If you’ve been around as long as the pothos plant family, you might be a little grumpy too. Did you know that pothos houseplants can only make baby pothos by propagating their stems into new pots of soil heaven? The pothos you might be pampering into climbing your walls and shelves or trailing down a bookcase is most likely a descendant of a plant that a long-distant ancestor spotted amongst the tropical weeds and decided to make a project of her findings.
Pothos houseplants are noble, steadfast housemates that generally flourish in all sorts of environments, from bright light to lower light and anywhere in between. Their natural flow is to trail downward, allowing their heart-shaped leaves to show off in the most fashionable way. However, you can also train them to grow upright with a moss pole or a lattice to keep their flowy, baseball-sized leaves in check for areas of the home with less space.
Caring for a pothos is not an extra chore by any means. They’re low-key foliage friends that have minimal needs: water, sun, and a few encouraging words from time to time.
It can be a shock when our always reliable, drama-free ‘Marble Queens’ drop their crown. One day she’s loving life with a boastful canopy of chartreuse and green variegated foliage; the next day, her leaves are facing inward, shy from the outside world.
If your ‘Marble Queen’ pothos has been reigning the same container for over a year, she could be ready for an upgrade. Because of the steady, sometimes rapid growth of pothos houseplants, they can quickly outgrow their pot and deplete the nutrients from their soil.
If your pothos houseplant hits at least two of the points above, it might be time for an upgrade to a new container. However, if your pothos is sitting well with plenty of room to grow but still looking less than luxurious, you can consider a few other factors.
Like most humans, houseplants can be affected by seasonal affective disorder. You’ll most likely see this in the fall when the temperatures start to drop, and the sun is less vibrant as the days get shorter. You might find sporadic leaves turn straight yellow in the blink of an eye. If there are less than five yellow leaves, it is most likely happenstance and is not enough to cause concern.
If you find more than five leaves are turning yellow (or a lighter hue of chartreuse if you have a ‘Neon’ pothos) and the lighter pigmentation is concentrated towards the base of the plant, you may have overwatered your houseplant. Don’t worry too much; this can also happen during a transition into fall! Luckily, pothos’ are pretty forgiving.
Depending on how saturated the soil is, you can do one of two things:
We’ve all been there, forgetting to water our houseplants only to glance over and realize they’re almost completely dissipated, with their leaves weeping towards the floor. Thankfully, pothos are forgiving about underwatering as well. If your container allows for bottom drinking, the best move here is to place your pothos in the sink, a bowl or the bathtub with 20cm of water to allow the plant to hydrate its roots to its leisure. If your pothos cannot drink from the bottom, water carefully and in phases to allow the soil to rehydrate without overwatering it.
Remember that grumpy is only temporary. Overall, pothos houseplants are super easy to care for, and these little mishaps shouldn’t deter you from enjoying their fanciful foliage! Visit us at Royal City Nursery to see what pothos varieties we have for sale today.
