6 Basic Care Methods for Potted Pothos

Pothos, also known as golden pothos and devil's ivy, is a popular plant for home growing. It is not only easy to keep alive, but its vines and leaves are attractive, and it can be styled into many different floral designs, making it the top choice of potted plant for beginner gardeners.

Pothos is a shade-loving foliage potted plant, especially suitable for indoor growing and display.

1. How to choose a pot for pothos

(1) Pot material: plastic pots, ceramic pots and clay pots can all be used for growing it.

(2) Pot size: because pothos plants vary in size, pots generally ranging from 15-35cm can all be used.

2. Potting soil and potting method for potted pothos:

For potted pothos, it is best to use a growing medium made by thoroughly mixing 3 parts leaf mold, 3 parts garden soil, 3 parts river sand and 1 part barnyard manure. When the roots of the lower part of a pothos seedling propagated by cuttings have grown to about 5 cm and the young shoots of the upper part have grown to 5-7 cm, it can be potted directly. Use a glazed pot with a diameter of 33 cm, and plant 3 small seedlings per pot in a triangle to make it easy to form a full plant shape.

Potted growing methods and precautions for pothos

After potting, place the pothos in a ventilated shade house and avoid direct sunlight; mist with water 3-4 times a day to increase air humidity and keep the potting soil moist. Once the seedlings have resumed growth, they can be moved to normal care and management. Young plants should be repotted once a year, while mature plants can be repotted once every 1-2 years.

3. How to water potted pothos?

Potted pothos likes a shady, moist environment, and the pot should be kept moist in all four seasons. If the potting soil is too dry, the leaves tend to turn yellow. If the potting soil is too wet, it will cause waterlogging and lead to root rot.

In spring and autumn, water once every 2-3 days; in summer, watering once a day is enough.

In winter, because the weather is cold and dry, watering should be controlled: do not water if the potting soil is not dry, and watering once every 3-5 days is enough.

4. How to fertilize pothos?

Potted pothos grows very fast when left to grow on its own and does not need much care, but it still needs regular topdressing to ensure vigorous growth. I will not write out those complicated figures here; you can buy the packaged fertilizer sold at flower markets, and generally fertilizing once every half a month to a month is enough. It is just growing flowers, so do not tire yourself out, and do not be so precise as to fertilize once every few days.

5. How to ensure the light pothos needs?

Potted pothos grown at home fears direct sunlight most of all, so do not put it out on the balcony for no reason. Generally, placing it in a cool spot indoors is enough; overly strong sunlight will burn the leaves, causing them to lose their luster and shrivel. If conditions allow, you can build a shade house on the balcony, with 50% shading.

6. How to shape potted pothos?

If you are a seasoned gardening enthusiast, you will certainly not be content to let pothos grow in a plain, unremarkable way; shaping is the next level for a gardener.

(1) Column-type pothos

You may often see online a pothos pot with a pole inserted for it to climb around, and this is the most common column shape. Generally, insert a wooden stick about 1 m tall and about 5 cm in diameter in the middle, and wrap the outside of the pole with palm fiber. Then plant 5-5 pothos plants of similar size around the pole.

As the pothos grows, its roots and tendrils will cling to the pole, but remember to correct the shape of the pothos in time.

(2) Trailing-type pothos

In a flower pot, plant 2-3 pothos plants, hang it up or place it on a raised flower stand. As the pothos grows, the branches and leaves will slowly trail down along the edge of the pot. During this slow growth process, we can prune it to make the pothos look more beautiful.