Golden Pothos

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Botanical Name – Devil’s ivy (Epipremnum aureum)

 

A good way to start caring for plants is to begin with the Golden Pothos because it does not take a lot of care and it is rather easy to grow.

 

These plants can survive a wide range of environments and house conditions.  They do well in bright indirect light as well as low light and grow them in dry soil or in vases of water.  This plant will root as well in water.   They will thrive in nutrient rich soil, but do almost as well in nutrient poor soil.  While pothos likes a wide variety of light conditions, keep the plant out of direct sunlight.  If your pothos is highly variegated — particularly variegated with white throughout the  leaves— they may not grow as well in low light or may lose their variegation if the light is too low.  Only the green parts of the leaves can make energy for the plant, so it must be able to get enough light for energy or its growth will slow or the leaves will compensate for the lack of light by becoming increasingly greener.

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Take cuttings from a mother plant and rooted in water and kept in water as a houseplant.  This is convenient for placing a pothos plant in hard to reach areas in a jug of water where they can remain untouched if water remains in the jug.  However, change the water constantly do not let the water stale, which could harm the plant).

 

On the opposite end, pothos can also be started in soil and will tolerate moderate periods of dry soil with little effect to the plant.  Oddly enough, cuttings started in one growing medium have a hard time switching to the other.  So, a pothos plant started in soil has a hard time thriving if moved to water and a pothos cutting started in water will not do very well in soil, especially if it has spent a long period of time growing in water.  

 

Although this plant grows fast, fertilized the plant every three months or so, that is the recommendation.  To help with rapid growth and larger leaves.  However, I use a small amount of liquid fertilizer ever-other-time I water the plant.  A fast-growing   vine, devil's ivy is a climber whose length depends on whether it’s grown as a houseplant or outdoors.  In the landscape, it can grow up to 40 feet long, whereas indoor plants typically range from 6 to 8 feet in length if left unpruned.  The vine produces waxy, heart-shaped foliage variegated with bright yellow and green, and once again, the size of the leaves depends on where the plant is cultivated. Indoors, the leaves may reach about 4 inches in length, although leaves on outdoor plants can grow up to 30 inches long.  Indoor plants rarely bloom, but when planted outdoors, the vine produces an erect, 6-inch green spathe surrounding tiny flowers.

Gardeners have several choices of devil’s ivy cultivars sporting foliage colors that vary from the typical yellow and green.  For example, the leaves of ‘Wilcoxii’ are mottled with well-delineated white and green, ‘Marble Queen’ has cream-colored foliage with grayish-green and green blotches and ‘Tricolor’ has green leaves dappled with yellow, light green and cream.

 

Soil Requirements

When planted outdoors, devil’s ivy thrives in a wide range of soil conditions from acidic to alkaline and even tolerates occasionally wet locations.  If you're growing it in containers, an all-purpose, peaty potting mix that drains well is adequate for proper growth.

 

Light Requirements

Devil’s ivy grows well in partial to full shade outdoors, but growth slows when it's planted in deep shade and the foliage loses its variegation, turning mostly green.  If you're growing the plant indoors, situate it in an area that receives filtered sunlight or bright artificial light.

 

Feeding

No worries if you forget about fertilizing devil’s ivy because it isn’t a heavy feeder, and its growth probably won’t skip a beat.  However, you can feed both indoor and outdoor plants with a general-purpose liquid houseplant fertilizer.  An application or two through the growing season should be enough.  Always follow label directions for application instructions and the specific amount to use.

 

Water Requirements

Devil’s ivy is highly drought-tolerant, so don’t fret if your note to yourself to water the plants slips your mind for several weeks.  While the plant is actively growing, water houseplants deeply – until it runs from the bottom drainage holes – approximately once a week or when the top inch or two of soil feels dry. During winter, cut back on watering to about once every other week.  Watering outdoor plants once a week is enough, but reduce the frequency to once every two weeks in winter.