Pothos Info and Care

Pothos, the charming, lush tropical vine, is surely one of the most undemanding and hardy houseplants you can grow.

The plant got the common name Devil’s Vine or Devil’s Ivy for a reason – it is hard to kill it!

So, if you are someone who does not have too much time to take care of plants or a green thumb, this evergreen beauty is the best choice.

With minimal care, this attractive plant brings fresh greenery into every space but also purifies the air, removing harmful toxins, such as formaldehyde, trichloroethene, xylene, and benzene.

Name and Origin

The plant’s Latin name, Epipremnum aureum, is a compound of the ancient Greek words epi (over) and premnom (trunk, stem), which indicates its climbing and epiphytic growing habit.

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The attribute aureum means golden and refers to the yellow patterns on the foliage.

It belongs to the Araceae family and is native to tropical regions of China, Japan, India, Australia, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea.

Pothos Description

Pothos is an evergreen, epiphytic climber with shiny, oppositely arranged leaves. In its natural environment, it can grow up to 60 feet in height and 12 feet in width. In an indoor garden, you can expect it to grow to around 10 feet long and a few feet wide.

Depending on your aesthetic preferences, you can provide support or a wall to climb or place it in a hanging basket to create a gorgeous green waterfall of charming, 4 to 8 inches long and wide heart-shaped, variegated leaves.

Whether you choose an upward or downward trajectory, you should know that pothos is a fast-growing species from which you can expect up to a foot and a half of growth in one month.

Pothos Care

If you want to learn what your pothos need to reach the upper limit in size, showiness, and lushness, here’s what you need to pay attention to!

Light Requirements

Pothos does not need a lot of light for a healthy life, which is why it is often mentioned in the context of plants that can be grown in low-light conditions.

Moreover, it is adaptable enough to handle fluorescent lighting; therefore, it is a good choice for offices or other public places with reduced natural light.

However, you should remember that foliage of variegated pothoses can become completely green without enough light.

If something like this happens to your beloved pothos, just move it to a brighter place, and a brighter future for its leaves will arrive.

This great plant can tolerate well-lit places too, but still, it comes from shaded tropical forests and is not happy under direct light.

Paleness or lifeless necrotic areas on the leaves often indicate excessive exposure to direct sunlight.

Therefore, if your pothos is next to a south window, draw curtains over the window when the sun is the meanest.

Water Requirements

Devil’s Ivy should only be watered when its soil is dry because it does not like to sit in wet soil – too much water leads to the yellowing of the leaves and rotting of the stem and roots.

The best practice is to check the soil every week, touch it in several places, and water it thoroughly if the top inch is dry.

After all, thirsty pothos is easy to recognize: its foliage curls slightly inward and lose firmness!

Fortunately, this hardy plant recovers quickly as soon as you water it, so do not worry about your pothos staying thirsty now and then.

Soil Requirements

Pothos prefers good, nutrient-rich potting soil with well-draining capabilities.

You can grow it in any ready-made standard substrate for indoor plants that are not prone to compaction and allows water to pass through quickly.

Alternatively, you can mix equal parts of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and compost because such a mixture provides excellent conditions for the healthy growth of your plant.

Fertilizer

If pothos grows in a quality substrate with enough nutrients, you will not be blamed if you do not provide them with regular additional feeding.

Yet, as with many other plants, adding nutrients to the soil benefit their growth and health, so it would be nice if you did it.

You can do this once a month with a universal liquid fertilizer from spring to fall when the plant intensively grows.

Try not to overdo it, though, since too much fertilizer can lead to excess salt accumulation in the substrate, resulting in burning of the leaves.

Temperature and Humidity Requirements

Since pothos is a plant from the warmer corners of our beautiful Earth, you should provide a place in your home where temperatures do not fall below 50° F and go over 90° F. For the best results, go with the golden middle.

Like all other plants from the Aracea family, pothos prefers elevated air humidity of 50% to 70%.

However, the adaptable pothos will be happy growing in an environment with 30% to 40% humidity, a common value in most homes.

Yet, If you want your pothos to be the freshest version of itself, it would be good to occasionally spray it with distilled water and clean the dust that accumulates on its leaves.

Potting and Repotting

Pothos is not burdensome in the repotting department either since you do not have to move it to a bigger container every year, but every second or third one when its roots outgrow the container.

Its root system grows much more slowly than the lush above-ground part, so you should move it to a larger container only when the root veins stick out of the draining holes or if its foliage droops.

Late winter or early spring is the most effective time to transplant, but you can also transplant pothos later in the season.

Propagation

You can easily propagate your pothos by 4 to 6 inches long top cuttings placed in a glass of water. You should cut the stem half an inch below the node and remove the lower leaves leaving only the top ones.

The roots will develop in four to six weeks if placed in a warm spot with indirect light.

You don’t have to rush to transplant into the soil because pothos grows well in hydroponics if you regularly change the water in the glass!

Toxicity

All the plants from the Araceae family, including pothos, are poisonous. Their leaves, branches, and roots contain calcium oxalates causing vomiting and stomach ache if ingested.

Therefore, keep your pothos out of the reach of children and pets and wear gloves when handling them, as it can cause skin irritation in sensitive people.

Pests and Diseases

Pests rarely attack naturally healthy, durable, and resistant pothos. Of course, mealybugs and scales can appear occasionally, but you can easily get rid of them by applying a neem oil solution.

You can expect root rot or fungal leaf diseases due to over-enthusiastic watering.

Therefore, following the above care tips will keep most potential problems away from your plant.

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