Brown tips on spider plant leaves?

On spider plants, brown leaves or brown tips usually mean the plant is stressed by water, mineral buildup, light, temperature, or occasional pests rather than that the brown parts can recover.

Answer what you can see

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Push a finger two inches into the soil. What does it feel like?

Which leaves are affected?

Where does it live?

How fast did this happen?

General brown tips can overlap between mineral or fertilizer burn, underwatering, early overwatering, and pests, so use the soil feel, drainage check, residue on the pot, root condition, and close inspection for insects to separate them; window-side browning can also be either sun scorch or cold-window damage depending on recent heat or cold.

The causes in full

Tap-water minerals or fertilizer salt burnMOST COMMON

How to tell
Look for brown, crispy tips on many leaves at once, often with white crust on the soil, pot rim, or drainage holes, while the plant otherwise still has firm green growth.

What to do
If the soil is damp or dry two inches down but not soggy, run room-temperature rainwater, distilled water, or filtered water through the pot until it drains freely, then empty the saucer. Pause fertilizer for a month, then feed lightly only when the plant is actively growing and the soil is already slightly damp.

Underwatering or a dry, tight root ballCOMMON

How to tell
The pot feels very light, the mix is dry deep down or pulling away from the pot, and leaves may look dull, floppy, or crispy at the tips and edges.

What to do
If the soil is dry two inches down, water slowly until water comes out of the drainage holes; if it is bone dry and pulling from the pot, soak the pot in a bowl of water for 20 to 30 minutes, then let it drain fully. If it dries out again within a few days, move it up one pot size into fresh potting mix with drainage.

Overwatering or poor drainage causing root stressCOMMON

How to tell
The soil stays wet for many days, the pot may smell sour, lower leaves yellow or brown first, and roots near the drainage holes may look dark, soft, or mushy instead of pale and firm.

What to do
If the soil is soggy or still damp a week after watering, withhold water until the top two inches feel dry and make sure the pot has open drainage holes. If roots are mushy, repot into fresh airy potting mix, trim off rotten roots, and use a pot only slightly larger than the root ball.

Direct sun or heat scorch through glassCOMMON

How to tell
The brown or bleached damage is mainly on the window-facing side, especially where leaves touch hot glass or sit in a beam of direct sun.

What to do
Move the plant to bright indirect light, or pull it back from the glass and use a sheer curtain during the hottest hours. Do not add extra water for scorch unless the soil is dry two inches down.

Spider mites or scale insectsLESS COMMON

How to tell
Check the undersides of leaves and the leaf bases for fine webbing, tiny moving specks, sticky spots, or small brown bumps that scrape off with a fingernail.

What to do
If you find mites or scale, rinse the leaves, wipe the leaf bases, and treat with a labeled insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, repeating as directed because eggs can hatch later. Keep the plant watered only when the top two inches of soil are dry, since drought-stressed spider plants are more prone to mites.

Cold draft or cold window damageLESS COMMON

How to tell
Damage appears soon after a cold night, the leaf tips or window-facing leaves brown first, and the plant sits against cold glass, near an outside door, or in a draft.

What to do
Move the plant away from cold glass, door drafts, heaters that cycle hot and cold air, and night-time temperature swings. Trim badly browned tips after the plant is back in a stable bright spot.

Will it recover?

Brown leaf tissue will not turn green again, so the goal is to stop the cause and judge success by healthy new growth.

Stopping it happening again

Keep spider plants in bright indirect light, use a pot with drainage, water when the top two inches of soil are dry, empty the saucer, avoid hot sun and cold drafts, and rinse the potting mix occasionally with low-mineral water.