How to Make Pothos Grow Faster? - Soil Seed and Garden

Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by Admin

Are you looking to make your pothos grow faster? Below I’ll go through the different things you can do to encourage your Epipremnum Aureum to grow quickly and stay healthy.

This will allow it to produce many leaves with vibrant colors.

How do you make Pothos grow faster? To make pothos grow faster, make sure it receives bright, indirect light, warm temperature (70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit), ample fertilizer and rich, well-draining soil. Also, avoid overwatering the plant and keep pests away.

Giving it proper care and placing it in its optimal environment will allow the plant to grow faster and product more leaves.

Table of Contents

Pothos is Naturally a Fast Growers

Pothos are naturally fast growers. In fact, some owners will call them aggressive because of how quickly they can grow.

That said this is also why Pothos are popular plants. They are beautiful, come in many varieties including those with unique variegations and colors.

Just as importantly, they are easy to care for and can be propagated from almost any part of the plant. This not only lets you grow them without a lot of effort, it also lets you easily reproduce new Pothos plants at home.

Finally, they’re inexpensive plants unlike some Philodendron or Monsteras that can cost a few hundred or even thousands of dollars.

Why Is My Pothos Not Growing?

While it’s generally easy to care and grow Pothos plants, there may be instances when you feel you’re doing all the right things but the plant is not growing like it should be.

So why is your pothos not growing?

Your pothos can grow slowly or not grow at all when it is not getting its desired living conditions. In short, it wants something else or something more from you.

Here’s a list of things to check if you notice your pothos is not growing.

Check watering. Watering is the main thing where you can trip up when caring for a Pothos. More specifically, overwatering. You cannot water pothos just like other houseplants. Otherwise, it will succumb to too much water. Similarly, avoid letting it get dehydrated.
Light. Pothos like a lot of light especially indoors. And while it won’t have a problem growing in low light, it will not grow fast (or as fast as you’d hope it would). That said, keep it away from very intense or direct sun as well as this will burn its leaves.
Temperature issues. Pothos are easy to care for because they do well in a wide range of temperature range. Still, you want to keep things between 50 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. If it gets cold or hotter, growth will slow or even stop completely.
Nutrients. Make sure the plant gets nutrients. Pothos will be okay without nutrients. However, if you want your hoya to grow faster, make sure that the soil has nutrients. Also, don’t forget to apply fertilizer.
Avoid overfeeding it. While pothos grow faster when given plant food, too much can damage its delicate root system. When this happens, its growth will slow then stop.

*Chart on Why is Your Pothos Not Growing*

How to Make Your Pothos Grow Faster

Now that you know what can cause your Pothos to not grow or grow slowly, it is time to discuss how to make Pothos grow faster.

A beautiful, long, trailing pothos that’s either climbing or hanging from a basket is always stunning to look at. Thus, making it perfect for home display and décor.

That said, it is important to be aware that the faster your pothos grows, the more pruning you may need to do depending on the look you’re going for and in what direction the stems grow.

Use a High Quality Potting Mix/Growing Medium

The first thing you can do to encourage your Pothos to grow faster is to keep it in high quality potting mix.

It is worth mentioning that Pothos will grow in water. And I know many growers who like keeping it in water for long periods of time. In fact, propagating Pothos cuttings in water is the most popular way of reproducing the plant at home.

However, one thing I noticed is that if you grow or keep pothos is water for extended periods of time, it won’t grow as fast as it would in soil.

Also, a pothos that has stayed in water for a long time be it growing there or rooted there, tends to be more sensitive in soil especially when it comes to overwatering.

Thus, if you root your pothos cuttings in water, once they start producing enough roots that are long enough, move them into soil. This will help your pothos grow faster in the future.

When it comes to potting soil, use a well-draining potting mix. Pothos don’t have a problem with regular houseplant potting soil. However, always make sure not to overwater it since standard potting soil tends to hold more water that free draining mixes.

And pothos are susceptible to overwatering.

As such, I do recommend going with a well-draining potting mix if you can. Similarly, choose soil with pH between 6.1 to 6.5. This will help your pothos grow faster.

Finally, it will appreciate a rich potting soil with good nutrient content. Of course, it goes without saying not to reuse old potting soil if you want your pothos to grow fast.

In general, pothos are not overly picky with the kind of soil provided that it does not get waterlogged. But the tips above will allow your plant to grow faster.

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Make Sure It Gets Enough Bright, Indirect Sunlight

Pothos thrive in well-lit locations. But there’s such a thing as too much light.

Therefore, to allow the best growth for your Pothos plants, place them in bright, indirect light indoors. Outdoors, they’ll grow the fastest in partial shade.

Avoid very strong or intense light. Similarly, keep your pothos away from direct sunlight because it cannot take more than a 2 or 3 hours of this on a daily basis.

If left there for long periods at a time or on a consistent basis, its leaves will get scorched. Just as importantly, they’re leaves will become discolored.

On the other hand, it is likewise not a good idea to place them in very low light. Pothos will grow in low light. However, it you want it to grow fast, this is not a ideal environment for it.

Light is one of the main factors that influence how fast plants grow. That’s because they draw their energy from photosynthesis, which in turn depends on how much light they get.

Thus, in low light, your pothis will grow slower. And for those with variegations, you’ll also see the plant lose these colorful patterns as their leaves turn more solid green. They do so to try and collect more light since only the green parts of leaves (filled with chlorophyll) do so.

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Avoid Extreme Temperatures

Pothos do well in a wide range of temperatures. This is one of the reasons that makes them easy to grow.

However, for optimal growth, try to maintain room temperature between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pothos are tropical plants. Thus, they enjoy warm weather. However, because they live under the forest canopy in their native environment, they don’t bear the brunt of the sun and its heat.

So, while pothos (in general) will do well in temperatures between 55 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the farther out you get from its ideal range (70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit), the slower the plant will grow.

More importantly, keep the plant away from temperatures below 55 degrees as it is not cold hardy.

If left in the cold or outside during winter, the plant will not survive. Therefore, as the temperature keeps dropping, its growth will keep slowing until it stops.

Be Careful Not to Overwater Your Pothos

One of the few things that can really harm your pothos is overwatering. In fact, too much water does not only cause the plant’s growth to slow, it also puts it at risk of serious problems like root rot, bacterial and fungal infections.

Therefore, it is very important to temper how you water your plant.

That’s because pothos like to dry out a bit more than other plants.

So, always wait until the top 2 inches of soil is dry before adding more water. You can likewise wait until the soil is halfway dry (dry around 50% of the way) before you water again.

Both these watering strategies work really well.

When you water too often, the soil gets waterlogged. This leaves your pothos’ roots sitting in water for long periods of time. As a result, you’ll see yellow, wilting and limp leaves.

Apply Balanced Fertilizer

I know many growers who don’t give their Pothos fertilizer. And the plant does just find without it. That said, if you’re looking to help your Pothos grow faster, applying fertilizer will go a long way.

However, be aware that too much fertilizer will cause more harm than help your plant. So, avoid the temptation to give it more than it needs.

To be more specific, pothos are light feeders. So, although fertilizer does make it grow faster, it does not need a lot of if to achieve optimal growth.

All it needs is a balanced, liquid houseplant fertilizer. Apply this once every 2 months during the spring and summer which are the plant’s growing season.

Dilute the application by 50% to avoid overconcentration. This way, you don’t end up with too many fertilizer salt build up in the soil.

If you prefer to use less fertilizer, you can apply compost or worm castings on the soil. This way, your plant gets the nutrients as well.

Regularly Check for Pests

One thing to always look out for are pests. Pests are problematic to houseplants because there is no guaranteed way to prevent them.

So, your only defense is to be ready for them and treat them as early as possible.

That’s because when pests attack your plant, it can cause them to stop growing or slow down their growth. Pests will also damage your Pothos leaves causing discoloration and wilting.

The good news is that Pothos are not overly prone to pests. But if you notice any of them, immediately start treatment.

I like to spray them off with water either from the sink or using a garden host. You can also use an insecticidal soap spray or neem oil to get rid of pests like mealybugs and spider mites.

Remove Damaged Leaves

Finally, remove old, damaged or diseased leaves.

Of course, these make your plant look unsightly. But there are more important reasons for doing so.

One is that some problems like infections can spread. Therefore, pruning them will allow you to stop this.

Another reason for trimming off dead or dying leaves is it helps your pothos grow faster. If you leave the foliage on, your plant will expend energy and its resources trying to revive these damaged or dying leaves.

In most cases, it won’t be able to do so. Similarly, yellow or brown leaves won’t turn green again.

So, you’re better off pruning them so the plant can focus all its energy on new and healthy leaves. This will allow it to grow faster.

*Checklist on How to Make Pothos Grow Faster*

How to Grow Pothos Cuttings Fast

Besides helping your pothos grow faster, it is also important to learn how to encourage cuttings to grow fast.

Cuttings are the easiest way to propagate to grow new pothos. And you can root them in water, soil or sphagnum moss.

While pothos are generally easy to propagate, some methods are faster than others. And here’s how to do it.

Take stem cuttings that are around 6 inches long.
Remove the lower leaves so they don’t end up in the water where they’ll eventually rot. Keep the upper leaves as they will help with photosynthesis to help the new plant grow.
Place the cuttings in water ensuring that you have at least 2 nodes submerged in the liquid. The nodes are where the new roots will grow from. And they’ll only grow if kept in the water.
Refresh the water about once a week or when it starts getting murky.
In about 7 days, you should see some tiny roots start growing. Wait about 2 or 3 more weeks for them to grow.
In about 20 to 30 days, you’ll have some roots that are long enough to sustain the new plant.
Move the plant at around this time to a well-draining potting mix and keep the soil moist. The soil will supply the new plant with more nutrients (which is now needs) to grow.

Another option to starting the cuttings in water is to grow them directly in soil. This takes the roots a bit longer to grow (just a few days more or less) because it takes more work for the roots to establish themselves in soil than in water.

But many growers believe that the nutrient in the soil will let the plant grow faster and have stronger roots from the beginning.