Golden Pothos Plant Care – Tips for Growing the Best Vine
You’re likely to hear the Golden Pothos referred to as pothos (that’s what we call it) but it’s latin name literally translates to “golden pothos”, so just know that it’s the same plant.
The Golden Pothos, aka pothos, is sometimes called the devil’s ivy plant. It’s known for being incredibly hard to kill, which gives it that nickname and we will stand behind that.
What that means for you is that it’s a super hardy plant and easy to grow. It’s great for a starter plant, it’s easy to care for and it’s easy to propogate.
We even included it on our list of the Best Houseplants for Beginners.
Golden Pothos Overview
If you’re interested in all things golden pothos, or Epipremnum aureum, we’re sharing it here. Knowing it’s common names and scientific names make it easier to search for when you’re looking for an ivy to purchase. It also helps avoid the confusion between pothos and phildendron.
Pothos is commonly confused with Philedendron and it’s easy to see why. They have very similar heart shaped leaves and vining habits. It takes some time to tell the difference but here’s the best breakdown we’ve found to show you the difference between the pothos and phildendendron.
Luckily they have similar needs and growing habits so if you’ve mistaken one for the other you’ll be fine in caring for them!
Golden Pothos Care
Golden pothos is one of the most popular houseplants in the world because it is so easy to care for. You’ll find it in homes, offices and shopping malls because it’s nearly indestructible and it looks great.
It’s not completely indestructible, that’s why you’ll want to continue to read about how to care for it, but it’s definitely in our top choices for hard to kill plants!
This is a gorgeous plant with long vines and heart shaped leaves that grows quickly and tolerates a lot of different growing conditions. It looks great as a hanging plant but the vines can also be trained to grow up a moss pole, or even a wall if you’re wanting a plant wall!
We’ve currently got a pothos that attached itself to the wall and is climbing its’ way higher!
Caring for the Golden Pothos is pretty easy and it’s a great plant for beginners.
This plant is actually invasive in some regions, which has earned it the name of devil’s ivy. That’s also what makes it a great plant for indoors though – it’s so easy to grow (and manage).
Light
The golden pothos will tolerate just about any light situation. It’s going to prefer bright, indirect light like almost all the houseplants you’ll find, but it can also tolerate the extremes. It will grow in full sun or even in the dark.
Well, not complete darkness, but low light. Of course this means that it will not look as healthy and it will grow slower, but it will survive. Survive but not thrive.
It’s going to do best in bright, filtered light though. That will be it’s happiest and healthiest home.
Temperature
Like most houseplants, the golden pothos is pretty happy at temperatures that makes humans happy. It’ll do best between 70-90 degrees.
Once it gets above 90 you won’t see as much growth and it will require a lot more water. It will also withstand a little lower than 70 degrees but if it drops below 50 degrees it will likely kill it. So if you’re keeping these on a covered porch be sure to pay attention to those chilly nights.
Water
Water your Pothos regularly during the growing season, which is spring and summer. The pothos is going to require less water in the winter months. By regularly, we mean once a week during growing season and probably 10-14 days in the winter – depending on it’s conditions.
The pothos will tolerate under watering much better than over watering because it’s another houseplant that’s susceptible to root rot.
If its leaves are looking dull it probably needs a drink. If its leaves are turning yellow it may have had too much water.
We will always recommend having pots with good potting soil and good drainage. This will help you prevent root rot and also be sure that your plants are receiving enough water.
Be sure that your plant has had a good soaking of water and then dump out any excess water from the drain tray. We like to water our plants over the kitchen sink, let the water run off and then place them back in their spots.
Humidity
The pothos originates from a tropical location and it will always choose high humidity over low. It will do fine in lower humidity though, it’s been a great houseplant for a very long time. So we’re going to judge that humidity isn’t a factor in your success at growing a pothos.
We don’t spray our pothos so you’re fine to just water yours as well!
Soil
The standard potting mix is going to be just fine for your golden pothos. It’s going to be happiest in well draining soil and that’s exactly what you’ll be giving it. No need for any specialty soils for this plant.
Fertilizer
This plant will do just fine if you don’t ever fertilize it, but if you want to see it grow faster and thicker then you’ll want to feed it.
You can fertilize monthly during the spring and summer and avoid fertilizing during the winter. The best fertilizer to use is going to be an all purpose fertilizer.
Golden Pothos Propagation
This plant is not only easy to grow, it’s easy to propagate as well. It’s as easy as cutting a vine and sticking it in water!
Be sure that you only have stem below the water level and leaves above.
You should see roots forming after only a week or two and you can transplant it anytime after its root system is developed.
If your pothos vines are looking long and stringy it’s the perfect time to prune it and use your cuttings to make some new plants!
Pruning your Golden Pothos
There’s no real science to pruning a golden pothos, you’ll probably look at it at some point and decide that it really needs to be pruned. It may be looking a little stringy or if its really happy it may just have really long vines that need to be trimmed.
It takes a little pruning to control the shape and also the fullness of this plant. If the vines start looking a little straggly, with only a few leaves on them you should definitely trim them.
If your plant isn’t looking very full then trimming it can help it put some energy back into filling out.
A fun thing about trimming the golden pothos is that when you cut off part of the vine, a new vine will grow right out of the cut. Sometimes you may even find that you’ve got two new vines growing out of the spot you trimmed.
This plant recovers quickly from pruning so it’s okay to cut it back. You can chop the vines anywhere, there’s no need to go all the way back to the soil level. Unless a vine looks bad or has no leaves, then feel free to cut it all the way back.
We like to keep our long vines around the same length so they’ll get pruned pretty regularly. There also seems to always be a vase of water with some clippings in it so we’ve always got plenty of pothos to share.
How to Repot your Golden Pothos
The Golden Pothos is a houseplant that is happy having crowded roots. In spite of the fact that it grows pretty fast, it will be happy in the same pot for quite awhile, generally for several years.
If the growth seems to have slowed down quite a bit or the plant isn’t looking as happy and vigorous it might be time to move it into a new pot.
As with most plants, you don’t want to go too big when moving your plant, 1-3 inches larger is the maximum to move up at a time for best results.
We like to repot our plants every couple of years so that they’ve got a new home and fresh soil!
Golden Pothos Problems
The problems that you might find with a Golden Pothos are going to be few and far between. They may pick up a pest from being outside or being severely stressed but it’s not too common.
If these plants sit in water they’re susceptible to root rot and that’s easy to prevent.
Bleached Leaves
If your leaves are looking very pale they may be getting too much direct sun or too much heat. The best way to remedy this problem is just to relocate your plant.
Root Rot
Root rot is a pretty easy problem to prevent. Once your plant has root rot it could be hard to recover it, this is one of those thangs that you really have to catch it before it happens.
There are a couple of reasons that your golden pothos might get root rot. One of them is that you’re watering too often. In this case you just want to space your waterings out more and let the soil dry out a bit in between.
The second reason is that your soil, or your pot, isn’t draining well. Be sure that you’re using potting soil and that the pot you’ve chosen has drainage holes in it and you should be fine.
Golden Pothos Pests
Spider Mites
The damage from spider mites will appear to be yellow or brown spot’s on their leaves. You may also see some fine webbing on your plant that looks like a spider web.
The easiest way to get rid of spider mites is to wipe down or spray down your plant with an insecticidal soap. Just keep an eye on it to be sure that you got them all.
They love to get into tight areas so pay special attention to the leaf nodes where they attach to the stems.
Mealy Bugs
The damage from mealy bugs might make you think that your plant has mold on it. They are white and fuzzy and by the time you notice them you could have a pretty bad infestation.
Wipe down your plant with ispropyl alcohol and use a cotton swab or a paintbrush to reach any little nooks and crannies. Keep at it until you get rid of them all.
Remember that if your plant is too far gone you should replace it. You don’t ever want pests to move from one plant to another so keep an eye out and get those problems taken care of early.
And be sure to quarantine any sickly plant so it doesn’t spread to your others!
Now You Can Raise A Happy and Healthy Golden Pothos!
The golden pothos is one of our very favorite vining plants. We have them inside and on our covered porches and we love their long thick vines and their beautiful variegated leaves.
We know you’ll love adding one to your plant collection too!
Golden Pothos Quick Overview Chart
| Common Name(s) | Devil’s ivy, ivy arum, hunter’s robe, Solomon Islands ivy, taro vine |
| Scientific Name | Epipremnum aureum |
| Family | Araceae |
| Origin | Solomon Islands |
| Height | Up to 10 feet (as a houseplant) |
| Light | Bright, indirect light |
| Water | Average |
| Temperature | 60-80°F |
| Humidity | Average |
| Soil | Well-draining potting mix |
| Fertilizer | Monthly |
| Propagation | Stem |
| Pests | Mealy bugs, spider mites |
