Pothos care guide
Pothos Care Guide
Pothos is the houseplant universally recommended to first-time owners. It tolerates low light, skipped waterings, and small pots, and it propagates from a single cutting in water within two weeks. The trailing vines reach several feet long if you let them grow.
Quick answer: Every 1-2 weeks; let the top half of the soil dry between waterings in Low to bright indirect; variegation fades in deep shade and burns in direct sun. Use the watering estimator below to tune the interval to your pot and conditions.
Quick facts
Light, water, soil, temperature, humidity
- Light
- Low to bright indirect; variegation fades in deep shade and burns in direct sun
- Water
- Every 1-2 weeks; let the top half of the soil dry between waterings
- Soil
- Any well-draining indoor potting mix
- Temperature
- 18-24°C (65-75°F); will tolerate down to 13°C / 55°F briefly
- Humidity
- 30-60%; happy in normal household air
- Growth habit
- Trailing vine; can climb if given a moss pole
- Mature size
- Vines 1-3 m (3-10 ft); easily trimmed back
- Pet toxicity
- Toxic to cats and dogs if chewed (calcium oxalate)
Tool 1 · Watering estimator
How often should I water this pothos?
Tool 2 · Troubleshooting
What's wrong with my pothos?
Pick the symptom you're seeing. The decision tree below walks through diagnostic questions and lands on a specific cause and remedy.
Tool 3 · Printable
Care card
A one-page printable care card with the quick-facts and watering baseline. Fold or pin to a fridge / kitchen wall as a quick reference next to the plant.
Expert tips
Three or four things most pothos owners get wrong
- Cut leggy vines back to encourage bushy growth. New growth emerges from the node just below the cut.
- Root cuttings in a glass of water on a bright kitchen counter. After 2-3 weeks, the roots are long enough to pot up in soil.
- Pothos variegation is light-driven. If the leaves are turning solid green, move the plant closer to a window. If the leaves are turning fully white, you have direct sun burning the chlorophyll.
- Repot every 2-3 years. The roots tolerate being a bit cramped, but if water runs straight through the pot, the plant is root-bound.
Background
Where this plant comes from
Pothos is native to the Solomon Islands and Mo'orea in the south Pacific, where it climbs tree trunks to mature heights of 20 metres. The species was widely distributed by the European horticultural trade in the late 19th century. The variegated golden form most commonly sold almost never flowers indoors — virtually every pothos in cultivation is a sterile cutting clone descended from the same handful of plants.
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