Gadenin日本語Get the appHow fast it dries depends on the pot and the position
Pothos is famously easy, and the one way people still kill it is by watering it too often. The interval that works depends almost entirely on the pot and where it stands, so a rule like once a week is meaningless without that context.
| Conditions | Drying speed | What to look at |
|---|---|---|
| Terracotta, or a small pot | Fast | The side of the pot pales |
| Plastic, or a large pot | Slow | Dry on top, wet underneath |
| A bright window with air moving | Fast | Whether the leaves stir at all |
| The back of a still room | Slow | Water left in the saucer |
Check with a finger and by weight
Two of these together are enough. The point is simply to stop guessing from the color of the surface, which is almost always misleading.
- Finger to the second knuckle Push a finger in to the second knuckle. If it comes out clean and dry, water. If the tip feels cool and damp, wait.
- Lift the pot Learn what it weighs just after watering. When it is clearly lighter, water. In a large pot this is far more reliable than a finger in the top inch.
- Leave a skewer in Push a wooden skewer in near the rim and pull it out to look. It tells you what is happening deep in the pot without disturbing the compost.
- When you water, water fully Once you decide to water, water until it runs from the drainage holes. Small daily top-ups wet only the surface and the roots stay shallow.
Always tip the saucer out. Water left standing keeps the roots at the bottom of the pot permanently wet, and that is where root rot starts.
Change the interval with the season
The plant uses far less water when it is cool and not growing. Keeping a summer interval through winter is the single most common cause of a pothos declining.
| Season | Interval | What tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | When the surface has dried | Back to normal once new growth moves |
| Summer | As soon as it dries | Leaf tips pointing down means you left it too long |
| Autumn | A day after it dries | Reduce once the room drops below 68F (20C) |
| Winter | Three or four days after it dries | Around 50F (10C), only two or three times a month |
Root rot is a shortage of air, not an excess of water
Roots need oxygen. Compost that never dries has no air in it, the roots suffocate and then rot, and only after that does the plant wilt. That is why an overwatered pothos looks thirsty: the roots have gone, so it cannot drink.
This is also why drainage matters more than the amount you pour. A pot with no drainage hole, or a decorative outer pot with water sitting in the bottom, will kill even a pothos within a couple of months.
Do not plant directly into a cachepot with no drainage hole. There is nowhere for the water to go.
Rescuing a plant with root rot
A pothos with rotting roots can usually be saved, but only by cutting away what has gone and reducing the top to match.
- Take it out and look White, firm roots are healthy. Brown or black roots that fall apart between your fingers have gone. Anything where only the outer skin is left is beyond saving.
- Cut the damaged roots off Cut away everything discolored. Removing more than half is fine. What matters is that the cut ends are white.
- Reduce the top by the same amount Cut the vines back in the same proportion. Leaving a full head of leaves on a halved root system exhausts what is left and the plant dies anyway.
- Repot one size smaller Wash off the old compost and repot into fresh, free draining mix in a smaller pot. Going back into the same size leaves surplus compost that stays wet.
- Then leave it alone for a week Water once after repotting, then keep it on the dry side in bright shade so the cut surfaces can seal.
If even one healthy vine remains, you can rebuild the plant from a cutting. Take a few good vines as insurance before the whole plant declines.
Reading the leaves
Yellowing is the ambiguous one, because it is what both overwatering and hunger look like. Feel the compost before you decide, because the two treatments are opposites.
| Symptom | Likely cause | First thing to do |
|---|---|---|
| Lower leaves yellowing in order | Overwatered, or pot bound | Feel the compost and wait until it dries |
| The whole plant pale and faded | Too little light, or hungry | Move it to a brighter window |
| Brown leaf tips only | Too dry, or dry air | Water more often and mist |
| Spreading brown spots | Cold, or leaves left wet overnight | Check night temperature and when you mist |
Misting and humidity
Misting is worth doing for two specific reasons, neither of which is watering the plant. Understanding what it does and does not do saves a lot of confusion.
- Mist in the morning In dry air, in winter or in high summer, mist the tops and undersides of the leaves. Spider mites live on the undersides, so that is the side that matters.
- It does not replace watering Misting puts no water into the compost. Skipping a watering because you misted leaves the plant slowly drying, and it browns from the leaf tips.
- Not at night Leaves left wet as the temperature falls develop brown spots. Do it in the morning so they dry during the day.
- Wipe the leaves monthly A damp cloth removes the dust and the light gets through again. On a variegated plant the pale sections stop looking dull.