Pothos being sturdy featuring dark green foliage marbled in different shades. They are versatile, easily grown in hanging pots, can even climb the trellis, and be as creative as you can get with this beauty. They grow and mature quickly if nurtured with their required conditions. But how fast do pothos grow if provided with appropriate care?
On average, pothos can grow anywhere between 12-18 inches every month. Being a tropical plant, they do need a temperature between 75-80°F and a humidity level above 70% to grow exponentially. If the temperature drops below 70°F, their growth will slow down a lot.
Pothos is a popular house plant. They are loved by all hobbyists, whether new or experienced.
They are really easy to take care of and can quickly grow in size if provided with appropriate care. The right resources are a plus for promoting your pothos growth.
They will thrive in varieties of conditions and routines without dying.
However, If they are not getting much attention, they might not flourish as you would like them to.
In such a scenario, you must provide them with a little attention, and you will quickly see a boost in their growth.
In this article, we will learn how fast do pothos grow and how you can help them grow a lot quicker.
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How fast does pothos grow in water?
If you are propagating your pothos in water or growing them in water, you might need to wait for a few months to see any new growth.
Simply allow it to thrive in bright light; your pothos will grow in a few months taking its time.
Cuttings of pothos take a month to grow roots of about an inch, and with proper care, after two months, you will see about 2-3 inch roots growing around it.
They develop new leaves in 4-5 months with an appropriate dose of nutrients.
Once they settle in, you will start seeing new growth much quickly. However, make sure you change the water frequently, so the plant has enough nutrients to keep up with their development.
Also read: How often should you water your pothos?
Does pothos grow faster in water or soil?
Although pothos can be grown both in water and soil, you will see a quicker growth if you grow them in soil than in water.
Pothos grow comparatively faster in soil, provided all their requirements are fulfilled.
But there’s a contradiction to it. Sometimes it is seen that pothos grown in water flourishes faster than in soil.
So it depends on how better living conditions and proper care you are feeding them with.
If you are nurturing your pothos planted in soil with high nutritional value care, they will mature really quickly.
Pothos not growing new leaves
If your pothos plant is not growing new leaves, you need to look out for some possible problem in their living conditions and care provided to them. Here are some basics you need to look out for:
Soil
Pothos need aerated soil mix to thrive and continue new growth. It gets hard for pothos to stimulate new growth in a heavy or improper soil mix.
If your pothos doesn’t show any new growth for a long time, especially in the growing season, it is a matter of concern.
Check your potting mix, whether you are using the appropriate soil mix recommended for pothos or not.
It must be lacking sufficient nutrients as well. The soil mix you are using could be contaminated, not letting your plant to grow efficiently.
When you plant your pothos, take the time to choose a pot that has sufficient drainage.
Healthy soil with a high nutritional value that drains well will boost your pothos’ growth very well.
Also read: What kind of soil do pothos need?
Lighting
Proper light pushes the growth of pothos really fast. You need to check the light conditions your pothos are in.
Enough bright light is like a fuel for pothos to grow new leaves. Light is required to carry out the photosynthesis process.
For everything needed for your pothos to carry out effectively, proper light is a must. We can say light to any plant is like fuel to the engine.
Plants left in low light conditions, in dark corners, closed areas grow slowly, grow thin and weak stems and leaves, loose variegation losing their essence.
They stretch their branches towards that small amount of light they get in such low light areas and become thin and slowly stop growth.
In low light areas, pothos soil will take more time to dry, which sometimes lead to sogginess in the soil for a prolonged time.
Also, making a perfect environment beneath the soil surface of pothos for fungal attacks. Due to these conditions, your pothos will not show new growth or grow abnormally.
Too much exposure to light or direct light also be a cause to slow growth in your pothos.
Pothos are getting too much light burning their leaves, soil drying too fast, and decreasing humidity levels, showing no development or slow growth.
Also read: How much light do pothos need?
Water
Water is another crucial factor for healthy growth in pothos. If your pothos is not showing any new development, check your watering routine.
It’s not essential to know how many times you water your pothos but to understand whether you water them when they need it or not.
Maybe you are giving too much or too little water to your pothos than needed.
We often end up caring for our plants too much, and as a result, we end up overwatering them, but this is creating a suffocating environment beneath the surface of the soil.
That is a major cause of root rot, a significant reason for your pothos’ stagnant growth.
You will see foliar problems like wilting, poor color, and stunted growth as an indication of a wrong watering schedule.
It would help if you watered pothos, giving them enough time to dry; this much gap will help the soil dry out, providing their roots enough air and nutrients to grow and not suffer from diseases.
Pests
Irregular and distorted foliage and stems, brown spots are few signs of pest derived pothos.
Usually, these bugs are so small in size that you cannot identify them and suspect cultural conditions to be the culprit of foliar issues and slow growth.
Pests attack affect your pothos profoundly as they suck on sap and soil nutrients making your plant crave for nutrients. Pests weaken pothos and affect the supply of nutrients from the soil to the foliage and stems.
They affect the growth of new leaves of pothos really fast. That is highly due to ignoring and not inspecting your pothos closely for a long time.
Also read: Do pothos attract bugs?
Temperature
Temperature levels above 90°F and below 70°F diminishes pothos growth. Especially below 40°F, they almost get on the verge of dying.
If you stay in colder regions, there is a possibility of temperature levels being the main culprit behind the stunted growth of your pothos plant. Even sudden shifts in temperatures also affect pothos growth.
Pothos thrive in various cultural conditions, but they cannot tolerate low-temperature levels. They will thrive in high temperatures, provided you are keeping humidity levels in check and watering them without letting them stay dry for too long.
Otherwise, there will be enough reasons for your pothos not to show any new foliage.
Fertilizer
If everything else is in check, then fertilizing inappropriately can also be a possible cause.
Pothos need fertilizer to boost their growth. Fertilizing can go wrong if you fertilize them more than once in a month in the name of feeding your pothos.
Over-fertilizing, Under-fertilizing, amount of fertilizer, quality of fertilizer all of these affect your pothos health.
Fertilizing pothos more than once in a month can concentrate salt in the soil and also affect the oxygen and water flow in the roots and the soil.
Pothos are not heavy feeders, but potting soil alone cannot provide enough nutrients to stimulate and support new growth. So you cannot under and over-fertilize your pothos and expect new growth.
Now the quality of your fertilizers matters as well but up to some extent only. If they are not rich in nutrients and of poor quality, the nutrients needed for pothos won’t be fulfilled.
Also read: How often should I fertilize my pothos plant?
How can I make my pothos grow faster?
If you are following below given steps along with regular inspection, you will never see any severe plant issues with your pothos.
- Nutritional and well-draining growing medium.
- Sufficient bright, indirect sunlight exposure.
- Temperature ranges between 70°F – 90°F.
- Avoid overwatering by watering only when the soil has dried out.
- Feed the plant with a balanced fertilizer every month.
Nutritional and well draining growing medium
Your pothos enjoys a variety of cultural conditions giving you a lot of freedom with their care needs.
But expecting your pothos to thrive without adding enough nutritional value through its roots needs will not work.
Your pothos’ soil mix should be balanced in a 20-20-20 proportion of nutrition for the highest nutrition intake.
Soil with a pH level between 6.1 to 6.5 is considered the best medium, but they tolerate pH level outside this range as well.
Well draining potting medium-plus well draining holes in the pot both go together. If anyone of them is missing, your pothos will suffer through problems of overwatering anytime soon.
To boost your pothos’ growth, you need to take some extra time to choose the right soil mix and pot. Otherwise, wait to see new growth till eternity.
Sufficient bright, indirect sunlight exposure
Pothos can survive in low light if other cultural needs are at bay. Since you want faster growth in your pothos, pour enough bright light in your pothos.
Placing your pothos in sunny locations where they enjoy enough indirect sun will boost their growth.
You can ideally keep your pothos near south, east, or west-facing window or balcony. Make sure they are not burning with direct scorching light from the sun.
The ideal temperature range is between 70°F – 90°F.
Temperature levels for tropical plants like pothos should be maintained between 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, pothos can survive in temperature levels up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. However, if the range goes below that, you will see pale leaves, stunted growth rapidly.
You will see rapid growth in your pothos if you can maintain the recommended range of temperatures.
You can place your pothos near the furnace or wooden stove in a freezing climate but far enough that their foliage won’t get burned.
Also read: Where should you place your pothos?
Avoid over watering by watering only when the soil has dried out
Watering right is crucial to ensure faster growth of pothos and beautiful long trails falling down the pot.
We won’t recommend any watering routine and request you to stop any watering routine if you already do.
Watering right always depends on where your plant is situated in, how much light they are getting, and other such factors.
To ensure the correct amount of water while watering and the proper gap between watering, you just need to follow two rules.
First, water only when the top few inches of your pothos soil is dry, seconded by thorough draining of excess water in the soil through drainage holes. That will prevent both over and under-watering.
Feed The Plant With A Balanced Fertilizer Every Month
High nutritional value fertilizer optimizes the rate of growth of pothos. If your potting medium is decent, then your pothos doesn’t require too much fertilizer feeding.
You can fertilize your pothos once a month with a balanced fertilizer mix for pothos in the growing season. For pothos planted in the decent soil mix, you need to fertilize once in 2 -3 months.
Always use fertilizer by diluting with water rather than in solid form.
For pothos growing in the water, you can use hydrogen peroxide by diluting with water.
Pothos plants can thrive in tap water, but don’t want it to be full of chlorine. To off-gas chlorine in your tap water, leave it out for at least 24 hours in an open container, then pour it into your vase.
Don’t use solid fertilizers when feeding your pothos plant. Too much water can result in limp, wilted leaves. The leaves may even change to a yellow color.
Tips to make your pothos bushy
For a greener and bushier pothos, you are just a few tips away.
The soil mix should be aerated for the easy flow of water and air.
If you have kept your pothos outdoors, move them under shade to save them from direct sun.
Fertilize in liquid form as it can be evenly distributed in the soil and the roots.
Before using tap water, let it sit overnight so that excess chlorine will sit at the bottom. That will also prevent salt buildups in the soil.
Use a terracotta or clay-based pot for the best circulation of water and air. Also, it helps to prevent soggy soil to a large extent.
Please keep your pets at bay to keep them both safe. Pets safe from the toxic sap from pothos and pothos being munched and pulled by your pets.
Use the bottom watering method if you tend to overwater your plant. You can also use a moisture meter before watering your pothos to find out the exact condition of the soil.
Misting will help you to raise the humidity level. But don’t always keep the foliage of the leaves wet; this will concentrate the soil on them, turning them brown and yellow.
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Sources: Study of Pest in Pothos, Common insect pests and diseases, University of Florida Research, Effects of Different Pot Mixtures on Pothos, Pothos water need study
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