Lovely Pothos - Favorite Varieties and Plant Care

Pothos plant care for different types of pothos varieties and propagation is simple and a great place to start learning for beginning gardeners.

The pothos vine — Epipremnum aureum, also known as devil’s ivy — is truly the ultimate house plant, requiring little care, available in gorgeous varieties, and able to grow in low light conditions.

It has an easy vining growth habit that looks great in hanging baskets or macrame hangers. Or you could train them to grow up a small trellis or moss pole.

Pothos is also super simple to propagate, whether you want to fill your own home with pothos or share some with a friend or family member. Here are some details regarding pothos plant care.

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Basic Pothos Plant Care:

• Light: While many indoor plants enjoy indirect light indoors, arguably the most attractive aspect of pothos plants is that they require very little light, allowing them to live in dimly lit homes and office environments. Keep your pothos in a room with any sort of light, and it will likely be just fine.
• Water: Pothos require water every now and then, but they can deal with drought and don’t mind an inconsistent schedule. Wait until the soil is completely dry or you notice drooping, and then water thoroughly. Overwatering can cause root rot.
• Soil: These plants aren’t picky. Any standard potting mix will suffice.
• Fertilizer: Similarly, any average fertilizer will work for pothos plants, perhaps every other month or so, but fertilizer isn’t a necessity.

Pothos Varieties

There are various different types of pothos and philodendron plants that are commonly sold under the pothos name, with extremely similar care requirements. These are just a few of the most popular:

• Golden Pothos, aureum: The most common type of pothos plant you will find in stores, with slightly variegated green leaves that take a golden hue.
• Jade Pothos: Like the golden pothos but with solid green foliage.
• Neon Pothos: Also like the golden pothos but with solid neon lime orchartreuse green color leaves.
• Marble Queen Pothos: Like the golden pothos but with white variegation leaves instead of gold, causing it to grow slower.
• Silver Satin Pothos: Dark, satiny green leaves with silver variegation. Also known as Satin Pothos (Scindapsus pictus), Silk Pothos, Silvery Ann, and Silver Philodendron.
• N-Joy Pothos: Has smaller leaves than standard pothos plants. They are split between large patches of white and solid green variegation. Another slower growing variety.
• Pearls and Jade Pothos: Another variegated pothos. This one is a cultivar of Marble Queen with smaller leaves. Slow growing with cream edged light green leaves.
• Cebu Blue Pothos: A popular variety of pothos with narrow silvery blue-green leaves with a metallic sheen.  The leaves are more narrow and arrow shaped. Can grow and vine up to 10 feet.

Most pothos leaves have medium green to dark green foliage with shades of cream and white however, some are blue too.

How to Propagate Pothos

Pothos plants are beyond easy to grow, and your greatest concern will likely be keeping their long, prosperous vines in check.  If it gets too leggy prune the stems and use the cuttings to grow more plants. Best of all, they can even be propagated in water. Simply place a pothos cutting in a vase of water so that at least one node is covered. It will grow roots and live entirely independently.

You can also propagate cuttings in soil, covering as many nodes as possible with dry soil and waiting for them to root. When roots begin to form, water the plant normally. This method isn’t quite as successful as water propagation. However, if you attempt to propagate multiple cuttings at once, you are likely to have at least one take off.

Note — pothos vines that have grown in water may struggle to adapt to the soil, and vice versa. Once you propagate pothos in either water or soil, it’s best to keep them growing in the same conditions.

Are you a fan of this popular houseplant? There are so many different types of pothos that are very easy to grow you may just become a collector.