Family: Araceae

Botanical Name: Epipremnum aureum

Plant Type: Climber, Trailing vine

Foliage Type: Evergreen

Propagation: Pothos plant can be propagated from cuttings. You can root it in water or soil.

Toxicity: Mildly toxic to cats and dogs, it contains insoluble calcium oxalates. Ingestion may cause vomiting, irritation in the mouth, and difficulty in swallowing, which subsides after a few hours.

  • Golden Pothos: Also known as the devil’s ivy, this is the most common variety of pothos that has heart-shaped leaves with a green and golden hue.
  • Silver Satin Pothos: Just like the name, leaves of silver satin pothos are satin green with silver streaks. Other names of this plant are Silver Philodendron, Silk Pothos, and Satin Pothos.
  • Pearls and Jade Pothos: Not different from golden pothos but have darker green leaves.
  • Neon Pothos: This kind of pothos is very similar to golden pothos but with a touch of dark neon foliage.
  • Marble Queen Pothos: This variety of pothos have white variegation. Due to this, its growth is slower than golden pothos.
  • Cebu Blue Pothos: Cebu blue pothos looks quite attractive with silver shiny blue leaves.
  • Manjula Pothos: Curly heart-shaped leaves of this plant look attractive with creamy-white and green variegation.

To check out in detail, read our article on pothos varieties here

Pothos Plant Information

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) plant is originated somewhere in Oceania or Southeastern Asia. It is commonly known as Devil’s ivy, Golden pothos, Ceylon creeper, and Money plant. This is a popular indoor plant, and you can find it in homes, hospital premises, offices, and almost everywhere.

This vine can grow anywhere with low maintenance. As a houseplant, it can be 5-10 feet in length, support it with string or pole to let it grow upward, or plant that in a window box or hanging basket and see the variegated golden climber dangling down with style.

Propagating Pothos

Propagating pothos plant is very easy, just cut 4-6 inches long stems of the existing plant below the nodes and root them in the water or in the soil. If you are growing the rooted cuttings in the soil, cover the nodes properly with soil. Nodes are the tiny brown bumps that you’ll find opposite of each leaf stem, and new roots will appear from these nodes.

Read our detailed article on pothos propagation here

Requirements for Growing Pothos

Location

Pothos plant can thrive in soft indoor light. It means indirect, bright sunlight is enough for the growth of pothos. Rotate the plant regularly so each part can get sufficient exposure.

Soil

Pothos can grow in a slightly acidic to alkaline mix. This houseplant can even flourish in a pot filled with ordinary garden soil. Basically, any regular houseplant potting mix with good drainage is good for growing pothos indoors.

Watering

Outdoor pothos plant prefers growing in slightly moist soil but forgives irregular watering and occasional drought. However, indoor pothos care is different, and you need to be careful when it comes to watering.

When it comes to watering pothos, you can estimate how thirsty your plant is by just giving attention to the leaves and soil. Like with many indoor plants, don’t water it until the soil starts to look a bit dry. Frequent watering can rot the roots, so always feel the moisture by your finger before watering again.

Temperature and Humidity

Pothos are warm-climate plants and don’t like cold weather. The ideal temperature required is above 50 F (10 C). Normal room temperature is perfect for this houseplant. Pothos like high humidity, but it’s one of those indoor plants that can bear dry air very efficiently, which is why it is considered one of the best low-maintenance houseplants.

Support

While you can allow the pothos vines to trail down beautifully, you shouldn’t do this if you want big pothos leaves. One of the secrets of growing pothos with giant leaves is providing support to the vine so that it trains to grow up. You can use a moss pole or rope for this purpose! If you want to grow pothos with big leaves–don’t miss reading this guide here.

Pothos Plant Care

Fertilizer

When it comes to Pothos Plant Care, this plant requires very low attendance. Frequent fertilization is not necessarily needed when you’ve planted pothos in pots. But you can feed it with a balanced liquid fertilizer like 20-20-20, once in 4-6 weeks during the growing season. If you’re feeding in a weak dose (1/2 or 1/4 of the recommended strength of the fertilizer manufacturer), you can do this once in 2-3 weeks.

If you notice leaves burnt from the edges, this can be a sign of overfertilization. Follow these techniques to help your plant.

Repotting

Pothos grow well in a slightly root-bound state, but you’ll need to repot it soon if you see the plant outgrowing the current pot, one of the signs is when you observe roots crowding the soil. Carefully shift the plant in one size bigger pot.

The best time to repot pothos is when the weather is warm, more specifically in spring or summer. In a frost-free, subtropical, or tropical climate, do it anytime!

  • Tie up the long trailing stems so that they won’t come in the way during the transplanting.
  • Choose the diameter of the pot 2 inches larger than the previous one. For example, if pothos was planted in a pot of 6 inches diameter, repot it in a pot ranging from 8-10 inches.

Pruning

Remove dead, decayed, and yellowing stems & leaves regularly. If the plant is leggy and shows a lack of growth, simply trim back the stems by either pruning or pinching up to one or two nodes. You can also cut back leafless branches to the soil level to rejuvenate the growth. Also, if you want to multiply your plant or need to reshape it, you’ll need to prune stems.

If you want to make your pothos fuller, replant the pruned cuttings in the same pot; once they’ll root, your plant will start looking full and lush. For more such pothos growing tricks, click here!

Right Time to Prune Pothos

Well, you can prune anytime during the growing season, every few weeks. A little bit of regular pinching and pruning make pothos fuller.

Pests and Diseases

Common garden pests such as mealybugs, spider mites, and scale insects might bother it. The best way to get rid of them is by applying a cotton ball soaked in alcohol directly to the affected site. You can also use insecticidal soap to remove them.

The most common disease is phytophthora root rot, and it causes leaves to turn black and brown; stems of the pothos remain safe as it only affects roots and leaves.

As this disease is favored by high soil moisture, you can prevent it by avoiding overwatering. Pruning the affected part of the plant is the last resort.

Growing Pothos in Water

Pothos plant care, when grown in water, is super easy. Plant it in water to add greenery to your tabletops, desks, and shelves. It’s a part of our list of similar houseplants. Plant it in fish bowls, glass jars, terrariums, and vases without meddling into the mess of soil. If you’re a creative person, get some test tubes or cool mason jars to grow them.

For more details, check out our article on planting pothos in the water here

Pothos Plant Indoor Uses

  • Golden pothos or any variety of this plant can easily beautify your interior with lush green variegated leaves.
  • Plant it in a hanging basket to enjoy easy low maintenance vines cascading down.
  • You can also grow it in water in fish bowls, mason jars, and cool glass containers.

Pothos Plant Benefits

  • This plant is a natural air purifier. It removes formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide, which has been proven in various studies.
  • After spending hours in front of the computer screen, your eyes get tired and need some relief, you can treat your eyes by just staring at the pothos plant since it will act as an eye coolant. According to a Japanese study, the pothos plant has a calming effect on the mind.
  • It’s believed in Feng shui & Vastu that the pothos plant brings luck and prosperity. We also added it to our list of money attracting plants, check it out here.
  • To learn more about proven golden pothos benefits, read this article.

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