How fast do pothos grow? The beautiful site of pothos draping down from a hanging basket or climbing a moss pole in a lovely corner of the house is why many people prefer it.
The plants have little growth and maintenance requirements. But how fast do they grow? This article lets you know everything about pothos, the right growing conditions, and how to make it grow faster.
Contents
How Fast Do Pothos Grow?
Pothos can grow about 12 inches a month, when exposed to the right growing conditions, making it the perfect plant if you have lots of space to cover. If you like your pothos taler, some species grow up to 30 to 40 feet high.
What Are The Perfect Growth Conditions for Pothos?
The perfect growth conditions for pothos to grow fast are stable temperature, the right watering requirements, the right soil requirements, proper lighting, the right fertilizer. In addition to this, you should also provide proper humidity, watering, and pruning care.
Since it is a tropical plant, the pothos plant requires enough warmth and sunlight to reach its full growth potential. You should also get the soil type and pH right and ensure you water it only when necessary. Do not forget to give your plant a balanced fertilizer because it helps to speed up growth.
– Stable Temperatures
This plant is a very picky one when it comes to temperatures. Since it is a tropical plant, it won’t survive and grow well in cold climates and areas. Therefore, do not plant your pothos in that expensive, beautiful pot only to place it in a cold room.
Pothos grows well when provided with the right growing conditions, including temperatures. On another note, the perfect pothos growing season is from December to May. The growing conditions are optimal during these months.
– Watering Requirements
Pothos is not needy in terms of water. These plants grow in harsh climates and require little watering to survive. Watering once or twice a week is enough, depending on how fast the soil dries up.
These plants don’t need too much water to grow, but you must give them enough. Too little water causes leaves to curl and slows the plant’s growth. Ensure you have a proper watering schedule depending on the seasons to accelerate its growth.
Always ensure the soil is dry before feeding more water into a pothos. Overwatering will keep the soil too wet, causing diseases like fungi and root rot. The plants will show yellow leaves and black stems if you overwater them, and they could wilt due to under-watering.
– Proper Soil Requirements
Whether you grow pothos in a container filled with water or soil, you must provide optimal conditions. For example, ensure the topsoil is in the correct PH and drains correctly. It does well in soil PH of 6.1-6.5, which is slightly acidic.
Keep the soil moist and not waterlogged because too much water can cause root rot. Ensure you use a well-draining, lightweight soil type with excellent aeration to allow drainage, in addition to receiving what is needed from the water, and a very proper mineral absorption.
The reason why this soil condition is ideal is that when the plant is in a soil that is well draining, it will help the roots to be comfortable, and ensured, and as a result, it will grow and establish well.
On the other hand, if you have had your pothos in a pot for a long time, it is advisable to change the soil once a year. You can transfer it into a larger container to give room for the roots to spread, because you do not want your plant to be in a compact soil where the roots will be feeling helpless.
This will aid highly plant grow more efficiently as the roots can spread as much as they need, and it will result for a longer period of time.
– Specific Lighting
Where you place your pothos pot or basket matters—the darker the room, the slower the plant’s growth. Which means that ideally you must keep pothos open and expose it to the right amount of light and brightness.
The morning or late afternoon sun would be ideal for your plant because it does not cause scorching.
This plant does well when exposed to bright light, so keeping it in a dark room can stop its growth. Sunlight helps convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates essential for the plant’s growth. Therefore, place your training plant in a room that receives indirect sunlight.
Like many plants, this one also tends to grow towards the source of light, which means that you could notice the vines growing in a particular direction. Keep rotating the plant for even growth. Rotation ensures your pothos gets even light distribution.
– Fertilization Requirements
Pothos are big on fertilization. A pro tip is to fertilize your plant during the growing season. The right fertilizer makes the soil nutrient-rich to support a happily growing pothos. When buying fertilizers, be picky with the brand.
Note that brands have different instructions on the amount of fertilizer used on a plant and the frequency of fertilizing it. Avoid using more than indicated, as this can do more harm to your beautiful pothos, for example, burning the foliage.
While still at fertilizers, fish pond water can also act as one for your pothos plants, the water that you irrigate it with has many nutrients suitable for your plant’s growth. A sign of a lack of nutrients is small leaves.
If you believe in organic fertilizers, you can take that road. These fertilizers are more eco-friendly since they do not contain industrial chemicals. They are also safer because pouring too much into a plant cannot burn or kill it.
However, organic fertilizers could take longer to boost soil quality, but it will surely do the job in a longer period of time. This is unlike inorganic fertilizers that work instantly after adding it to the soil. But the organic ones have a more prolonged impact and will sustain your plant’s growth for longer.
You may also feed it with some caffeine, which would also help in pothos growth. It speeds up photosynthesis, which can fasten your plants’ growth. You may place the grounds in the soil, or you may dilute it in some water, either one will surely do the trick, due to the organic compound that would help it in trailing.
– Accurate Humidity
Pothos grows in the tropics, an area known for warm temperatures, bright indirect light, and high humidity. Although your plant will grow when provided with the right pothos soil, fertilization, low humidity, and watering, it requires high humidity to reach its best height.
If you doubt your humidity levels are enough for a pothos to thrive, mist the foliage or use an air humidifier. You can consider placing it amid other plants and watch it do better than the rest. You may even place a pebble tray, which will help it to absorb proper moisture, and not direct watering.
This is not your only option, you can always place it in a location, like near the bathroom, where the plant will receive humidity from a source, or if you wish, you can even mist it once throughout the week, and the leaves will receive the right amount of moisture, and as a result, the plant will grow much taller.
Note that this is indeed a fast-growing plant, with a growth rate of 12 inches in a month. However, it can only achieve this growth rate if exposed to the right growing conditions, and the ideal one is the right humidity level adjusting towards it.
– Proper Pruning
As much as you like your pothos plant well spread out, pruning it accelerates growth. And as you do so, it will also gives the plant a fuller shape, and you can use the cuttings to grow other pothos.
Just make sure that your pruning kit is well sterilized, because you do not wish to transfer any disease while you are trimming the weak parts of the leaves.
Remember that when you are pruning, cut off the dead parts, the crispy leaves or the ones that have become yellow and brown in the foliage, this will help the plant stop the stress and continue to grow taller in a stronger manner.
What Hinders Pothos Growth?
Pothos growth is hindered when it is not in the right soil, when it faces conditions like overwatering, or even under watering. On the other hand, the wrong placement of the plant would also hinder the growth, just as the wrong temperature would.
– Impoverished Soil
Impoverished soil is lifeless soil. It has low nitrogen, nutrients, and organisms that help the plant to grow efficiently.
Changing the soil regularly and adding cow manure introduces nutrients that microbes like.
– Overwatering and Underwatering
Overwatering pothos plants causes root rot and leaves to turn yellow. This reduces photosynthesis due to reduced chlorophyll, slowing the plant’s growth. Underwatering makes the movement of nutrients harder, so the plant can hardly grow.
The reason behind this is that both underwatering, overwatering, lack of nutrients, and less exposure to light can cause pothos to have stunted growth.
Little or too much water causes root rot, making it hard for the plant to transport nutrients to the leaves for growth. Little sunlight makes the plant photosynthesize less, hence a lack of food essential to the plant’s growth.
– Wrong Placement
Do not expose your plant to direct sunlight when looking for a bright spot. Too much sun is not suitable for the leaves. It turns them yellow and could cause death.
The leaves will see so much of energy, and it will stress the plant because this is not how they would normally function. On the contrary, it will be weak, and in the urge to survive, as a result the growth will hinder and the leaves will lose color. As a result, the plant will not be able to grow any taller, and it will become weaker.
– Wrong Temperature
Cold temperatures kill pothos plants, if the room is less than 75 degrees Fahrenheit, move it to a warmer room for survival. However, if the plant grows outside, temperatures might not be of much concern as long as they are consistently within the range. If you notice the leaves turning yellow and wilting, it is a sign the temperatures are not suitable for the plant.
Ensure the environment’s temperatures do not fluctuate. Your pothos needs a warm temperature range of 75 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Too high or low temperatures from the optimal range could slow the plant’s growth. When the room is colder than 90 degrees, it will hinder the growth, and in contrary, when the temperature is lower than 75, it will show stressful signs such as some symptoms of low temperatures are leaves turning yellow and getting shriveled.
Can Propagating a Pothos Can Affect its Growth?
Yes, propagating a pothos can affect its growth in a positive way, as you grow a healthy root, it will be a prosperous growth, and it will have the ability to establish itself and grow taller. Furthermore, you must only ensure that after the propagation, the right care is given.
While many homeowners don’t take it seriously, propagating pothos should be done carefully. Some propagation methods can make or break the parent plant and affect the new plant’s growth rate.
– Doing the Cutting
Use clean scissors and shears to remove the cuttings. The shears should be sharp enough not to damage the stem and the new cutting. Ensure you get cuttings from the healthiest stems to increase the chances of rooting and growing healthier pothos.
Do the cutting at a 45 degrees angle, and get one with at least four leaves. You can consider getting more cuttings to increase the chances of rooting. Just ensure you don’t take the entire plant out.
– Root in a Water Jar or Soil
Get a clear vase if you want to leave the plant to root first in water. Watching the cutting grow roots in the water is also satisfying, and you will know when to plant them depending on the size of the roots.
When using water to root the cutting, use room temperature water. Avoid tap water because it has some minerals that hinder growth. If you don’t have distilled water, boil the tap water and let it cool to remove the harmful minerals.
Be picky with the type of glass you plant the pothos cuttings. You should get a beautiful vase to add aesthetics. When placing the cutting in the pot, ensure the stem rests on the side of the glass and that no leaves are in contact with the water to prevent bacteria growth.
If you choose to root the cuttings in the soil, you will need a pot with the right potting soil mixture. You might not transplant your plant again for a while, so ensure you get a big enough pot. The soil should also have good drainage, with the correct soil acidity, and the container should have holes at the bottom.
Use a rooting hormone on the ends of the cuttings and then plant them around the edges of the pot. The hormone boosts the rooting rate and reduces the chances of diseases. Finally, remember to water the new cutting and keep it in a warm place away from direct light.
– Transplant the Cutting in the Soil
If you planted your pothos cuttings in a vase, you need to transfer them into the soil. Although watching the root grow through the clear glass is satisfying, the plant will do better in the dirt. Ensure you transplant it as soon as the roots start growing.
Get pots filled with suitable soil for pothos and plant the cuttings as a group. This way, you get a fuller plant from the beginning. Do not leave any unfilled gaps. You should fill the pot with soil to close the gaps and press the soil down to hold the plants.
Watering the newly planted cuttings removes any air pockets, so it is essential. It also ensures the total growth of the plant’s roots. Ensure you keep the optimal growth condition for your pothos to grow faster.
Do Pothos Grow Faster Indoors?
Yes, pothos is undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing indoor plants. As you would provide the plant with optimal growing conditions, including suitable soil pH, sunlight, temperature, and humidity levels, it can grow about 12 inches monthly when it placed indoors.
Also known as the Devil’s Ivy or Silvervine, Pothos is a tropical plant native to China, Australia, New Guinea, and the Indian Subcontinent. Its botanical name is Epipremnum aureum, and it matures to a height of six to ten feet. However, some specimens grow to about 40 feet.
Many homeowners prefer pothos plants as an indoor plant because of the beautiful greenery it creates. You can plant it in a basket and place it on a shelf, or plant it in a pot and let it grow upwards.
Your pothos will need help to climb a wall. Get hooks or strings to help them grow up the fence. Although the climbing plant creates art on the wall, it could stain or damage the paint.
– Pothos Varieties You Can Plant Indoors
One thing you will like about pothos is the wide variety. These plants have different leaf colors, shapes, sizes, and markings, and you can choose them depending on your preference.
– Jade Pothos
Jade pothos will be a good choice if you don’t like drama. The plant has large plain leaves, which most homeowners find less attention-seeking.
It has the same care and growth management, making it easy to keep and grow fast.
– Marble Queen Pothos
Do you find marble attractive? If you don’t mind marble countertops and tables, you can go for the marble queen pothos. The leaves have a marble-like pattern with white and green variegation.
However, the Marble queen pothos are not very common because they are harder to care for. Besides, the plant grows slower than the other pothos because the variegated leaves lack chlorophyll on the white parts. This is an advantage to some since the plant takes up little space.
– Neon Pothos
If you have seen photos of the Neon Pothos, you know why there is too much hype around it. It is one of the most stunning pothos because of its easily noticeable colored foliage. Neon pothos leaves have a mixture of lime green and yellow colors that cannot go unnoticed.
With little attention, like watering once or twice per week and growing it in bright spaces, your neon pothos with thrive perfectly. Besides the lower growth requirements, growing neon pothos is also advantageous because it acts as an air purifier by absorbing toxins.
– Manjula Pothos
If you like your plants a little dramatic, give close attention to the Manjula Pothos. Its leaves resemble the Jade pothos because they have white and green variegation, but they are larger and wavy, attracting all the attention you want.
You can grow the Manjula pothos in a pot or hanging basket, but it won’t grow as fast as the other pothos plants. However, this is a rare type of pothos and probably one of the most expensive species.
– Global Green Pothos
Global green pothos is a fast-growing pothos like the other usual species. Although they are newer in the market, nothing is complicated about them. The two different shades of foliage beautify the plant.
The leaves are darker green on the outsides with a light green inner part. Due to the plant’s fast growth rate, it is common among sellers, making it less expensive than Manjula pothos.
Conclusion
Pothos is a fast-growing indoor plant. Whether you plant it in a basket or a pot, ensure you keep it near a window or in a well-lit space. In this article, you have learned that you must keep the growth conditions for this plant optimal for it to grow efficiently.
Some of the essential points to take with you are:
- Pothos are fast-growing plants but only at the optimum conditions
- You can get different species of pothos plants with various leaf variegation, colors, and other growth conditions.
- Pothos suffer plant infections like yellow and wilting leaves, so you must take care of them.
- They need less watering and fertilization, and you can let the plant grow up a wall.
Growing and caring for pothos is easy. Since there are many variations of this plant, ensure you buy one whose colors are stunning, and choose the leaf variegation depending on your taste and preference.
References
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/epipremnum-aureum/
- https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/extensions-greatest-hits/2007-08-28-yellow-leaves-can-indicate-plant-problems#:~:text=Abnormal%20yellowing%20of%20leaf%20tissue,of%20Illinois%20Extension%20horticulture%20educator.
- https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/clean-and-disinfect-gardening-tools
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