Pothos Care and Propagation: The Complete Guide
Pothos is one of the easiest houseplants you can grow. Give it bright, indirect light, water when the top inch or two of soil is dry, and plant it in a well-draining mix, and it will trail happily for years. It's also simple to propagate: cut a stem just below a node, set it in water, and roots usually appear within a couple of weeks.
Meet the pothos
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is a vining plant with heart-shaped leaves, often sold as golden pothos or devil's ivy. Popular varieties include Golden, Marble Queen, Neon, Jade, Pearls and Jade, Manjula and N'Joy. Satin pothos (Scindapsus pictus) is a close relative with similar care.
One note for pet owners: pothos is listed as toxic to cats and dogs by the ASPCA. Like monstera and philodendron, it contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that irritate the mouth if chewed. See our guide to houseplants toxic to cats for symptoms and what to do.
Light
Pothos does best in bright, indirect light, such as a few feet from a sunny window or right in an east-facing one. It tolerates lower light better than most houseplants, which is why it shows up in offices. In dimmer spots, though, growth slows, the gaps between leaves get longer, and variegated types like Marble Queen lose their white or yellow patterning and turn greener.
Harsh direct afternoon sun can scorch the leaves, leaving pale, bleached or crispy patches. A little gentle morning sun is fine.
Watering
Water thoroughly when the top inch or two of soil is dry, letting excess drain out the bottom. In bright light during summer, that might be about once a week. In lower light or winter, it might be every two weeks or longer. Always check the soil rather than going by the calendar.
Pothos tells you when it's thirsty: the leaves soften and droop a little. It usually perks up within hours of watering. That makes it forgiving, but don't make a habit of letting it wilt hard.
Overwatering is the bigger risk. Soil that stays wet leads to yellow leaves, black or brown mushy spots, and eventually root rot. Our guide to overwatering vs underwatering explains how to tell the two apart.
Soil, pots and feeding
Use a standard indoor potting mix with some perlite or orchid bark added for drainage. Always use a pot with a drainage hole. Pothos doesn't mind being a bit root-bound, so repot only when roots fill the pot or circle the bottom, moving up just one size.
Feed with a balanced houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength about once a month in spring and summer. Skip fertilizer in fall and winter when growth slows.
Normal room temperatures and household humidity suit pothos well. Keep it away from cold drafts and heating vents.
Common pothos problems
Yellow leaves. One or two older yellow leaves now and then is normal. Several yellowing at once usually points to overwatering, especially if the soil stays damp. Very dry soil plus yellow, crispy leaves suggests underwatering.
Brown, crispy edges. Usually underwatering, low humidity, or too much direct sun.
Black or dark brown soft spots. Often a sign of overwatering or root rot. Check the roots.
Leggy vines with small leaves. Not enough light. Move it brighter and trim back the long stems, which you can then propagate.
Losing variegation. Too little light. Move it somewhere brighter.
Pests. Pothos can attract mealybugs, spider mites and scale. Check under leaves and along stems now and then.
If something looks off and you're not sure why, Planted can identify your plant from a photo, help diagnose issues like overwatering or pests, and give you a care schedule matched to your home.
How to propagate pothos in water
Propagating pothos is a good way to fill out a sparse plant, rescue healthy growth from a struggling one, or make new plants to share.
What you need: clean, sharp scissors or pruners, a glass or jar, and room-temperature water.
Step 1: Find the nodes. A node is the small bump on the stem where a leaf joins it. You'll often see a small brown nub there, which is an aerial root. Roots grow from nodes, so every cutting needs at least one.
Step 2: Take the cutting. Cut a healthy vine just below a node. Cuttings with two to four leaves tend to root reliably. You can cut a long vine into several pieces, as long as each piece has a node and at least one leaf.
Step 3: Remove the lowest leaf. Strip any leaf that would sit underwater, since submerged leaves rot. Keep the nodes in the water and the remaining leaves above it.
Step 4: Place in water. Set the cuttings in a jar of water so one or two nodes are submerged. Put the jar in bright, indirect light, out of direct sun.
Step 5: Change the water. Replace it every few days to once a week, or whenever it looks cloudy. Rinse off any slimy film.
Step 6: Wait for roots. Small white roots usually appear within one to two weeks, and sometimes faster in warm, bright conditions. Rooting can take longer in winter.
Rooting hormone isn't needed for pothos, since it roots readily on its own.
Moving cuttings into soil
Once roots are about one to two inches long, usually after three to six weeks, your cuttings are ready for soil. Waiting much longer isn't harmful, but roots that grow very long in water can take a little more time to adjust.
- Choose a small pot with a drainage hole. Several cuttings in one pot make a fuller plant.
- Fill with a well-draining potting mix and make a hole for each cutting.
- Plant the cuttings so the roots and nodes are covered, and firm the soil gently.
- Water thoroughly and keep the soil a little more evenly moist than usual for the first couple of weeks while the roots adjust.
- Then switch to the normal routine of watering when the top inch or two is dry.
Some wilting or a yellow leaf in the first week or two is normal transition stress.
You can also root cuttings directly in moist soil, or in sphagnum moss, but water rooting lets you watch the progress, which is part of the fun.
Common questions
How fast does pothos grow?
In bright, indirect light and warm conditions, pothos can put on a lot of vine during spring and summer. Growth slows considerably in low light and in winter. Trimming encourages fuller growth near the base and gives you cuttings to propagate.
Can pothos live in water permanently?
Pothos cuttings can grow in water for a long time if you change the water regularly and add a very diluted liquid fertilizer occasionally. Growth is usually slower than in soil, and moving a plant that's lived in water for a long time into soil can cause some shock.
Why is my pothos cutting not rooting?
The most common reasons are no node in the water, too little light, cold temperatures, or water that's gone stale. Make sure at least one node is submerged, move the jar somewhere bright and warm, and change the water regularly. Cuttings with rot at the cut end should be trimmed back above the rot and restarted.
How do I make my pothos fuller?
Prune long vines just above a node to encourage branching, then root the cuttings and plant them back into the same pot. More light also helps the plant grow fuller with shorter gaps between leaves.