Why are my pothos leaves curling?

The 4 most likely causes

The cause of pothos curling leaves usually narrows to one of the items below, ranked by how often we see each in Growli's diagnostic chats. Work down the list — most readers find their answer in the top two.

1. Underwatering or letting it dry too long (Most likely)
   Underwatering looks similar to overwatering at first — both produce limp, dull leaves — but the soil tells the truth. If the soil is dust-dry several centimetres down, water deeply. Pothos prefers when the top half of the soil is dry, every 7-10 days.
2. Wrong light level (Likely)
   Pothos tolerates lower light than most, but tolerating is not thriving. In dim conditions it slows down, drops older leaves, and becomes more vulnerable to overwatering because the soil never dries. Give it medium to bright indirect light.
3. Spider mites (in dry indoor air) (Possible)
   Pothos is a spider-mite favourite in dry indoor air. Hold a leaf up to a strong light and check the underside for fine webbing or tiny moving specks. A weekly shower in the sink and raising humidity above 50% breaks the cycle.
4. Cold draught or cold water (Possible)
   Pothos is sensitive to sudden temperature drops. A windowsill that gets cold at night, an air-conditioning vent, or a cold tap-water drench can shock the roots and cause leaves to droop, yellow, or develop brown patches overnight. Keep it away from draughts and use room-temperature water.

Why pothos in particular

As a Solomon Islands understorey vine, pothos leaves are moderately thin and thirsty, so they cup and curl inward when the plant loses water faster than its roots can replace it, whether from a hot radiator nearby or a pot that has dried to the core between drinks. The curl is the leaf shrinking its exposed surface to save moisture; caught early, the leaves usually flatten out again once the vine rehydrates, with no lasting marks.

Normal turnover, or real trouble?

Every pothos leaf is born rolled into a tight cigar and takes days to unfurl flat, so a curled newest leaf at the growing tip is birth, not distress, and opens on its own. The curl worth reading is a mature, already-flat leaf that cups or folds back. If it firms up overnight after a drink, it was thirst; if it stays curled on wet soil, the trouble is at the roots.

How to diagnose in 60 seconds

Run these quick checks before you change anything — the right fix depends on what you find.

• Is the curl upward (cupping) or downward (rolling)? Upward usually = heat or light stress; downward usually = water or pest issue.
• Check the newest leaves first — pests and herbicide damage hit new growth fastest.
• Pothos wants water when the top half of the soil is dry, every 7-10 days. Push a finger into the mix and hold it against that: still damp well before it is due, alongside the symptom, is the overwatering signature.
• Check the underside of curled leaves for spider mites, aphids, or thrips with a phone-camera macro.

The fix — step by step

First move the vine away from the radiator, hot vent or scorching pane that is pulling water out faster than the roots supply it. If the compost has dried to the core and water runs straight through, sit the whole pot in a basin of tepid water for twenty minutes to rewet it fully, then drain. Skip the misting bottle; a curled pothos wants its roots watered, not its leaves dampened.

This is the recovery sequence Growli walks users through for pothos with curling leaves. Work through the steps in order; skipping ahead is the most common reason a plant fails to bounce back.

1. Identify the curl direction. Upward cupping points to heat or light stress; downward rolling points to water stress, pests, or cold shock. The fix depends on which one you see.
2. Inspect leaf undersides for pests. Hold a phone torch behind a curled leaf — spider mites show as fine webbing, aphids as clusters of green or black dots at the growth tips, thrips as silvery scrapes.
3. Adjust water or microclimate. If the soil is bone dry, soak pothos thoroughly. If the room is below 40% humidity and the species is humidity-loving, add a humidifier. If heat is the issue, move out of direct midday sun.
4. Treat any pests at the source. Rinse pests off in the sink, then spray leaf undersides with insecticidal soap or a neem-oil mix every 5-7 days for three weeks to break the egg cycle.
5. Wait for new growth. Curled leaves rarely uncurl. New growth will tell you if the cause is fixed — if the next set of leaves comes in flat, you have solved it.

When this can't be saved

Most cases of pothos curling leaves are recoverable, but a few red flags point to a plant that has gone past the point of return. If you spot any of these, consider propagating a clean cutting and starting over.

• New growth is thin, twisted, and fern-like (a classic herbicide-damage signature on pothos).
• Curl is paired with mosaic-pattern discolouration — that points to a viral infection with no cure.
• Every leaf curls within 24-48 hours of a single event — usually permanent shock damage.

Prevention

For pothos, the single biggest preventative is matching its native rhythm: when the top half of the soil is dry, every 7-10 days, medium to bright indirect light, and a free-draining pot with a working drainage hole. Outdoor edibles benefit from a thick mulch layer that stabilises soil temperature and moisture, both of which reduce curl. For indoor plants, keep a digital hygrometer in the room and aim for 50% humidity — humidifiers or pebble trays close the gap cheaply.

Common questions

Related guides

• What's wrong with my plant? — the diagnosis apps compared
• Pothos care guide — full watering, light, and feeding routine
• Is pothos toxic to cats and dogs? — toxic to pets, per the ASPCA
• How often to water pothos — the watering brief
• When to repot pothos — pot size and timing
• Curling leaves on plants — the full diagnostic guide across species
• What's wrong with my plant? — Growli's flagship diagnosis index
• Pothos — yellow leaves
• Pothos — drooping
• Pothos — brown spots
• Monstera — curling leaves