For some reason I’ve had a much harder time with this plant than my with golden or snow queen Pothos.
First, it was getting leggy and dropping leaves, so I propagated a few vines and then moved it to hang near the window (not directly in front but beside). Now she is looking much more full, but when you look closer, the vines are all sprouting from a cluster of nodes that are all close together, making the vines grow at wonky angles.
I do think it needs more light because the leaves are all bending towards the window, so I’m going to move it to directly in front of the window. But does this explain the nodes being so close together?
Is this normal?
by spoontotheleft
13 Comments
My PnJ also grows waayyy wonkier than my other vining plants and has an affinity to grow vines in loop de loops. Mines next to a south window so it’s definitely not a light problem. I just have learned to embrace her whimsy.
If it needed more light, you wouldnt be seeing such close nodes. It would be etiolated. Plant looks healthy. It’s just growing a bunch of leaves at one point and the weight is twisting it causing it to put out more leaves at a slightly different angle. That’s a happy plant getting good light.
Same issue with mine.
I would suggest you to download the app Lux light meter pro (the logo is a lightbulb in a yellow circle) to measure the amount of light she’s getting at that distance so it will give you a good idea where to place it in case she stalls. Syngoniums required at least 100 foot candle (don’t go below 50FC) to survive. To make sure she thrives and has a better grow rate, it would be around 300 FC. But since it’s winter, there are a lot of plants that go dormant, you can try to mimic that by making sure she gets around 100 FC most of the day.
Here’s my tips about pothos :
SUBSTRATE : Chunky aerated substrate if you tend to water too much. A layer of rock at the bottom, chunky orchid bark mixed with clay pebbles and perlite and tropical soil. Try to create a gradient from chunky at the bottom to slowly finer at the top by mixing the bottom and slowly adding more and more tropical soil on top. This is my recipe for pots without and with drainage holes. People will scream at you if you don’t have drainage holes, that’s why you have to adapt your soil accordingly (chunkier so it can dry faster). But in your case, prioritize pot with drainage holes
LIGHT: East exposure next to a window so it can get direct morning light. For South and Ouest windows, place it farther from the window so it gets a bright indirect light (direct light may give it sunburns and will stunt its growth). For a North window, place your pothos as close as possible to the window (just watch out if it gets really cold, place it a bit farther in that case) and you can place a lamp next to it to give it a boost during winter.
More light means a higher photosynthetic rate, meaning a higher evapotranspiration rate and therefore, a higher water intake. In short, your plant will drink more water faster, making your substrate dry faster and less chance of root rot. The same logic applies to a plant with more leaves, the more leaves, the more water it will absorb.
Less light means a lower photosynthetic rate, meaning a lower evapotranspiration rate and therefore, a lower water intake. In short, your plant will drink less water, making your substrate dry slower, giving more chances to root rot. The same logic applies to a plant with lower foliage, the less leaves, the less water it will absorb
WATER SCHEDULE:
So many things (amount of light, room temperature, type of soil and plants, amount of water given) influence the watering schedule, so the “water once a week” rule doesn’t work for everyone.
With drainage holes, you can give it a shower in your sink and you can let the water fully drain out before putting it back in his plate. Water it when the first 2-3 inches are completely dry. If they dry out for too long, the older leaves will turn yellow and fall.
Stick method : You can use the stick method to see if your plant is ready to be watered which consists of putting a stick 3-4 inches in the soil, take it out and look how dirty it got. If the soil is damp, the stick will be dirty, no need to water. If it’s moist, you’ll see a bit of dirt sticking to it. In bright light and hot conditions, I’ll water at that stage, but not during winter. When it’s clean, time to water. You can put a little post-it on each of your pots saying the amount of days before watering. If you are a real plant freak like me, but still struggle to keep a consistent and regular watering schedule, you can also directly write into your calendar which plant needs to be watered on which day and include that into your daily routine. You’ll know that in your home with your specific conditions, each plant will need a specific watering schedule that will certainly differ from someone else’s home.
If you let them dry for too long because you are afraid of root rot, split the amount of water In 2 closer watering sessions. Example : If you water 500ml each 10 days, try watering more often with less water, like 250ml each 5 days instead. It’s better and easier for plants to have a low amount of water each week than getting flooded every 2-3 months. (Great scenario for making your plant rot). That way, your soil won’t dry out for too long and won’t get hydrophobic. Hydrophobic soil won’t absorb any water because it’s too dry and it will let the water pass through it without retaining any humidity, so your plant will still be thirsty. If it’s hydrophobic, do bottom water, voluntarily let the pot sit in water and by capillaries, the water will “climb into” the soil. Once it looks fully humid, remove the excess of water in the plate and voilà
YELLOWING LEAVES :
It’s normal to get yellowing leaves when you make some changes in its growth conditions. Don’t worry, you plant is adjusting itself to its new conditions. Don’t remove the older yellowing leaves until they are crispy dry. Your plant is recycling the nitrogen and magnesium from the chlorophyll and the other nutrients as well, making it lose its green color and exposing the yellow pigments of the leaves (that’s why the leaves turn yellow), to redistribute it to the new leaf and/or root growth points. So yeah, once they go yellow, there’s no coming back for them.
By not removing those leaves, you won’t have to fertilize the soil too often, so less risks of over fertilizing and burning your plants’ roots. Plants are excellent recycling machines that evolved to optimize all their nutrients, so they can survive longer in case of a nutrients deficiency in the soil by shedding their older leaves.
She’s a little confused but she’s got the spirit
This is an Njoy! Both pearls and jade and Njoy have nodes closer together than the wild form of pothos, so growth like this isn’t uncommon.
So I saw this on Reddit one day and I’ll always share this fun fact!!!! The reason it does that is because, in the nursery, they just stuck some cuttings in soil and they put them in upside down. So the plant will forever try to grow the “correct” way!
My neon guy does this..my… i dunno, tie dye guy grows a long vine. The are in the same room. I think the neon is in a cooler part of the room, though, so maybe it has to do with energy use? Wild guess, that.
IME they just be doin that
She will not be constrained to the uniformailty of the masses. Breaking free from the norm BE FREE 😂😂
My pearls and jade and part of my manjula do this. I’m not sure why, I just kind let them do their thing and help direct them the best I can lol. They seem happy otherwise and put out tons of pretty leaves so…go crazy I guess haha. Yours is very beautiful.
I find that the happier the plant, the closer together it puts out leaves… it must love the light by the window! Moving it closer won’t hurt. As for the curve, it seems like it’s just an asthestic defect. Just leave it now, it will correct itself 🙂 Looks really successful, no worries!
I think it’s because it’s a climbing plant and plants know which way is “up” due to gravitropism.