fast-growing plant, it’s best to grow it in a pot or container, otherwise it would tend to grow invasive. That’s actually one of the reasons it has to be repotted so regularly.
I have a stalk-like Ribbon plant that is getting quite tall – in a 9″ pot – over the last 8yrs.
I’d like to keep it at its current height…and not re-pot if it can be avoided.
What should I do?
Hi John! There are two main options to keep your plant thriving without repotting. They’re not exclusive, so you can do both together if you wish.
– the first is to topdress. This means removing soil from the top of the pot to a depth of one or two inches (around 5 cm), until roots make this difficult. Then, fill that space up with fresh compost + potting mix. Nutrients will trickle down to the roots below.
– the second is to add fertilizer to your watering. What’s best is to alternate different fertilizers if you use store-bought ones, to vary nutrients. However, you can make your own fertilizer if you can get your hand on what no one else wants: weeds! These fermented weed teas make for excellent, complete fertilizers. What ever you use, keep doses low. It’s easy to “burn” the plant with too much fertilizer. Dilute with rainwater instead of tap water, especially in the long term, so minerals won’t build up.
Repotting has a double purpose. One is to replenish nutrients, but the above techniques cover that aspect. The second, however, is overdeveloped roots choking the plant out. This also reduces growth. There’s no other way to solve this but to remove the plant from its pot. Either you transplant to a larger pot, or you snip off about a third of the roots and put it back in the same pot (best with fresh soil, but not necessarily).
Since you’ve had the plant for 8 years, you must have a feeling of what makes it happy, so keep it up!