Description
Pothos vines do not cling to trellises and supports on their own (like ivy might), but they can be trained onto supports to give the appearance of twining. As indoor plants, pothos specimens up to 30 feet long are common, though most are kept at a much shorter length. If you choose to let your pothos grow into a long vine, it can be secured on hooks along walls and over window frames. Vines left to grow on their own can get very tangled, so shake them loose every now and then to keep them from becoming a mess.
Caring for a pothos plant is very easy and they’re pretty tolerant of neglect and growing environments that are not totally ideal. In addition, pothos is usually pest-free.
Pothos like to have their soil dry out completely between waterings. If left in continually damp soil, the plant’s roots will rot. Black spots on the leaves (or the sudden collapse of the plant) indicate that the soil has been kept too wet. Let the plant tell you when to water—when it starts to droop, it needs a good drink. However, don’t wait until the leaves start to shrivel or you will lose some leaves. Dry, brown edges mean the plant was kept dry too long.
Pothos should be kept in temperatures that are consistently above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, though they most appreciate a common room temperature that hovers between 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Additionally, pothos plants like high humidity, so you can increase the moisture in the air around the plant by housing it in a typically-humid area of the home, such as a kitchen or bathroom. Still, the plant is very tolerant and can thrive even where there is low humidity, so there’s no need to invest in a space humidifier or go to extreme measures.
Pothos plants aren’t heavy feeders, but since there are typically no nutrients in most potting soils, you can feed monthly to bi-monthly with any balanced houseplant fertilizer to increase their nutrition.
