Once you have one pothos plant, it’s easy to propagate it over and over again to create more for yourself and to share with friends and family. Here’s how to propagate pothos plants.
I’m still really figuring out which houseplants are my favorites and which I don’t care for as much, but like most people, pothos plants are definitely somewhere near the top of my list of favorite houseplant varieties. You basically can’t seem to kill them, and they just keep growing bigger and bigger, no matter what you do. Did you know that you can also easily propagate them to share with family and friends? You may find that you almost have to because of how big they get. I have a very large pothos plant, but I decided that I’d also like a smaller one, so I thought it was finally time to start propagating. I use my larger plant all the time for styling “for work,” and I thought a smaller version of the same plant would come in handy. So, I thought I’d share the super simple process over here.
What is a Pothos Plant?
Pothos plants (or “pathos plants” as they are sometimes mistakenly called) are popular, easy-to-grow tropical plants with a trailing growth habit. Outside of tropical regions, pothos are commonly grown as indoor plants, and they’re prized as being perfect for hanging basket pots or trailing down over a cabinet or from a shelf. These plants are very easy to care for and are perfect for beginner plant parents and the most experienced master gardener alike.
You’ll find many pothos plant varieties available in most garden centers with a houseplant section, from plants with heart-shaped leaves in deep green, some with bright chartreuse foliage, and many variegated plant types as well. There’s a pothos plant that’s perfect for every home and many people agree these are the best houseplants if you aren’t sure where to begin with indoor gardening. While these plants do prefer indirect bright light, they tolerate low-light conditions quite well, making them an ideal choice for anywhere you need to add some fresh green leaves to your home decor.
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Tools Needed for Propagating a Pothos Plant
You’ll need:
- An existing trailing pothos plant with long stems to be the parent plant
- A small vase or container that can hold water
- Pruning shears, a sharp knife, or clean scissors
- A shelf, table, or window sill with indirect sunlight and medium to high humidity, if possible
That’s it! This process takes basically no special skills or materials whatsoever. For the vase, I love to reuse my little candle jars or jam jars. I find they look so lovely, but are also a great, practical solution. I often wonder what to do with empty jars, and this is just the perfect use for them in my opinion.
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How to Propagate Pothos Plants: Method
Preparing pothos to be propagated just couldn’t be easier. Just take the trailing end of your pothos plant and cut off a section with a least four to five leaves on it. Remove any leaves that will end up submerged under water once you put the cut end of the stem in your vase.
You’ll notice that next to each leaf, there’s a little nub that sticks out a bit. When you submerge this nub underwater, that’s where your first root will grow! Fill your container about 7/8 full with room temperature water and submerge the bottom of the stem to encourage new roots to grow. With pothos, there’s no need to fuss with rooting hormone, and just plain water will be sufficient.
It’s important that you keep watering your plant regularly to avoid dry-out. It can be easy to forget since the container will be full of water and it may seem like it will last a long time, but that water does seem to evaporate in indoor air and get sucked up by the new plant quite quickly.
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Once your plant has rooted and your root-system is a couple of inches long, you can think about transplanting your new baby pothos in a little bit of potting mix with built-in fertilizer. You can also just leave it in the water for as long as you need to if you’re having a hard time finding time to get it potted up. These plants really are just the most easy-going!
Once you do transplant into potting soil, make sure your planter has good drainage and allow the growing medium to dry out between waterings to prevent root-rot. Keeping your plant watered every one to two weeks should be just about perfect.
Do you have a pothos plant that you’d like to propagate? Will you make a new baby plant for yourself, or will you share it with a friend?
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.