Pothos are one of the easiest houseplants to grow and they are perfect for brightening up your indoor spaces. If you haven’t tried growing this hardy plant, sometimes referred to as devil’s ivy, you might ask “How long do pothos take to grow”?
I’m here to tell you that pothos are extremely fast-growing and so easy to propagate that even inexperienced gardeners and plant growers will have success with these versatile plants.
What Are Pothos Plants?
Pothos are tropical vining plants that make excellent houseplants. They’re relatively low-care and very easy to maintain. Their main growing season is in summer or in the warmer months of the year.
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Pothos have lovely heart-shaped leaves and produce very long vines that you can drape around window frames, over pictures hanging on your wall or even around bookshelves to create that jungle look in your home.
There are a number of different varieties with different characteristics. The ones I currently have in my home have plain green leaves, but you can get varieties with variegated leaves and some that just have yellow speckles.
The vines can grow really long but you can trim them back if they threaten to take over your home. And, the best part of this is that you can use what you’ve trimmed off to propagate additional plants easily.
Are Pothos Fast Growers?
Pothos are indeed, fast growers but their growth rate may depend on various factors which I’ll talk about a little later.
With proper care, your pothos vines can grow up to 18 inches (45 cm) per month during the warmer months. You might find that those varieties with green leaves will grow a little faster than those that have variegated leaves.
Nevertheless, as far as houseplants go, pothos are one of the fastest-growing plants that I know.
Pothos Varieties To Consider
As I’ve already mentioned, there are numerous varieties and cultivars of pothos that you might like to consider growing in your home. And, once you learn how easy they are to propagate, it’s easy to turn your home into a jungle or have lots of lovely plants to give away as gifts.
Here are some of the top cultivars available:
Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
This lovely pothos is the true species and one that you’re probably familiar with. It has those lovely deep green heart-shaped leaves that are often streaked with yellow variegations. This one is extremely fast-growing.
This is the one that I’m growing, however, my plants don’t often display the yellow in the leaves.
Marble Queen Pothos (Epipremnum aureum ‘Marble Queen’)
This is a stunning pothos that I really need to add to my collection. The heart-shaped leaves are a moss-green color but they’re heavily speckled with white. Even the vining stems have white stripes on them.
This cultivar is a little slower growing because the white parts of the leaves aren’t able to photosynthesize enough light to stimulate fast growth. In order to provide the best growth conditions, you want to place this variety in a much brighter spot so that it gets adequate amounts of indirect sunlight.
Neon Pothos (Epipremnum aureum ‘Neon’)
You’ll find the lime-green leaves on this cultivar quite stunning. As the leaves age, they will darken in color so you’ll have both dark green and lime green leaves on the one plant.
This is another cultivar that needs just a little more light than the true species of golden pothos. There’s also a variegated form of this cultivar available where the lime green leaves are speckled with dark green.
Jessenia Pothos (Epipremnum aureum ‘Jessenia’)
This is another stunning cultivar which was bred from ‘Marble Queen’. It has leaves in varying degrees of green and yellow and these are delicately striped with darker green areas.
This cultivar is also a little slower growing and would benefit from being exposed to more light than the golden pothos.
Jade Pothos (Epipremnum aureum ‘Jade’)
The deep green color of this cultivar is truly outstanding. The leaves are solid in color which means that this particular variety can handle low-light conditions much better and will exhibit extremely fast growth.
Hawaiian Pothos (Epipremnum aureum ‘Hawaiian’)
This cultivar is very similar to the golden pothos except that the heart-shaped leaves are green with creamy yellow flecks. It is also very fast-growing and will enjoy similar conditions to golden pothos.
This particular variety also tends to have leaves that are larger.
Factors That Can Affect The Growth Rate Of Your Pothos
Like all plants, whether grown indoors or out in the garden, pothos will respond differently when given different growth conditions. There are many factors that are likely to affect how fast your pothos will grow. Here are just a few to consider.
Amount Of Light
As you’ve probably already guessed, the amount of light your pothos is exposed to will definitely affect its growth rate. Plants grown in low light conditions will grow more slowly than those exposed to lots of bright, indirect light.
Keep in mind that you don’t want to expose your pothos to direct sunlight because this can easily burn the leaves. But, placing a pothos near a window that lets lots of light in will definitely encourage it to grow faster.
Conversely, plants that are kept in rooms with low-light conditions will tend to grow at a much slower rate.
The Size Of The Pot
You may or may not know this, but plants grown in pots can often have their size restricted depending on the size of the pot. This is because the pot will restrict the size that the roots can grow.
This, in turn, has an effect on how large the actual plant is able to grow.
This is one of those natural phenomenon that is so fascinating about nature. You see, the roots of all plants have some important functions. Not only do they provide plants with the moisture and nutrients from the soil but they are also there to provide support for the part of the plant that grows above the ground.
Therefore, when we restrict the root growth, the plant will only grow as large as the roots will allow. This ensures that the plant is well-supported and will not topple over if it gets too large for the roots to support.
This is also another reason why it’s often recommended that you select a larger pot when it’s time to repot your plants.
Environmental Conditions Such As Temperature And Humidity
Did I mention that pothos are a tropical plant? This means that they prefer a fairly warm environment with relatively high humidity. In fact, if you don’t live in the tropics, you’ll find that your pothos will be dormant during winter and won’t grow much at all.
However, during the warmer months, your plant will get a good growth spurt and you’ll notice that it will usually put on a lot of new growth.
The same goes for humidity. I have one of my pothos in the bathroom and it absolutely thrives in this environment. This is because there’s a lot of daily humidity created when I run the shower.
On the other hand, the pothos that is sitting above my desk in the lounge does not put on growth quite as quickly as I have the heating on in winter. This means that the air can be quite dry at times.
If you are faced with similar conditions and want your plant to grow faster, consider misting it with a spray bottle once a week or so.
The Amount Of Nutrients Available To Your Plant
Although pothos are not heavy feeders, they still need enough nutrients for healthy growth. For my plants, I like to use slow-release fertilizer pellets as I only have to top these up every 6 months or so.
But, you could use liquid fertilizer if you wish. Of course, if you repot your plants with fresh soil or potting mix regularly, this will not be necessary.
Giving Your Plants The Right Amount Of Water
Pothos are not overly thirsty plants, but they still need the right amount of water to encourage fast-growing plants. But, remember not to overwater them either. They do like the soil to dry out in between watering so that they don’t succumb to root rot.
So, now that you know how to provide your plant with the perfect conditions for faster growth, let me explain how easy these plants are to propagate.
How To Propagate Pothos
If you’ve never propagated a plant before, I urge you to start with something like pothos because they’re just so easy to propagate. In fact, you don’t need any special skills or tools to create numerous additional plants from the ones you already have.
All you will need is a couple of pots filled with premium potting mix and a good pair of secateurs or pruning shears.
Here are the steps to easy pothos propagation:
Take Your Cuttings
Pothos are easy to propagate using stem cuttings. Choose a particularly long vine that you don’t mind shortening and cut off a section just below a leaf node. It’s a good idea to choose a section of vine that has plenty of swellings along the stem.
Those small somewhat pointy swellings will actually produce the roots of your new plant. Sometimes, you might even find that your plant will produce aerial roots from these nodes.
Prepare Your Cuttings
Once you have your length of vine, you can cut this up into smaller sections. For each section, you want to have a root node at the base and a leaf or two at the top. Depending on the length of the vine you cut, you should get numerous individual cuttings from this.
I normally just like to cut my vine up into short sections in between the leaves. Remember to ensure that you have that root node at the base and a leaf at the tip. If there is also a leaf at the base next to the root node, you can cut this off.
In the photo above, you’ll see that I would cut off this section of vine and then make three cuts to produce two individual cuttings. I would remove the leaves at the base of each section adjacent to the root nodes and keep one of the leaves at the top as well as the leaf that is opposite a root node but at the top of the bottom cutting.
Plant Your Cuttings In A Pot Or Two
Because pothos root so easily, I normally like to put three or four cuttings in a 4-inch (10 cm) pot. Use a pencil to make a hole for the stem so that you don’t damage it by pushing it into the soil in the pot.
Then firm the soil around each cutting so that it sits upright.
Water Your Cuttings
Give your cuttings a good watering and place them in a warm, bright spot but out of direct sunlight. Water regularly to keep the soil moist but not wet.
If you’ve taken your cuttings in the warmer months and under the right conditions, it should only take a few weeks for the cuttings to produce new roots and you can then pot them up into individual pots.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of the reasons that your pothos is not growing is because it’s not getting enough light. Pothos will grow faster when given adequate bright indirect sunlight. You might also want to increase the humidity by misting your plant daily. Plus, pothos will be dormant in winter unless you live in a tropical or subtropical region.
Yes, cutting back some of the longer vines will encourage more growth from the base of the plant.
You should only water your pothos when the soil is dry. This could mean that you need to water once every one to two weeks during the warmer months or just once a month in winter.
Pothos cuttings will produce roots a little faster in water but they will be much hardier if you propagate them in soil.
Final Thoughts
In general, pothos are quite fast-growing indoor plants with the variegated cultivars having a slightly slower growth rate. Their rate of growth is affected by a number of factors that you can easily control.
Some plants will grow so well that you might need to trim back the vines a little to stop them from taking over your house. But, don’t throw out those trimmings because you can easily use them to propagate new plants with my very easy steps.
