How to grow potted pothos? Key cultivation techniques for fast, lush growth
Potted pothos not only has high ornamental value, but can also purify the air. How can you grow pothos well and get it to fill the pot quickly? Pothos is vigorous and relatively easy to grow, and can be grown both in pots and hydroponically.
Pothos is a shade-loving plant that prefers hot, humid environments and dislikes direct sunlight, growing well in half-shade, half-sun conditions; pothos likes moisture, but if the potting soil is heavy and clayey, with poor drainage and poor aeration, pothos will rot at the roots and die. Master the following key techniques, and getting pothos to fill the pot is easy.
Light must be even
All plants grow toward light, so turn the pot often to give the pothos even light; pothos likes diffused light and cannot take harsh direct sun. If it is not outdoors, as long as a layer of glass blocks the way, it can take sunlight of any season and direction except at noon in midsummer, and the more sun the better. If you want to keep it indoors long term, then make sure to bring it out to a balcony for light at least two days a week.
Watering must be moderate
Watering easily goes to two extremes: either too much water, and the pothos drowns, or too little, and the pothos dies of thirst. The correct way to water is: in summer, evaporation is high and water demand is great, so water more. In winter, water demand is small, so water less. There must be no standing water when watering; keeping the potting soil moist is enough. If the potting soil is wet but the leaves are a bit wilted, then it is time to spray water on the leaf surfaces to raise the air humidity a little. Remember to put it in a shaded spot with diffused light, and before long the leaves will stand up straight again.
Pruning
Pothos grows fast in a suitable environment, and its branches and leaves easily become dense, so you must prune its branches and leaves, promptly removing overly dense leaves, yellow leaves and dead leaves, and cutting out overly dense branches, to keep the pothos well ventilated and well lit. In addition, during the growing season, spray the leaf surfaces once every 7-10 days with 0.3% urea solution, and the leaves will become deep green and glossy. That way you can grow a perfect pot of pothos.
Reasonable fertilizing
If you want pothos to fill the pot, fertilizing is certainly indispensable. When the temperature is between 15 and 28°C, apply a compound fertilizer once every half month, and spray monopotassium phosphate once a month. If you find that troublesome, you can simply give a full dose of Osmocote around Qingming, then apply one more supplementary dose half a year later, and put it outdoors to get rained on as appropriate. As for exactly what that does, I cannot say clearly either; I only know that for flowers and plants the effect of rainwater is irreplaceable.
What are the cultivation methods for large-leaf pothos, and how do you correctly water and prune large-leaf pothos?
Large-leaf pothos can be placed in an entrance hall or a hotel, and can also be trained into a hanging form and placed in a study or living room. Large-leaf pothos is a green plant quite suitable for indoor placement. So today I am fortunate to be able to explore with you what the cultivation methods for large-leaf pothos are, and how to correctly water and prune large-leaf pothos.
1. What are the cultivation methods for large-leaf pothos?
Best propagation time:
Large-leaf pothos is naturally robust and can be potted indoors in all four seasons, and placed in a bright, sunny spot in the pot it can stay there long term. If kept in a dark place for a long time, the leaves will become smaller and the internodes longer, and for colored-leaf varieties the leaf color will fade, affecting ornamental value. In summer it needs to spend time in a half-shade environment, avoiding direct sunlight.
Best growing soil:
Large-leaf pothos develops best when cultivated in a loose, organic-rich, slightly acidic to neutral sandy loam. You can use 70% leaf mold, 20% red loam, and 10% rapeseed cake and bone meal mixed and composted.
Growing humidity requirements:
Large-leaf pothos grows faster in environments with higher air humidity. It is recommended to maintain indoor humidity, and you can use a humidifier to increase air humidity. Specifically, you can spray water around it to increase air humidity.
Best growing temperature:
The suitable growing temperature for large-leaf pothos is around 25°C during the day, and in winter the suitable temperature should be kept at 10-13°C, generally not below 7°C. In the warm winter areas of South China and Southwest China it can be cultivated in the open ground.
Best growing light:
Large-leaf pothos is not strongly phototropic, so when growing it you need to place it in a spot indoors with good light, and at noon you can put it in the sun for a while. In the north, with a room temperature above 10°C, large-leaf pothos can overwinter safely, and with a room temperature above 20°C it can grow normally. Generally a home can reach this temperature without much trouble; note that you need to avoid too great a temperature difference, and also be careful not to let the leaves get close to heating equipment.
2. Applying fertilizer:
For fertilizing the leaves of large-leaf pothos, since ordinary inorganic fertilizers are hard to absorb, you need to use a specialized fertilizer. In the autumn and winter in the north, large-leaf pothos mostly grows slowly or even stops growing, so fertilizing should be reduced. Before winter sets in, mainly water or spray with liquid inorganic fertilizer, about once every 15 days. After winter sets in, fertilizing is mainly by foliar spray, applied mainly through the stomata on the leaf surface; the fertilizer is absorbed through the stomata on the leaf surface, and the fertilizer effect can act directly on the leaf surface. Foliar fertilizer must be a specialized fertilizer; ordinary inorganic fertilizers are not easily absorbed by the leaf surface.
3. Key points for watering large-leaf pothos
1. When planting large-leaf pothos, do not water too much; you can spray water at the rooting area, which can reduce the rate of water evaporation.
2. Water daily to keep the soil moist, but there must be no standing water that breeds mosquitoes.
3. The amount of watering in autumn and winter should be strictly controlled according to room temperature. Before heating, when the temperature is lower, the soil of the large-leaf pothos plant evaporates more slowly, so reduce watering, and the amount should be controlled at between 1/4 and 1/2 of the original. Even after heating, watering must not be too frequent; when watering, pour less into the pot, and water should seep through the coir. In addition, you should also spray water at the places where aerial roots grow on the coir pole, to reduce insufficient root water uptake caused by too-rapid evaporation.
4. In winter, water that has been left to stand for a day is better for watering; water that is too cold easily damages the roots.
4.Key points for pruning large-leaf pothos
1. For large-leaf pothos, when the stems and vines have covered the coir pole and the tips extend about 20 cm beyond the coir pole, cut 40 cm off the stem tips of 2-3 of the plants. After the cut-back sprouts new buds and new leaves, then cut the stem tips of the remaining plants.
2. For potted plants whose whole plant or lower half has lost leaves due to winter cold injury or other reasons, you can cut back half of the stems and vines by 1/2, and the other half by 2/3 or 3/4, so that the cut points are staggered in height; in this way the new leaves that grow below the cut points can quickly cover the coir pole.
Today I will stop here with everyone for now. The above covers all the content on how to grow large-leaf pothos and how to prune and water it. I hope flower lovers will find this article helpful after reading it. To learn more about aquatic flowers, please keep following our Succulent Flower Garden, which provides you with more related knowledge!
Key points for growing common flowers, flower cultivation exchange
Common flowers
There are many flowers that bloom in spring: plum blossom, narcissus, winter jasmine, primrose, winter daphne, camellia, white magnolia, purple magnolia, Viburnum macrocephalum, clivia, crabapple, tree peony, Chinese peony, lilac, azalea, Western azalea, cherry blossom, banana shrub, rose, redbud, kerria, weigela, forsythia, Yunnan jasmine, Scotch broom, cyclamen, Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, hyacinth, tulip, iris, calla lily, pot marigold, crinum lily, Amaryllis, begonia, fuchsia, begonia, geranium, cineraria, corn poppy, snapdragon, verbena, petunia, peach blossom, plum blossom, pear blossom, lily, crabapple, Osteospermum, gaillardia, calendula, sunflower, Phalaenopsis, Western azalea and narcissus, Cymbidium goeringii, winter daphne, Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera, camellia, cyclamen, wintersweet, Paphiopedilum, carnation, silver willow, late chrysanthemum, gladiolus, carnation, Chaenomeles speciosa, forsythia, late camellia, spring azalea, peach blossom, Hall crabapple, tulip, orange, bitter orange, grape.
There are relatively few plants that bloom in summer: creeping zinnia, gentian, globe amaranth, Stachys, water lily, larkspur, baby's breath, lotus, lotus, cockscomb, garden balsam, jasmine, pomegranate, osmanthus, pagoda tree flower, rose of Sharon, crape myrtle, Chinese rose, rose, banksia rose, spring-summer azalea, wisteria, Viburnum macrocephalum, weigela, hydrangea, Scotch broom, Chinese peony, Epiphyllum, Amaryllis, Lantana, begonia, fuchsia, iris, petunia, moss rose, Aglaia odorata, jasmine, Michelia alba, gardenia, southern magnolia, Chloranthus, kumquat, glossy privet, hibiscus, pomegranate, oleander, rose of Sharon, Tamarix, canna, dahlia, hollyhock, Serissa, various cactus balls, trumpet creeper, Epiphyllum, Hypericum, yucca, orange jasmine, croton, Caladium, Pilea, variegated ivy, bougainvillea, hosta, Lycoris, zephyr lily.
Flowers that bloom in autumn: chrysanthemum, osmanthus, salvia, amaranth, canna, cotton rose, hollyhock, dahlia, lotus, water lily, marigold, four-o'clock, hosta, hibiscus, salvia, coleus, Kochia, osmanthus, Western azalea, cyclamen, sasanqua, poinsettia, Cymbidium, Phalaenopsis, Oncidium, Chinese rose, camellia, lily, yellow-flowered pagoda tree, anthurium, marigold, begonia, tuberose, gypsophila, gladiolus, Gerbera, zephyr lily, Haemanthus, daylily, freesia, early chrysanthemum, amaranth, canna, Cymbidium ensifolium, cotton rose, hollyhock, autumn chrysanthemum, red maple, carnation, Chinese tallow, smoke tree, ginkgo, trident maple, persimmon, camphor, Boston ivy.
Flowers that bloom in winter: nandina, plum blossom, poinsettia, clivia, narcissus, wintersweet, primrose, cineraria, begonia, camellia, plum blossom, Christmas cactus, spring azalea, freesia, calla lily, cyclamen, Cymbidium goeringii, throat grass chrysanthemum, begonia, poinsettia, freesia, cactus, sasanqua, early camellia, coral tree, firethorn, tiger thorn, winter coral, Paphiopedilum, winter jasmine, carnation, silver willow, late chrysanthemum, gladiolus, carnation.
Key points for growing flowers
Soil, flower pots, watering, fertilizing, light, pests and diseases, pruning
1. Preparing potting soil
1. Garden soil is the main component of potting soil. It is formed from garbage, fallen leaves and the like through composting and high-temperature fermentation; we also usually call the soil in planting belts garden soil.
2. Leaf mold, also called mountain soil, is a natural humus soil formed from rotted leaves. Besides being used to prepare potting soil, it can also be used alone to grow acid-loving flowers such as azaleas and camellias.
3. River sand can be ordinary coarse sand. It is a basic material of potting soil. Mixing in a certain proportion of river sand helps aeration and drainage.
4. Peat is also called turf or peat coal. It is ancient plant material buried underground that has not fully rotted and decomposed, and it is rich in organic matter. Adding peat helps improve soil structure, and it can be mixed in or used alone.
5. Rice husk ash is the ash left after burning rice husks, and it is rich in potassium fertilizer. Mixing it in makes the soil loose.
6. Sawdust, after being fermented and decomposed, mixed into potting soil, can also change the looseness and water absorbency of the soil.
7. Moss, after being dried in the sun and mixed into potting soil, can make the soil loose, with good water permeability and aeration.
Leaf mold, garden soil, river sand
General herbaceous flowers 30 50 20
Greenhouse flowers 40 40 20
Woody flowers 40 50 10
2. Choosing flower pots
1. Clay pots: flower pots fired from clay, in red and gray, with good drainage and aeration, low price, and complete specifications; most suitable for home flower growing.
2. Purple clay pots: exquisitely made, simple and elegant, mostly purple, with complete specifications, but their water permeability and aeration are inferior to clay pots. They are used for planting moisture-loving flowering plants, and can also be used as cachepots.
3. Porcelain pots: made from porcelain clay, with colored glaze applied on the outside. Exquisite workmanship, clean and elegant, beautiful in shape. The drawback is poor drainage and aeration. They are mostly used as cachepots for clay pots, to decorate interiors or display flowers.
4. Glazed ceramic pots: ceramic pots coated with colored glazes, beautiful in appearance and diverse in form, but poor in drainage and aeration, mostly used as pots for bonsai.
5. Water pots: with no drainage hole at the bottom, diverse in form, used for growing hydroponic flowers such as narcissus.
6. Plastic pots: colored plastic pots are now sold on the market; they are light, attractive, and not easily broken.
3. Watering flowers
You must look at the variety and habits of the flower, and also at the size of the flower's plant shape, the material and size of the flower pot, as well as the cold-warm temperature differences through the four seasons, soil conditions, and so on. Flowers with different physiological characteristics must be treated differently. Generally, drought-tolerant flowers include cactus and Echeveria; semi-drought-tolerant flowers include camellia, rubber tree, geranium, asparagus fern, and asparagus fern; mesic flowers include Chinese rose, hibiscus, and sago palm; moisture-tolerant flowers include Monstera deliciosa, calla lily, and Alocasia (Alocasia macrorrhizos); aquatic flowers include lotus, water lily, bowl lotus, water hyacinth, water caltrop, and so on.
Some books and periodicals say that watering flowers should be "water thoroughly only after the soil dries out" and "water when dry, stop when wet." These words must be understood rationally, and you must not cling to the literal wording. It can be said that no flower can be allowed to dry out completely; soil that has dried out completely will cause physiological disease in the flower's growth. In principle, no matter what kind of flower it is, the soil in the pot should be kept "with water but not wet, lacking water but not dry." Of course, achieving this is not easy, and requires more attention, more observation, and more practice.
An old gardener has a practical saying: "water thoroughly, but do not let it leak through." This saying is not only very practical, but also very scientific.
When you realize it is time to water, but feel the potting soil does not seem too dry, then delay another day or two; do not water early, to avoid making the potting soil too wet. When watering, you must water thoroughly, and must not give half-measure water -- that is, the potting soil wet on top and dry below; the flower will be harmed.
Another method of watering is to spray water on the flowers. Spraying water can not only increase the humidity on the leaf surfaces of the flowers, but also increase air humidity, and in addition can wash off dust and pests on the leaf surfaces. In the north, spraying water on flowers is a very good watering method.
When watering, pay attention to the water temperature. Through the four seasons, air temperature differs, and the temperature difference changes greatly, so when watering you must also pay attention to changes in water temperature. In no season should you take water straight from the tap and use it immediately; instead, let it stand for two or three days, and use it to water flowers only when the water temperature is equal or close to the air temperature. The same applies when spraying water on flower leaf surfaces; when the difference between water temperature and room temperature (air temperature) is too great, it harms the flowers. In principle, water used in summer should be 3°C lower than the air temperature, and water used in winter should be 3°C higher than the air temperature.
Water management: newly drawn tap water should be placed in a wide-mouthed bottle, jar, or non-toxic plastic bucket, without a lid, and used only after standing for 2-3 days. If it has been stored for more than 5 days, do not use it again, because the water quality has deteriorated, which is unfavorable for flower growth.
4. How to fertilize flowers
Fertilizing flowers is a matter of great care: apply too much, and the branches and leaves grow excessively; lack fertilizer, and the branches are thin and weak, the leaf color turns yellow, and the plant is prone to pests and diseases.
So when fertilizing, pay attention to the following key points: First, for newly planted potted trees and potted flowers, those just potted, or those just repotted, the root system has been damaged, so it is best not to fertilize for the time being. In spring and summer, during the peak growing season of potted flowers and potted trees, you must fertilize more. After autumn begins, potted flowers and potted trees grow slowly, so fertilize less. In winter, when flowering trees enter dormancy, stop fertilizing. Do not fertilize on rainy days or around noon during high summer heat (fertilizing on rainy days easily loses the fertilizer, and fertilizing in hot weather easily damages the root system). It is best to fertilize on cloudy days, in the evening, or when the potting soil is slightly dry; first remove weeds and loosen the soil, which helps the fertilizer water seep into the soil and speeds up the fertilizer's decomposition. But on the following morning you must water thoroughly, commonly called return water, which both helps absorption of the fertilizer water and avoids fertilizer burn.
Second, apply thin fertilizer frequently, with a small amount each time, and dilute it. Generally speaking, from the Start of Spring to the Start of Autumn, apply a top dressing of thin fertilizer water once every 15 days (seven parts water to three parts fertilizer); after the Start of Autumn, apply once every 30 days, and after the Start of Winter stop top dressing.
Third, note that the nutrients potted flowers and potted trees need are mainly nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen fertilizer promotes the growth of branches and leaves, such as peanut meal, soybean cake, and ammonium sulfate; phosphorus fertilizer promotes bright flower color and plump fruit, such as superphosphate and crushed bone meal; potassium fertilizer promotes root development and a firm, upright plant, such as potassium sulfate and plant ash. So you should apply them separately according to the plant's growth conditions, and also according to the variety's characteristics and growth conditions. Fourth, for bonsai flowers it is best to use organic fertilizers, also called farmyard manure, such as human and animal excrement and urine, poultry manure, bone meal, peanut meal, soybean cake, and various green manures and plant ash; these fertilizers contain different proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Use chemical fertilizers as little as possible, because chemical fertilizers leave acid radicals or salt radicals, and the potting soil will become acidic or alkaline, hindering plant growth. In addition, fertilizer should be applied at the edge of the pot.
5. Light
Light is the energy source by which flowers and plants manufacture nutrients; without light, photosynthesis cannot proceed, and the growth and development of flowers will be seriously affected. Most plants can only have abundant flowers and lush leaves under conditions of sufficient light. Different kinds of flowers have different light requirements. A flower proverb says: "shade for camellia, sun for tree peony, half shade and half sun for the four-season orchid." According to the different light intensity requirements of flowers, they can generally be divided into sun-loving flowers, neutral flowers, and shade-loving flowers. (1) Sun-loving flowers. Most flowers grown for their blooms and fruits belong to the sun-loving group, such as magnolia, Chinese rose, pomegranate, plum blossom, crape myrtle, and citrus. Among foliage flowers there are also a few sun-loving ones, such as sago palm, palm, and croton. Most aquatic flowers, cacti, and succulents also belong to the sun-loving group. All sun-loving flowers like strong light and cannot tolerate shade. If sunlight is insufficient, branches and leaves easily grow excessively, the tissues become soft and weak, the leaf color fades and turns yellow, flowering is difficult or poor, and the plant is prone to pests and diseases. (2) Shade-loving flowers. They grow well under shaded environmental conditions, such as asparagus fern, camellia, azalea, hosta, pothos, lucky bamboo, ivy, gloxinia, Monstera deliciosa, and begonia. If kept for a long time under strong light, their branches and leaves wither and yellow, growth stalls, and in severe cases they even die. (3) Neutral flowers. They grow well under conditions of sufficient sunlight, but in summer when light intensity is high they should be slightly shaded, such as osmanthus, jasmine, Michelia alba, and hydrangea. In summary, various flowers have different light requirements, and even for the same kind of flower, the light requirements differ at different stages of growth and development; seedlings need gradually increasing light, while sun-loving chrysanthemums require short-day conditions to form flower buds.
6. Pest and disease control methods
Generally, flower lovers, as soon as they see abnormal growth in a flower, say there is a pest or disease problem, and spray whatever pesticide there is, causing the flower to die faster. In fact, flowers have many sources of disease and different types of harm, and it is absolutely impossible to cure all flower diseases with just one or two medicines.
In the process of home flower growing, one often encounters the influence of adverse environments and infection by harmful organisms, causing a series of morphological and physiological changes in the flower, collectively called flower diseases.
1. Physiological diseases: caused by non-biological factors such as unsuitable environmental factors like temperature, humidity, soil, and fertilizer, causing physiological disorders in the flower and producing pathological changes, often shown as leaf discoloration, yellowing, scorched leaf tips and margins, leaf drop, flower and fruit drop, and so on. As long as the environmental factors are improved, the symptoms will ease, and the flower will gradually grow healthily; in this situation there is no need to treat with medicine at all.
2. Infectious diseases
(1) Viral diseases: a virus is a tiny parasite without cellular structure, infecting through insects, grafting, cuttings, and mechanical wounds such as pruning. After a flower contracts the disease, the symptoms are mainly mosaic, necrotic spots, leaf yellowing, distortion, and witches' broom, and so on. These viruses overwinter in seeds, diseased plant remains, soil, and insect bodies.
Methods to control viruses: first, soil disinfection; you can use burnt soil or formalin (40%) diluted 50-300 times, spray the soil wet and cover with plastic sheeting, open and turn it after 5 days, and use it as flower potting soil after three more days; then use virus-free planting material and excellent disease-resistant varieties, and promptly control insect pests (aphids, red spider mites, etc.). If diseased plants are found, pull them out immediately and burn them (because there is currently no specific cure). Through these comprehensive measures, the occurrence and spread of viral diseases can be controlled.
(2) Bacterial diseases: bacteria are single-celled microorganisms found everywhere, often spread by flowing water, rainwater, insects, seeds, soil, and diseased plant residues, and they invade the flower plant's body through the plant's stomata, lenticels, nectaries, and wounds, such as soft rot and bacterial wilt.
Control of bacterial diseases: 1. For potting, use disinfected soil or new soil. 2. When disease occurs, spray with agricultural streptomycin or penicillin at 350-700 units/ml. You can also spray with 75% alcohol, 5% carbonic acid, or 0.1% potassium permanganate.
7. Pruning
Master the timing of pruning. The suitable period for pruning varies with the variety and the purpose of pruning, and can generally be divided into growing-season pruning and dormant-season pruning. Dormant pruning should be done in early spring when the sap has just begun to flow and the buds are about to sprout; too early or too late is unsuitable. During the growing season, heavy pruning is generally not suitable; light pruning is preferable. For example, Chinese rose and rose should have their faded flower branches cut off promptly after the flowers fade.
Master the pruning methods. To inhibit flower growth or promote branching, you can use your fingers or scissors to remove the growing point of the tender shoot; to reduce nutrient consumption and promote vegetative growth, it is best to remove adventitious tender buds by hand before they become woody; when transplanting flowering plants, it is best to cut off part of the leaves; for fruit-viewing plants, if there are too many flower buds and young fruits, thin the fruit by hand early; to obtain large flowers and fruits, you can remove excess flower buds early. When pruning flowering plants, use a saw for thick branches and shears for thin ones, and the cut should be smooth. When sawing thick branches, prevent tearing the bark of the trunk when the branch breaks; for those whose flowering and fruiting are affected by excessive growth of flowering branches, it is best to cut part of the roots to weaken absorption capacity and inhibit vegetative growth. Root pruning of potted flowers should be done at potting or repotting time.