This wonderful houseplant has been a favorite of many generations. You can grow it from a hanging basket, let it grow in a pot placed on a shelf, or just let it climb up a moss pole. So, how fast does pothos grow? Knowing this will help you decide where to place one or plan how its wonderful long vines will grow in your home.
Or maybe you already have your in a perfect spot and are anxious for it to grow faster and fill up space? Read on and learn all the tricks to making this plant grow even faster.
Pothos are wonderful trailing plants, and their vines, which can reach impressive lengths, can really look wonderful as they work their way through the room. Let them drape down from the pot or have it grow upwards or along your walls.
Lush foliage hanging from the basket is a sight to behold in itself but helping this plant climb the walls, making a full green display is a true work of plant art.
Note, pothos plants likely won’t start climbing the walls on their own (but they certainly can).
You will need to provide wall climbing fixtures (little hooks and such) for your plant to climb the wall. Once you get them to climb the wall, they will look magnificent. However, keep in mind they will most likely (almost certainly) attach themselves to the wall, too – this will damage the paint, it will chip as you attempt to remove the plant.
How Fast Does Pothos Grow?
Pothos plants are fast growers. They are one of the fastest-growing houseplants, so they are a very rewarding plant to have. Add to this that the care for pothos plants is super easy, and there really isn’t a thing you won’t love about this plant.
With proper care you can expect your pothos to grow around 12 inches per month on average (that is 30 cm per month in metric) during the growing season.
Read: How to care for pothos plants
This growth rate is under average conditions that you find in most homes. Average room temperature, humidity, and light. If you make the conditions even more favorable for the plant, you will see even faster growth and more of it.
As the growing season starts in spring and lasts till fall, you are looking at a couple of feet (meters) of new growth each year. Talk about impressive.
Some types of pothos grow faster than others. In general, the more variegated the plant, the slower it will grow. The green parts of the plant keep the plant in shape and growing. They provide it with what it needs, so the larger the green areas, the more effective the process. The white part of the leaf does not contain chlorophyll, so it is not able to photosynthesis.
Does Pothos Grow Faster in Soil or Water?
Pothos can be grown in soil as well as in water, even as mature plants. The choice of how you will grow yours is, well yours.
Under the same conditions as a mature plant, pothos plants will grow faster in soil than in water. As far as propagation goes, it will usually root faster in the water, though.
How to Make Pothos Grow Faster
Make sure the basic needs of your plant are met. A good watering routine and bright or semi-bright indirect light are the most important things for growing a happy pothos plant. As well as keeping the pests away (or treating them in time).
If you want your pothos to grow faster, there are a couple of things you can do.
Is it in need of fresh soil?
If you had your pothos for a while and it has been happily growing for years, it is probably time to repot it both to give it more room to grow if it is too root-bound and to provide fresh nutrients with the new soil. If you are repotting in a bigger pot, only go up a size or two. A pot too big will lead to your plant struggling.
Move it to a brighter spot
When it comes to light, every inch matters. The further you move the plant away from the window, even with slightest differences, the amount and intensity of light fall drastically.
If you can, move your pothos to a slightly brighter spot. Light has a grand effect on how fast pothos grows. But it shouldn’t get direct sunlight, or to better put it, it shouldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight for too long. Mild direct sunlight (morning or late afternoon sun) is great for the plant and will help it grow.
The best spot for your pothos is near a window that gets morning sun. The vines will go towards the light. If your plant is too far from the light, it will also go leggy.
If you want your plant to grow evenly from all sides, you will need to rotate the pot frequently.
Tip: if you have variegated pothos and notice the variegation is reverting/fading, your plant isn’t receiving enough light. If the patterns on the foliage are becoming fader, it is receiving too much light.
Regular fertilization
If you don’t yet have a fertilizing routine in place, start fertilizing your pothos during the growing season.
While the bulk of building materials for the plant comes from the air, the nutrients that support happy growth will come from the soil. Nutrient-rich soil will play a role in how fast your pothos will grow.
General houseplant fertilizer or foliage houseplant fertilizer are both OK. Use them as frequently as indicated by the manufacturer. Different brands have different instructions. Many articles on the internet state you should be fertilizing your pothos once per month, but this isn’t necessarily true. The frequency can vary greatly between brands.
Do not be tempted to use the fertilizer more than indicated by the manufacturer. You might feel you would get your pothos to grow faster that way, but the effect will be quite the opposite. Your plant will begin to struggle, and you can even kill it.
Neem oil is also beneficial and can be used as a natural fertilizer.
If you have a fish tank at home, you can also water your plant using aquarium water. Fish tank water is full of nutrients (some even grow pothos in fish tanks). Depending on how big your tank is and how often you change the water in your tank, you can use the water in addition to fertilizer or even instead of fertilizer.
If your plant lacks nutrients, the new leaves will also be small.
Keep the Temperature Optimal
Pothos are hardy plants and will tolerate temperatures that aren’t ideal. However, their growth will be slower with temperatures that are either too low or too high. Also, protect your plant from frequent sudden changes in temperatures (avoid cold drafts).
While pothos will survive on temperatures as low as 55°F (12°C) it needs 70 to 90°F for optimal growth ( 21-32°C). Those temperatures are ideal. Anything above or below that range will slow down growth. If the temperatures are far off, the growth will be stunted, and the plant can start deteriorating too.
The secret to success: humidity
If you maintain a proper watering routine and provide your pothos with enough light, it couldn’t care less about humidity as far as survival goes. It will do well in rooms with low humidity too.
But if you want your pothos to grow faster, give it more humidity. It would get lots of it in its natural environment, so the more, the better (within reason).
It grows in the tropics, so warm temperatures, bright indirect light, and high air humidity are what will make this plant grow at the best rate. How fast does pothos grow in their natural environment? Fast! And their leaves can be gigantic and even get leaf fenestrations.
Increase the humidity around your pothos. The easiest method is to get an air humidifier. There are other ways you can raise it too.
Read: how to increase air humidity for your plants
Concerning pathos: you wrote, ” leaves can be gigantic and even get leaf fenestrations.” What is a fenestration?
Fenestrations are holes and slits in leaves like you would usually see on monster plants.