Free Pothos Plants

For most of the plant lovers, pothos can be one of their favorite indoor plant—easy to grow and fresh in appearance. Despite falling in the category of a household plant, this plant is also regarded as an evergreen plant or a perennial plant. Pothos plant falls in the category of vine plant. It has a long growing ability reaching up to 30-40 feet or even more in height. It grows both indoor and is common in the tropical jungles. This plant is very convenient to grow—you can either plant this plant in a small glass bottle with water or inside a bigger container.

The botanical name to Pothos plant is Epipremnum aureum. People mostly prefer to use common name instead of the botanical name. Thus, it is commonly known as Pothos, Variegated Pholodendrom or even Devil’s Ivy.

Flower : Flower on a Pothos is a rare thing. Thus, it good not expecting a bloom from a Pothos plant. If a Pothos species does give rise to a bloom, it will come white in color and will flower in spikes in the mid-summer.

Leaves : The beauty of Pothos comes from its foliage. It’s a simple looking foliage that comes in heart shape. There are varieties of Pothos and the color of the foliage depends upon the kind of Pothos species you are befriending with. They usually come in green and white mixed, pure green, yellow or dark green.

Size : Pothos have the ability to grow in quite a lot of sizes. The level at which a pothos can grow depends on the type of container you let the plant grow. Its growth in size and shape greatly depends on how you plant and your method of pruning. In a tropical climate and atmosphere, this plant will grow more than 40ft in height but when planted indoors, you can expect the plant to grow and spread up to 30 feet.

Light : The type of light conditions needed by a Pothos plant is partial shady or partial lighted environment. It can grow well both indoor and outdoor. Thus, keep in mind that your Pothos plant greatly prefers to grow in a shady environment when left to grow outdoors.

When you leave it to grow indoor, this plant prefers to be kept in a well lighted environment (making sure that it receives some amount of indirect light).

Plantation and care : As mentioned earlier, it is very easy to grow Pothos. You can let your Pothos grow freely on your windows or on the walls of your garden by hooking it up using some ropes or even thin wire will do good. This plant, once well grown into fine foliage is very easy to manage. It has less need as compared to some other complicated plants. This plant needs less light and less amount of water.

Soil : Although cuttings of Pothos can thrive well in a half filled water containers, soil is one of its basic requirements during its initial stage of growth. You must know that this plant will thrive best in an acidic soil but other soil type is also okay. Make sure that you plant it in a good potting mix allowing good drainage.

Water : Pothos is one plant that has very less water need. Thus, this plant is perfect for someone who may forget watering their plant regularly or someone who could be very busy. It will thrive even when the soil is dry but you need to water this plant when the plant is in need of water. For instance, you need to water the plant when the leaves of the plant appear dry or droopy. It is good to water the plant before it starts to turn yellow. It is good to mist the plant so that it stays fresh throughout its growing months.

Fertilizer : Fertilization is not big a deal for the Pothos plant because they have very less need to fertilizer. Yet, it is good to fertilize the soil with household fertilizer once in a month.

Uses and Benefits : Pothos has similar uses like most of the other indoor plants. It’s a wonderful plant that helps purify air and increase proper air circulation with good oxygen flow.

Besides the environmental benefits from a Pothos plant, there are some other benefits of this plant that you might like. Pothos can be a perfect plant for people who are busy and also for people who often forget watering their plant yet love having a plant at home.

They are often used as a decoration in offices, restaurants, hotels and home. Having a Pothos in a container such as a small glass bottle and keeping it on your work desk can make you feel refreshed and at the same time beautifying your work environment.

Pruning : Although pruning in Pothos plant is recommended, it is not a compulsion. Pruning is advantageous to this plant’s good growth. It helps control the plant from growing or spreading unwontedly. Pruning also gives good shape to the plant, making the plant grow and appear presentable. It is good to cut away the unwanted or old parts of the plant in order to encourage new growth of foliage.

Propagation : Propagation in Pothos plant is common; it has a very easy process. This plant grows best from the cutting method of propagation. You can either keep the cuttings in a water and let it root out or keep it in a damp soil making the plant grow eventually. Both of these processes are easy and simple. If you have left the cuttings to root out in water, you will soon need to or choose to shift the plant in a compost rich soil or any acidic rich soil to increase the number of foliage and stem growth.

Repotting : Repotting is advantageous for flourishing the Pothos plant and making it grow fresh and healthy. The best time to repot this plant is once in two years time or even after one year. The need to repotting this plant is visible when you see the plant outgrowing from the pot making the leaves droopy and excess. As you process unto shifting this plant in a newer and a bigger pot, take this opportunity to examine the root of your plant to keep it healthy. This is also the best time to divide the plant and plant it in more than one pot. In this way you will have more potted plants, fresh and healthy. Add good amount of fresh soil in a larger pot.

Pests/problems : Pests are the root cause that leads to a plant’s failure to flourish well. Some pests even kill the plant. Fortunately, Pothos plant is pest free. At times they get infected or attacked by some mealy bugs and you will need to keep an eye on this insect. If you see your plant getting attacked by a mealy bug, the best way to prevent this is by using insecticidal soap or using alcohol swab.

At times you will find black spots appearing on the leaves of Pothos, this is because the plant has been left to grow in the extra wet soil for quite a long time.

Also, when the plant is left to grow in a dry soil for quite a long time, the leaves will turn brown, droopy and yellow. Direct sunlight may lead to the pale appearance leaves.