Skip to main content

Follow these 5 amazing tips to make your pothos grow even more lush faster

The pothos is a notoriously easy plant to take care of, but there can be a learning curve when it comes to making it look great. Sure, your pothos might not flat-out die in less-than-ideal conditions, but it might not achieve that stunning trailing form that it’s known for. If you’re wondering how to keep your plant lush and in tip-top condition, here are five tips on how to make your pothos grow faster.

Marble queen pothos
Firn / Shutterstock

Fertilize your pothos.

A pothos plant can substantially benefit from a fertilizing boost, even if it’s not a heavy feeder. There’s no need for special fertilizer — an all-purpose fertilizer (or a basic balanced one) should be sufficient for keeping your pothos happy. Apply plant food every week throughout the growing season to keep your pothos prolific. Even if you don’t want your pothos to push out growth, it’s still important to feed it to give it nutrients and help it develop resilience against pests and infections. Just make sure not to overfertilize or fertilize during the winter — giving your pothos too much fertilizer could make its leaves and roots burn.

Cut your pothos.

The “chop and prop” technique can do a pothos a lot of good, especially since trimming a pothos can encourage robust growth. Over time, your pothos can become leggy from a lack of nutrients or light, so pruning will spur growth and give it a fuller shape. You can simply toss the cuttings away or keep them to create more plants. You can even put the cuttings back into the original planter to give your pothos a bushy, healthy look. All you have to do is snip above a leaf node with a clean pair of scissors or pruning shears. If you’re taking cuttings, there’s no need to use rooting hormone — pothos will root quickly either in soil or water.

A pothos grown in a jar
Shakhawat1937/Shutterstock

Give your pothos lots of light.

Yes, a pothos is notoriously a low-light plant. Low light, however, is not the same as no light or very little light. Light, after all, helps plants photosynthesize to produce chemical energy and grow. While your pothos might survive living in very little light, it’ll probably grow slowly or become leggy from reaching for the light. Bright indirect light from an east- or north-facing window can keep a pothos happy. A south- or west-facing window may be a bit strong for a pothos, so keep your plant a couple of feet away from those types of windows or use a sheer curtain. If you don’t have good lighting either way due to awnings or buildings, invest in grow lights to supplement your pothos.

Give your plant the right-sized pot.

Pothos are easy-going and quick to recover, but giving them the proper planter can help them thrive. Pothos can tolerate being a little potbound, but you might delay growth if you keep your plant rootbound for too long. Over time, the tangled roots can make it difficult for your plant to receive the water and nutrients it needs to grow. Subsequently, leaves can start to wilt and die from being underwatered. On the other hand, a pothos that’s placed into too much soil can suffer from root rot, especially if your potting mix isn’t well-draining — leaves can start yellowing and dropping like there’s no tomorrow. You’ll want to repot your plant if you notice roots poking out of the drainage holes. In general, you should only go up two inches from the original pot to avoid overwatering your plant.

Small potted pothos plant
Kelsey Brown/Unsplash

Keep your pothos warm, but not too warm.

You’ve given your pothos fertilizer, light, the right-sized pot, and the occasional trim but it still seems to be struggling. What gives? Keep an eye out for the temperature. Pothos are tropical plants from warm climates; their sweet spot is around 65 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to place your pothos in a relatively warm area — drafty cold windows can dry out the leaves and cause them to wilt or crisp. Hot summer highs can also make leaves wilt, especially if you don’t water your plant enough.

Though widely known as a prolific and easy-going plant, the pothos can require legwork to get a gorgeous trailing silhouette. Demystifying what it needs, however, isn’t too difficult. While it can survive low light and sparse watering, the pothos thrives with the best care possible, which means generous fertilizing, mindful pruning, ample bright indirect light, occasional repotting, and warm but not too warm temperatures. By giving your pothos moderate care beyond the minimum requirements, you’ll be rewarded with a lush, beautiful plant that pushes out leaves left and right.

Editors' Recommendations

Stacey Nguyen
Stacey's work has appeared on sites such as POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles, Buzzfeed, The Balance, TripSavvy, and more. When she's…
Wondering how to water succulents? Here are the best succulent watering tips
The best and healthiest methods for watering your succulents
Succulent arrangement

The cardinal rule of succulent care is to avoid overwatering. Native to hot deserts, succulents store water inside their fleshy stems and leaves to prepare for drought. Many species also have waxy cuticles that prevent them from losing water due to evaporation in warm, arid climates. But like all plants, succulents need water.

If you're wondering how to water succulents, you're not alone. While you want to err on the side of underwatering your succulents, your plants will appreciate a drink every now and then. But do you water your succulents from the top or bottom? And how often should you water your succulents? We’ve rounded up a few tips on watering your succulents and cacti to keep them thriving.

Read more
Worried about your sick aloe vera plant? Here’s how to save it
Tips on how to identify and care for a sick aloe vera plant
A small aloe vera

Being a succulent, the aloe vera plant is one of the easiest plants for forgetful plant parents, traveling gardeners, and beginners alike (even during the winter!). It's drought tolerant and can easily survive a few missed waterings; however, the more stress you put the plant through, the more likely you are to see problems start to rise. Pests, fungi, and even diseases are drawn to plants that have been weakened in some way. So if you think you have a sick aloe plant, here’s what may be going on.

Can plants get sick?
Yes! Just like people or pets, plants can get sickness and disease — and that includes aloe vera. Your plant will have different symptoms depending on the problem, similar to how a common cold exhibits differently from the flu. And even more complicated is the fact that individual plants are always susceptible to the same things. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the variety of plant you’re growing (in this case, aloe vera) and their weaknesses so that you know what to look for.

Read more
From baby rubber plants to watermelon peperomia, add these peperomia varieties to your low-maintenance plant collection
Your guide to caring for the most striking and accessible peperomia varieties
Watermelon peperomia

Peperomias, or radiator plants, are one of those houseplant varieties that seem hidden in plain sight — their trailing and upright varieties are practically at every nursery, but not many plant parents talk about them. Affordable, low-maintenance, and pet-safe choices, these lovely indoor plants technically belong to the pepper (Piperaceae) family. Featuring over 1,000 plant species, the Peperomia genus is certainly a mixed bag, including both tropical and subtropical plants. You have everything from the eye-catching watermelon peperomia to the adorable peperomia hope.

The plants in this genus that we often see as houseplants are succulent or semi-succulent in nature and come with mesmerizing colors and patterns. As such, they’re quite easy to care for and include a bevy of attractive options for houseplant novices. Plus, they’re ridiculously easy to propagate, as you can use both stem and leaf cuttings to make more of them. If you’re thinking about picking up a peperomia plant, consider the following varieties for your collection.

Read more