Learning how to propagate pothos in soil and water can save you a lot of money. You can get loads of plants for yourself and even give out some of them as gifts. Pothos have gorgeous leaves and their low upkeep needs make them one of the best houseplants for beginners.
Pothos Houseplant Propagation Guide
Plant lovers will love this technique because it’s totally free and you get more pothos than you bargained for. Pothos propagation is necessary if your plant is getting a bit leggy or you’re simply looking for more plants.
Pothos produce winding vines that like to run over the sides of pots or containers. A common variety is the Golden Pothos. It’s a fun plant for decorating spaces.
It is also popular because even people who struggle with keeping plants alive can easily maintain them. The pothos does well with low light and very little watering. It is one of the houseplants that will forgive you if you forget to water it.
Propagating Pothos Cuttings
The easiest method to learn how to propagate pothos is probably using cuttings. Pothos propagation starts with the root nodes found on the stems that are located on leaf or branch points. These tiny bumps on the stems of rooting pothos are responsible for giving us brand new pothos.
Tools
- Sharp scissors or a knife
- Glasses loaded with water to hold cuttings
- Pot for planting
- Indoor or versatile potting soil for planting
Process Of Propagating Pothos
The first step is deciding the length you want for your vines. Using the sharp scissors or knife cut the stems right below the best-looking leaf node that you want to leave. When working with pothos, it’s best to untangle the vines and lay them out individually. This helps because the vines can be quite long.
The next step is making smaller cuttings. Some plant owners prefer to root and establish a whole stem. Personally, I prefer making smaller cuttings.
I have found that it takes a very long time and often does not produce a plant. Furthermore, the long cuttings may also lag behind when it comes to establishing the rooting cutting back to the soil after being in the water for a while.
Cut along the stem to create many individual leaf cuttings. Cut to the top part and lower part of every leaf stem, leaving a small piece of vine attached to the bottom of the leaf stem. Always look out for the little brown bumps on the vine.
Those are called nodes, which are where new roots will form. You don’t want any cutting without nodes, because as earlier explained the cutting will not root.
How To Propagate Pothos In Water
The next step involves using the glasses. I prefer to use small-sized glasses for propagating my pothos. However, it’s important to note that the size of glasses that you use depends on individual preference as well as the size of your cuttings. Take a look around and see what fits your pothos cuttings best!
In the next step fill your container with water. Position the cuttings in the water so the cut ends stay submerged. Just to reiterate, make sure the cuttings are submerged in the water and the nodes are covered up. If the nodes are above the water level, they will not root.
The setup is now done. Place the cuttings in a bright, warm, area and leave them to grow roots. It’s advisable to check on the cuttings every few days. Also, remember to change the water in the glass and replace it with fresh water.
Changing the water is important because you provide the cutting with water that has a fresh supply of oxygen. You also don’t want your pothos cuttings, standing in stale water.
Planting Propagated Pothos Cuttings
Don’t be in a rush to transfer your pothos cuttings into soil. I personally like to leave my pothos cuttings in water till they have at least one inch of roots. The good thing about establishing the cuttings in water is that you can see them grow unlike when you have done the propagation in soil.
In most cases, I do end up with roots that are a little longer than two inches because I wait for almost all the cuttings to get to 2 inches. They all don’t grow at the same rate, so some will the longer than others, but I like having them between 2 and 3 inches long.
As a point of caution, please bear in mind that the longer the roots stay in the water, the harder it will be for them to adapt when transplanted into soil. It’s advisable to plant a few of the cuttings that reach the 2 inches while waiting for the rest of the cuttings to get there.
Separate your cuttings, those that have long enough roots, and those that don’t. The cuttings that don’t have long enough roots, as well as those without roots, should be returned back in the water until they form roots. Again, patience is key.
Planting and Growing Pothos Cuttings.
First, fill a pot or planter to about 2/3 full with fresh potting soil. Pothos can be grown successfully in all-purpose soil. Pick each of the rooted cuttings and start positioning them around the edges of the pot.
Scope and add soil whenever it’s needed to keep the cuttings in an upright position. Fill in the middle of the pot with cuttings and add more soil as you deem necessary.
Water slowly and thoroughly until the water runs out the bottom of the pot. This is the method recommended for watering most plants.
How To Propagate Pothos In Soil.
When learning how to propagate pothos, you might want to consider soil propagation. Some people prefer soil propagation over water propagation. If you’re a beginner, you might want to try both methods and find out which one gives you better results.
Soil propagation for pothos begins the same as water propagation. But instead of putting the pothos in the water we use soil instead. Take the pothos cuttings and deep them in the rooting hormone.
Then establish them in the all-purpose soil. Keep the soil moist at all times. For best results also keep your rooting pothos out of direct sunlight.
Taking Care of Your Propagated Pothos Plants.
If you did your propagation right, your new pothos plants should be healthy. Place the plant pots in a location where they will get sufficient light. Care for them as you would any other pothos plant. Also, check these 30 low maintenance houseplants.
I hope you liked the post on how to propagate pothos useful. Now you can try out the process and get many pothos plants. Don’t forget to share the post with your friends and also follow me on flowerthings Pinterest for more awesome posts.
