What to Do When Pothos Leaves Turn Yellow? Grow It This Way for Fast Growth

Pothos has strong vitality and survives as soon as it touches water, so it is also called the “flower of life.” It can climb and grow on a cylinder, or be planted directly in a pot for indoor display. Almost every household keeps one, but yellowing leaves often occur. So what should you do when pothos leaves turn yellow? How do you grow it so it grows fast?

1. Why do pothos leaves turn yellow?

The main reasons pothos leaves turn yellow include: too much or too little watering, overly strong light, too much fertilizer, and environmental changes caused by repotting or changing the soil. During pothos care, you need to observe it more, and when you find yellowing leaves, promptly identify the corresponding cause and deal with it.

1. Improper watering

Gardeners naturally feel full of love for plants, and fearing the pothos does not get enough water, they keep watering it, but this only backfires. If watered too much, the young leaves turn dull yellow and lose their luster, growth gradually stops, and the stems become thin and yellow-green.

But if you are careless and often forget to water the pothos, that is also not okay. With long-term water shortage, the leaf tips and edges of the pothos dry up, and the old leaves wither, turn yellow, and fall off from top to bottom.

Solution: If you have watered too much, immediately take the pothos out of its pot and place it in a ventilated, cool place, and after the soil has dried completely, put it back into the flowerpot.

If you have watered too little, water the pothos promptly and maintain good watering habits.

2. Improper light

Pothos generally grows in a cool environment. If it is placed in strong sunlight for a long time, it easily causes the leaves to shrivel, then turn yellow and fall off.

However, simply placing it in a cold, closed environment is not good for pothos growth either. The green leaves will lack chlorophyll and their color will turn yellow.

Solution: If the light is excessive, promptly move the pothos to a cool place with light, and water it appropriately; if light is lacking, place the pothos in a cool but well-lit place.

3. Unreasonable fertilizing

If too much fertilizer is applied and the fertilizer concentration in the soil is too high, the tips of newly grown leaves will appear dry and brown, the leaf surface will be thick but lack luster, and the old leaves will scorch, turn yellow, and fall off.

With long-term lack of fertilizer, the plant suffers from poor nutrition, the young leaves become lighter in color, appearing yellow or pale green, and the old leaves gradually turn from green to yellow.

Solution: If you have applied too much fertilizer, first immediately stop fertilizing. If the situation is serious, promptly flush out part of the fertilizer with clean water, or directly replace the growing medium.

If too little fertilizer has been applied, first check whether the potting soil has dried and caked. If so, change the soil promptly.

4. Sudden environmental changes

People can fail to adapt when they go to an unfamiliar environment, let alone plants. Sudden changes in temperature, humidity, or light, or root damage from repotting, can all cause pothos leaves to turn yellow.

Solution: In this case, do not be too anxious. You can take measures to reduce environmental changes, and after the pothos gradually adapts, the leaves will turn green again.

2. How to prevent leaves from turning yellow

1. Water appropriately

When growing pothos, do not water excessively. At most, spray water at the roots. You only need to keep the soil moist. You can often spray water on the leaves to cool the pothos while replenishing moisture.

In summer, water more, but follow the principle of “keep the potting soil moist without water accumulating.” In winter, reduce watering; once every two to three days is enough.

2. Reasonable light

Although pothos likes a cool environment, it is best to let it receive sunlight at noon for photosynthesis, then bring it back indoors. Make sure it receives strong light once within half a month.

In summer, be sure not to let the pothos receive direct sunlight, or the leaves will be scorched. In winter, it can receive appropriate light.

3. Control the amount of fertilizer

Because pothos has relatively high fertilizer requirements, it is best to use a dedicated fertilizer and add less inorganic fertilizer.

In winter, pothos growth slows down, so fertilizer should be reduced, but in the summer growing season it can be increased appropriately. The fertilizing method should mainly be spraying liquid fertilizer.

4. Pay attention to observation

During the growth of pothos, pay attention to observing more. If you find leaves turning yellow, promptly identify the cause and take corresponding measures. Do not buy it and then leave it aside without care, or the pothos will develop all kinds of problems as it grows and in the end will only decline and die.

3. How to grow soil-cultured pothos so it grows fast

1. More sun for a full pot

Succulent growers look forward every day to their succulents filling out the pot. In fact, pothos can do this too. If you want pothos to fill out the pot, it needs more sun. For outdoor growing, shade it from the noon sun to avoid harsh sunlight, and let the pothos enjoy sunbathing the rest of the time. For indoor growing, it is best to place the pothos by a window. Except for the noon sun in midsummer, it can receive sunlight at any time. However, take it outside from time to time to enjoy the pure feel of sunlight.

2. Spray water to keep it healthy

For long-term outdoor growing, water once every 1~2 days in summer; in other seasons, water whenever the potting soil becomes dry. Pothos has fleshy roots, so a small amount of water shortage will not cause problems, but too much water will rot the roots and affect growth. When there is plenty of sunlight outdoors, you can spray water several more times, mainly to clean the leaf surfaces indoors and prevent dust from building up.

For indoor growing, wait until the potting soil is completely dry before watering, and after growing it for a period, take it outdoors, water it thoroughly once, grow it there for a few days, then move it back indoors. As for spraying water, do it when ventilation is good or during the high-temperature season of midsummer, and try to avoid it at other times.

Watering and sunlight should complement each other. As long as both are relatively sufficient, there is no problem with the pothos shooting up quickly.

3. Repot and loosen the root system

The flowerpot for pothos should not be too large or too deep. It is not that however big a pot you give it, it will grow that big. When the crown diameter of the pothos exceeds 1.5 times the diameter of the pot opening, it needs to be moved to a pot one size larger. Only with a comfortable space of appropriate size can pothos grow quickly.

In addition, there is a small trick when repotting: loosen the pothos root system with a wooden stick. If you do not loosen it, it will affect the combination of soil and roots and hinder nutrient absorption. In poorly ventilated environments, it may also cause root rot.

4. Let rain moisten the leaves

When it rains, especially during thunderstorms, you can take the plant outdoors and let it get rained on for a while. Receiving the nourishment of rainwater can clean the leaves very thoroughly, and rainwater contains many trace elements that promote pothos growth. (This item basically suits all flowers and plants!) However, if the pothos was just watered the day before, do not leave it in the rain too long, to avoid water accumulating in the potting soil and rotting the roots.

4. How to grow water-cultured pothos so it grows fast

1. Do not use too much water

For water-cultured pothos, do not put the entire root system into the water. One third of the roots should be exposed outside, and the leaves must not touch the water, so they do not rot and affect water quality. Do not change the water too often; once every half month is enough. During that time, just add water when it gets low.

In addition, for water-cultured pothos, choose a wide-mouthed container so the branches and leaves have enough space to grow, and the water surface has enough contact with the air so oxygen is more abundant.

2. Trim roots + sunbathe

Each time you change the water, promptly cut off the soft old roots (many gardeners overlook this), which can save part of the nutrients. In addition, place the pothos in a place where it can get sun, let it see more sunlight, and ensure air circulation.

3. Stop keeping fish

Keeping fish in the container of water-cultured pothos is partly for beauty, and the organic matter produced by the goldfish can provide nutrients for the pothos and can also prevent green algae in the water. However, goldfish consume oxygen in the water, and the pothos grows slowly because of insufficient oxygen.

So if you want water-cultured pothos to grow fast, it is better to take the fish out.

4. Use nutrient solution

Adding nutrient solution is a way to promote pothos growth, but it is not suitable for long-term use. Each time you change the water, add 2~3 drops to the water. When adding nutrient solution, green algae may appear in the water-culture container, so clean the container thoroughly when changing the water.