Pothos plant care: the complete houseplant guide

Pothos plant care comes down to three things: bright indirect light, watering only when the top 1–2 inches of soil have dried, and a pot with drainage holes. Get those right and Epipremnum aureum is one of the most forgiving houseplants you can grow, putting on 1–2 feet of vine a year in a normal living room.

Where it fails, the cause is almost always the same: too much water in too little light. The rest of this guide gives the numbers, the variety differences and a decision table for the symptoms you are most likely to see.

What pothos is and how to tell it apart

Pothos is a climbing aroid from the Society Islands in the South Pacific. In the wild it scrambles up tree trunks and its leaves grow to a foot or more across with splits; indoors it stays in the small, smooth-edged juvenile form. The Wisconsin Horticulture extension notes that indoor plants rarely reach the mature stage that makes holes in the leaves.

It is sold as golden pothos, devil's ivy and, in some stores, "money plant." It is most often confused with heartleaf philodendron:

Satin pothos (Scindapsus pictus) is a different genus with matte, silver-spotted leaves; it grows slower and wants slightly more warmth.

Popular varieties

The more white in a leaf, the less chlorophyll it has, so the slower it grows and the more light it needs. See pothos types for identification details.

Light

Pothos grows best in bright indirect light, such as an east- or west-facing window. The RHS growing guide gives the same advice for keeping variegation.

Pothos is popular as an office plant because it tolerates fluorescent and LED light. Under office lighting alone, expect slower growth and greener leaves. For the general principles, see our light guide.

Watering

Water when the top 1–2 inches of soil are dry: push a finger in to the second knuckle. Water thoroughly until it runs out of the drainage holes, then empty the saucer after 15 minutes. Wisconsin Extension lists root rot from overwatering as the most common serious problem.

Use these as a starting point and adjust to your soil. Pothos tells you when it is thirsty: leaves soften and droop slightly, and recover within hours of watering. That makes underwatering easy to catch, while overwatering is not. More on technique in our watering guide.

Tap water is usually fine. Avoid water from a salt-based softener: Clemson Extension warns that softened water adds sodium to the soil. If a white crust forms on the soil, flush the pot with plain water once every few months.

Temperature and humidity

Pothos is comfortable between 65 and 85°F. Wisconsin Extension gives an optimum of 70–90°F. Growth stops below about 55°F, and leaves can be damaged near 50°F, so keep it away from winter-drafty doors and air-conditioning vents. The same extension page notes pothos is hardy outdoors only in USDA zones 10–12. Elsewhere you can summer it outdoors; bring it in before nights drop below 55°F.

Humidity matters less than most guides suggest. Average home air of 30–60% works; brown leaf edges in winter usually mean hot dry air from a heat register blowing directly on the plant, not low room humidity. Our humidity guide explains when a humidifier helps.

Soil, pots and repotting

Use an airy mix that drains fast. A simple recipe: 3 parts regular indoor potting mix, 1 part orchid bark, 1 part perlite. Pure bagged potting soil works in a terracotta pot but stays wet too long in plastic or ceramic.

Repot every 1–2 years in spring, when roots circle the pot or poke from the drainage holes. Go up only 1–2 inches in diameter; a large pot holds water the roots cannot use. A pothos is fine slightly root-bound. See repotting and potting soil.

Feeding

Feed from spring through early fall with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer (such as a 10-10-10 or 20-20-20) at half the label strength once a month. Skip feeding in winter. Over-fertilizing shows up as brown leaf tips and a white crust on the soil, not as faster growth. See fertilizer.

Pruning, climbing and getting a fuller plant

A pothos left alone grows a few long vines with leaves only at the ends. To keep it full:

1. Cut vines just above a leaf (a node) in spring or summer.
2. Each cut point usually branches into one or two new shoots.
3. Root the cut pieces and push them back into the top of the same pot.

Given a moss pole or a rough board to climb, pothos makes larger leaves because the aerial roots can anchor. Tie stems so that the nodes touch the pole and keep the moss slightly damp. Trailing vines make smaller leaves with every new node.

Propagation from cuttings

Pothos roots so easily that it is the classic starter plant for propagation. Each cutting needs at least one node, the bump where a leaf meets the stem and an aerial root forms.

1. Cut 4–6 inch pieces, each with 1–3 nodes and 1–2 leaves.
2. Remove the leaf from the lowest node.
3. Stand cuttings in water with the node submerged, in bright indirect light.
4. Change the water weekly. Roots appear in 1–2 weeks; Wisconsin Extension gives 3–4 weeks to a rootable length.
5. When roots are 1–2 inches long, plant 3–5 cuttings together in a 4–6 inch pot and keep the soil lightly moist for the first two weeks.

Cuttings can also go straight into moist potting mix or sphagnum. Full step-by-step guide: pothos propagation, plus our general propagation guide.

Why pothos leaves turn yellow, brown or black

Start with the soil. If you lose more than one leaf a week, push a finger in or lift the pot: wet and heavy means water is the problem; dry and light means thirst.

For the detailed decision path, see yellow leaves, root rot and overwatering.

Pests

Mealybugs and scale are the most common, followed by spider mites in dry winter air. Check leaf joints and leaf undersides whenever you water. Wipe mealybugs with alcohol on a cotton swab and follow with insecticidal soap weekly for a month; scrape off scale. Small black flies around wet soil are fungus gnats, a sign the soil stays wet too long; our sister site explains how to get rid of fungus gnats.

Is pothos toxic to pets and kids?

Yes. The ASPCA lists golden pothos as toxic to dogs and cats. The toxic principle is insoluble calcium oxalates, and signs include oral irritation, intense burning of the mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting and difficulty swallowing. The plant is unpleasant enough that animals rarely eat much, but hang vines out of reach of cats.

If a pet chews pothos, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. For a child, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Wear gloves when pruning if your skin is sensitive. Pet-friendly alternatives are in our pet-safe plants collection.

Does pothos purify the air?

Pothos often appears on "air-purifying" lists based on 1980s sealed-chamber tests. A 2019 review by Drexel University researchers concluded that it would take 10 to 1,000 plants per square meter to equal the air exchange that ventilation already provides. Grow pothos because it is easy and attractive, not as an air filter.

Quick decision rules

• New plant, unknown spot: start 3–6 feet from an east or west window, water when the top 2 inches are dry.
• Variegation fading: more light, not more fertilizer.
• Leggy and sparse: prune, root, replant in the same pot.
• Yellow leaves plus wet soil: stop watering and check roots before doing anything else.

More easy plants for beginners are in our easy houseplants collection and the trailing plants collection.