I’m pretty new at owning plants and I’m scared of killing this gorgeous pothos I got on sale from a local nursery. I noticed a lot of yellow leaves and I’m wondering if I’m doing anything wrong? I water it whenever the top soil is dry about 1-2 inches deep so around every 4-5 days. The big window faces south. I also mist it twice a week and spray her down weekly with a Castile soap, neem oil, alcohol and water mix to avoid fungus and pests. Thanks for any help!
by EstaNegrita
31 Comments
Id water less like maybe once every 1-2 weeks
First, it’s a gorgeous plant. It’s hard to avoid a yellow leaf or two when there are that many. It sounds like you have great light and watering habits. I personally don’t know that it’s necessary to keep dousing it with chemicals. Sometimes it can backfire and actually cause damage. Too much neem oil and alcohol especially
Pothos isn’t very picky and is easy to care for. You don’t even have to water them much at all, they can completely dry out and be fine. Alternatively they can also be grown in just water. Such a great plant. You can remove the yellow leaves if you like. Be sure to keep it in a warm environment, and the misting is good because they tend to like humidity.
I agree with a lot of the other commenters that I don’t think anything is seriously wrong with a few yellow leaves or your care habits. And if you wanted you could try some fertilizer with nitrogen in it to help with the green leaves.
I’d skip the misting and allow it to dry out completely, then do a thorough soak. That means watering more deeply, less frequently.
Misting is fine when plants are outdoors with plenty of air circulation, but water tends to stay on the leaves indoors and contributes to fungal infections. Your plant looks happy overall so I don’t think misting is a huge issue, but it doesn’t actually raise humidity and comes with more risks than benefits.
A few yellow leaves will happen here and there. Is there drainage in that pot though? And if the top 2″ of the soil is really dry enough to warrant watering that often she may be getting root bound. ?? Idk if I’d keep giving the treatments if there isn’t a need.
Variegated plants have increased light requirements due to having less chlorophyll. If these needs are not met, the plant will senesce foliage to reallocate the resources in that tissue. That is part of what is occurring.
Additionally, photosynthesis is a process that uses water, so plants in brighter light dry the pot more quickly. This is optimal for root health. A plant in lower light will remain moist for longer and have less energy and health to bounce back from being watered too frequently.
For the sake of reference, I keep this species in an east window where it gets several hours of direct sun each morning. Your plant was definitely grown in an environment with a lot more light. They don’t acclimate to lower light. They just start senescing leaves. 💚
edit: It needs to almost thoroughly dry prior to watering.
i’m curious how much you’re watering? because i see the drainage hole at the bottom, i assume youre not letting a gallon of water drain out onto your floor, so i’m just curious about whats going on there?
most of my vines are on shelves with the water drip tray under, and i find that after it starts to drain into that, i stop watering and let the plant suck most of it back up.
i think it’s getting enough light, mine get less and still put out well variegated leaves.
Have you repotted since you bought it? A lot of the time they come very root bound. I would say repot if needed, check the roots while you’re at it and feed at the next watering.
I wish mine looked like that. It looks for the most part healthy yellow leaves will always happen.
If the nursery yard it outdoors, it simply can’t support that many leaves on inside light. This is just something that happens, even when you bring plants in for the winter. Fertilizer will help, but I think it’s very normal when the plant comes indoors.
GEE, look at that beauty! For how many years have you been taking care of her? I’ve an njoy that is smaller than my hand lol
I would try repotting!
How is the air circulation? I added a fan lightly blowing on mine, and that helped with some of the leaf drop. Maybe something to consider?
Yours is gorgeous 🌿🪴
Plants get a lot of light at a nursery and not as much light inside our houses. So it’s dropping some leaves but it will adjust. Put it as close to the window as possible so it can get as much light as it can get. Plants need to be able to see the sky
What kind of diffenbachia is that
Any one have a ‘Hoya Bella’ start that they do not want…???
You don’t have to spray her down with anything once a week. Inspect it weekly and treat as needed.
During the summer months I fertilize my plants every time I water. I use water soluble fertilizer and heavily dilute it. Nitrogen, one of the nutrients, encourages leafy growth.
Plants lose leaves all the time. A couple of yellow leaves here and there aren’t anything to worry about.
Stop misting (doesn’t do anything) and stop spraying it (it doesn’t have pests so why spray). Prune any dead or dying leaves. Watering every 4-5 days seems really excessive, I’d switch to every 1-2 weeks.
Pothos is indisputably one of the easiest house plants to care for, if not the easiest. You’re over thinking it as these plants are extremely resilient.
I literally let my pothos soil dry out completely then soak it and let it drain. Neem oil/bug spray every 8 weeks or a damn good soaking in the shower. I find that the pothos thrives on neglect but thats just from my experience.
As mentioned in a previous comment, lay off the chemicals and see if that helps. Possibly some new soil would help, too.
(I *love* the color of your walls! 😍)
Give that girl a trim and make node starters
Don’t water until you see the leaves start to be slightly less perky, at which time water a lot at once, if you can put something under it for it to drip that would be helpful. Don’t water again until the leaves start to get softer.
Try and feel your plants, happy plants have firmer leaves. Thirsty plants have softer easily bendable leaves. Don’t water on a schedule once you learn how the thirsty leaves feel, water when they tell you.
No need to mist, if it gets dusty after a while stick it in the shower and rinse it off. If you can be bothered, the shower is an excellent way to water plants.
Don’t water that often. I’d get a moisture meter to see cause if its feet stay wet and you water again they get root rot quite easily. Mine loves the sun well not in the afternoon but morning till about noon then indirect sunlight after that and they thrive!
Beautiful plant. Listen to everyone else. Let her shine.
Why are you putting all that stuff on it? Stop. I probably have 10 potted pothos and another 10 growing in water. They are pretty easy plants. Sounds like you’re watering it too much. My potted ones don’t like a ton of water.
I water my pothos like once a month and they’re thriving in an east facing window
Awesome
That pot doesn’t look like it has drainage or maybe the holes are clogged, either way plants need to drain when watered.
Watering every 4-5 days is way too often for pothos. I have pothos that can go a month between waterings, but usually i water them every 2-3 weeks or if they are looking thirsty.