Recently bought this beautiful pothos from HEB, it is tacked up with staples to a styrofoam support. I really wanted to try my hand at a moss pole, there are two main large vines on it.
My question is should I repot this into two pots with two moss poles? Or should I repot it into one big pot with one (maybe two?) moss pole(s)?
This plant was fairly expensive and I really don’t want to harm it!!!
by _crabby_abby_
6 Comments
Beautiful plant. Eager to see what other will suggest. First time seeing this issue (stapled to foamlike pole) but she looks happy tho I’d maybe wait till spring to be sure. Pulling and separating a mature-ish plant will be quite the struggle. I don’t know how to advise you but I’m curious. Keep us updated!! 💐
I wouldn’t up the pot size unless it’s root bound, if it is really bad I would use two pots the same size as the original and separate it. I don’t like putting pothos into huge pots but that’s just me. The roots love to breathe and the deeper the pot the harder that is for them. You can trim the roots but that can cause some leaf loss too but it’s a way to stop upping your pot size if you just want it to stay the same size. Just my opinion though beautiful plant! Note too you can take a top cutting and make It into a new mature plant as well. For moss poles make sure you get a d shaped. They are sooo Hard to keep wet otherwise *personal experience*
I would put an extension on your current moss pole and alow it to climb up to the top. When it gets there you can chop off your extension and put in another pot. Just did this with mine.
https://preview.redd.it/hesvsibjl69g1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ca574b890e4e28e44a926dce33b9493b9110d67
Beautiful pothos! Nice find. I would only go up in pot size if it’s root bound. That’s the only tip I have. I’m not experienced with staking pothos. Much luck though.
My boyfriend recently purchased a couple plants stapled to a foam pole, and when we repotted them, we just pulled staples and carried on the repot process like normal with no issues. Pothos are pretty sturdy and tolerant.
Personally, I love a thick, lush pole with multiple stems. The pot looks to be an appropriate size, so I would just undo staples, slide the foam pole out, and slide a moss pole in (fill it after it is in place…it makes a bit of a mess, but allows you to put potting soil in the bottom and prevent weird gaps). As this is minimally invasive, your pothos should just carry on growing like nothing happened.
Just my opinion here…
If it even needs anything – I would consider adding a cedar plank or pole behind it to keep it going. It’s GORGEOUS as is. And it’s clearly been thriving without a moss pole. The leaves at the top have even sized up. It’s really beautiful!
A moss pole would certainly help it to size up faster. But the big downside of that is that it will top out the pole much faster as well. Moss pole maintenance is fun to do to have the experience, but it turns out to be a PITA. Look at the plant influencers ditching moss poles.
Gentle suggestion: You could root a few cuttings and then put those on a moss pole, it might be fun to watch it grow and then decide if you want to put your beauty on a moss pole too. The results might surprise you.