Growing & Caring for NJoy Pothos (Epipremnum aureum N'Joy)

Last Updated on June 14, 2022 by Admin

The NJoy pothos or N’Joy pothos goes by the botanical name of Epipremnum aureum N’Joy.

It is known for its beautiful foliage that are primarily green but are heavily variegated. This makes it easy to distinguish from the other pothos varieties.

The goods news is, it is also easy to care for and can tolerate neglect This makes it a good choice if you’re looking for an eye-catching plant that isn’t too big to liven up any room in your home.

Table of Contents

N’Joy Pothos Plant Care

NJoy Pothos Light Requirements

The N’joy pothos does well in different lighting conditions including low light and artificial light. This makes it idea indoors in homes and office.

That said, it does well in medium to bright, indirect light. And, the more light you give it, the more prominent the white variegation gets. That said, the two things you don’t want to do are:

Keep your N’Joy pothos under direct sunlight. This will scorch its leaves.
Let it stay under full sun for long periods. This will cause it to turn whitish or pale yellow.

One thing to keep in mind is that as pretty as the plant may look with more variegations, these white splotches aren’t always the healthiest for the plant. That’s because plants need to absorb sunlight to which it uses to produce food and energy.

In order to do that, it needs chlorophyll, which causes its leaves to stay green in color. Less green means your plant doesn’t make as much chlorophyll. And, in many cases, you’ll notice that the more variegated the plant, the slower it grows.

On the other hand, you also want to be wary of leaving the N’Joy is conditions that are too dark. When this happens, it will become noticeably leggy, where the distance between leaves in its stems becomes larger. Similarly, the plant will look thin and longer.

Once you see these symptoms it is time to move it somewhere brighter.

The last thing to consider about lighting is that the plant grows towards the light. As such, it is a good idea to rotate the plant a quarter of a turn every so often. I like to turn it whenever I water it. This makes it easy to remember.

Pothos N’Joy Temperature & Humidity

Your pothos N’Joy also does well in room temperature. Another reason it makes for a great houseplant. In general, as long as temperatures stay between 65 and 85 degrees it will be happy.

This means you can grow it outdoors all year round if you live in USDA zones 10 and 11, as the weather is perfect for it.

However, you don’t want to go too much above or below that since it will begin to show signs of stress. It is not a fan of both extreme heat nor is it frost hardy.

So, once the temperature drops under 60 degrees it is time to bring it indoors if you live in a cooler area. Similarly, keep it protected when the mercury rises to 90 degrees and above.

Indoors, you also want to keep it away from areas where temperatures can go up or down quickly. This includes near a fireplace, air conditioning or heaters.

Since the plant’s natural habitat is tropical,, it also enjoys humidity. Its ideal humidity is between 50% and 70%. Although it has not problem with most home conditions unless the air is particularly dry.

If you’re not sure what the humidity is in your area, you can check the daily weather. Better yet, you can get a hygrometer, which is a very cheap device that will tell you what the room humidity is. This will let you adjust accordingly.

NJoy Pothos Watering

As with other pothos varieties, the N’Joy is one of the hardest plants to kill, which also makes it among the easiest plants to care for even if you have a brown thumb.

But, its one weakness is overwatering.

Allowing it to sit in water or letting it have wet feet will cause its roots to rot. And, it doesn’t take too long for this to happen. So, you want to avoid this situation by all means.

The best way to do so is to allow the top layer of soil to dry between waterings. This means when you stick your finger down into the top 1 to 2 inches of soil, it should feel dry before you water again.

Although, keep in mind that the size of your pot affects the depth at which you should check. The reason is that smaller pots contain less soil. As such, using the same depth with a much bigger pot is not proportional.

For example with a small 4 inch pot, you’ll want to check down to about half inch to an inch. In a 6 inch pot, go down about an inch or a little more.

That said, I do know some home gardeners who prefer to use moisture meters instead. The inexpensive device measures soil moisture much more precisely. And, it’s quick and easy to use.

All you need to do is stick it down into the soil. Then check the reading. No experience, no guessing required.

So how can you tell if you’re doing a good job watering?

Your NJoy pohos weill tell you via its leaves.

Bright, vibrant colored leaves with nice variegation tells you it is happy with your watering routine.
Yellow leaves are a sign of underwatering. Before this happens, you’ll see the plant start to droop. Its leaves will likewise look dry and dull.
Brown and yellow leaves or brown spots are a sign of overwatering. If you see this, you’ll want to scale back. It may also be a good idea to take the plant out to check if its roots are okay. Long wet periods will lead to root rot.

Soil

Like light and temperature, your NJoy pothos isn’t fussy about the kind of soil it lives in. The only requirement is that the soil is well draining. This goes back to its susceptibility to root rot.

As such, high quality potting soil works because it offers enough drainage. You can likewise use other kinds of soil. But, it isn’t a good idea to use the one from your garden.

While the soil there should work as long as it offers good drainage, outdoor soil can have pests and pathogens that put the health of your plant and the other plants you grow near it at risk.

This is why most houseplant owners use a soil-less potting mix.

Similarly, you can create your own by combining peat moss and perlite. This allows it to retain enough moisture and nutrients to sustain your plant while providing enough drainage to keep it from getting waterlogged.

Fertilizing

The one downside to potting soil is that because it is soil-less, it doesn’t contain the nutrients that soil has. As such, while you’re better able to control its ability to retain or drain water, you’ll need to supply the fertilizer yourself.

That said, always check the potting mix before buying it from the store. Some will contain a starter dose of fertilizer while others don’t. And, take note of the kind of fertilizer it contains if it does.

Some fertilizer come with a dose that will last for a month or a little more. Whereas others come with slow release fertilizer which can last a few months.

Why is this important?

Your NJoy pothos is a light feeder. As such, you don’t necessarily need to add fertilizer if your potting soil comes with some kind of fertilizer. Knowing how long the dose lasts also lets you know when you’ll need to step in to supplement.

Just as importantly, too much plant food can cause fertilizer burn due to the salt residue buildup. As such, when it comes fertilizing pothos plants, less is more.

When feeding, apply a balanced fertilizer diluted to half strength once a month during the growing season. You don’t have to feed it during the winter.

Pruning NJoy Pothos

Compared to other pothos, the N’Joy is a fairly slow grower. While this means it takes longer for the plant to grow bigger and fuller, it also means less pruning when it gets sizable.

But, be aware that the plant can get up to about 10 feet long indoors. This is a far cry from what pothos get to in their natural habitat where 20 to 40 feet is easily achievable.

Due to this size, you want to prune it regularly to maintain is shape and size. Just as importantly, as it grows bigger, the plant can become leggy. Its stem can also become weak relative to its size. This will make it unable to stay upright.

Pruning allows you to control how your plant looks. It also promoted new growth that makes the plant look fuller. You’ll also want to remove any old, dead, damaged or discolored leaves.

To prune, trim just below the node. Nodes are the points where the stem intersects with leaves. From here, you want to go down about quarter or half an inch. Then make the cut there.

As always, make sure you sterilize your cutting tool so you don’t pass any bacteria from the blade to the plant. You can use a knife, pair of scissors or pruning shears.

N’Joy Pothos Propagation

The N’Joy pothos is very easy to propagate. And, there are two main reason why you may want to propagate it.

You want to grow more NJoy pothos plants. The plant is very beautiful and you can add it to your collection without having to buy another plant. You can likewise gift it to friends or family.
It is growing too big. This only applies to root division. And, while it works for pothos varieties, not all plants can be propagated this way. But, this is a good way of reducing the size of your N’Joy pothos which can become overly big depending on where you place it indoors.

That said, the easiest way to propagate the plant is via stem cuttings. Unlike root division where you separate a section of the root and plant it into its own pot, with stem cuttings you’ll be using the plant’s stems.

source: wikimedia commons

How to Propagate N’Joy Pothos from Stem Cuttings

Choose a healthy stem. You want the cutting to be at least 4 to 6 inches long and contain a few leaves.
Make the cut just below the node. This is about a quarter to half an inch under the joint where the stem connects with a leaf. Use a sterile pair of shears or scissors.
Once you have the cutting, place it in a jar of water. Here, you will them wait for it to start forming roots. It takes about a couple of weeks or sol.
The good thing with rooting in water is that you can monitor its progress. Also, from experience starting the cutting in water increases propagation success rate. It also roots faster compared to soil.
Once the roots have formed, you can move the cutting to a container with fresh potting mix where it will stay until it outgrows the pot. Once that happens, you’ll need to repot it.
Water the soil and keep it in a warm, humid area with bright, indirect light.

Transplanting & Repotting Pothos N’Joy

While it is not the fastest growing pothos around, at some point your NJoy will outgrow its pot. Here are a few signs that this has happened.

Roots will start poking out of the drainage holes. This is the surest sign that it has become pot bound.
Growth slows down. Once its roots don’t have enough room to grow anymore, the plant’s overall growth will get stunted.
Roots will loosen up the soil. As the roots have less room, they will keep trying to push through the soil.
Soil dries up faster. This is something I’ve noticed with my plants. As they outgrow their pots, even if you use your regular watering routine, the soil will dry up faster and faster. That’s because the soil volume is too little to hold enough water to sustain the plant anymore.
The plant will wilt. This is due in part to the soil drying and to stress the plant experiences.

Keeping your NJoy pothos rootbound for a long period is not good and will eventually harm your plant. Thus, when these signs occur, it is time to move it to a larger container.

How to Repot NJoy Pothos

To repot, you will want to prepare two things before removing the plant from its existing container.

Get a bigger container. Ideally, something that’s about 1 to 3 inches bigger will work. You don’t want to jump too far up because your N’Joy pothos is susceptible to root rot. The more soil there is relative to root system the more moisture it will hold when you water. Since pothos has smaller, shallower root system this puts them at risk of sitting in water for too long.
Make sure the container has drainage holes. In keeping with good drainage, holes at the bottom of the pot help allow excess liquid to escape easily.
Pot material doesn’t matter. After trying different containers with my different pothos, I can safely say, it doesn’t matter. You can use whichever you want as long as the container isn’t overly large, has a drainage hole and you use the right soil.
Well draining potting mix. Any standard potting mix with good draining ability works. No need to spend extra. Although I know some pothos owners who swear by cactus mix. This should work as well because cacti and succulents are drought resistant. And, they don’t like sitting in water. So, the cactus soil is designed to be well-draining as well.

Once you have this you can repot. The best time to do so is during the spring or summer. If summer is very hot in your area, you may want to wait until fall when the weather cools off a little.

You don’t want overly hot or cold climates when doing this since the plant has to recover from the shock of being moved. To allow it to adapt quickly and recover, you want ideal temperature conditions (and not add another stress factor).

To repot a Pothos N’Joy:

Carefully remove the plant from its container
Check the roots Make sure they’re healthy with no rotting. If there is, trim those away. Rotting is any brown, black, mushy or soft roots. You’ll also want to untangle any roots curling around the root ball or all over themselves. This tends to happen when they get root bound as they try to find space to grow.
Add fresh potting soil to the new container. About a third of the way is enough. Although you can estimate for yourself. The goal is to let the plant stand out of the pot the same height as it did in its previous container.
Insert the plant and fill the extra space with soil to stabilize the plant.
Water and return to its spot.

Toxicity

The NJoy pothos is toxic to both people and animals. So, you want to keep it away from young children, dogs, cats and other pets you may have.

The good news is, it becomes a serious issue if you consume a lot of it. In any case, to prevent any negative reactions, you ought to keep any curious hands away from it.

Pests and Diseases

Pothos are generally resilient to pests and disease as long as you give them the right conditions above. As such, you likely won’t experience any of these problems.

But, it is good to be aware of them to help prevent them from happening. And, if they do, know how to treat your plant.

When it comes to pests, spider mites, aphids and scale are the more common ones. As such, you’ll want to inspect your plant regularly including the undersides of the leaves. If you find any, immediately separate the plant from other plants check if the pests have travelled to other nearby plants. If so, separate those as well.

You can treat them with insecticidal soap or neem oil. You do want to be consistent with treatment because it takes at least a week, often more to completely get rid of them.

With disease, root rot and other moisture related problems are your main enemies. Thus, the best way to avoid them is to avoid overwatering. You also don’t want to wet the leaves when you water. Making sure that there’s good air circulation helps foliage dry faster to avoid fungal problems.

Growing & Caring for NJoy Pothos (Epipremnum aureum N’Joy)