Pothos (devil’s ivy) care

Light

Picture the indirect light an east-facing window gives mid-morning — that's the brightness pothos grows fastest in. Bright indirect light keeps variegation crisp on golden, marble queen and N’Joy cultivars. Will survive low light but variegation fades and growth slows dramatically. You'll know it's right when new leaves come out the same size and colour as the established ones. Smaller, paler new leaves = move closer to the window.

Watering

Aim for when the top half of the soil is dry, every 7-10 days for pothos, but treat that as a starting point rather than a rule. A south-facing summer windowsill will dry the pot twice as fast as a north-facing winter room. Lift the pot; if it feels noticeably lighter than it did wet, water it. Pothos signals thirst by drooping a little — water before the leaves go fully limp. Soggy pots cause yellow lower leaves and root rot within a week or two.

Soil and pot

Pothos grows best in standard potting compost with extra perlite. Any free-draining houseplant mix works. Refresh the top inch annually and repot when roots circle visibly. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Pothos sits happiest at around 40-60% humidity and 18-27°C (65-80°F). Average household humidity is fine. Boost in winter if leaf tips brown. If you keep the room above 18 year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed pothos sparingly. Balanced liquid feed at half strength every 4-6 weeks from spring to early autumn. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on pothos in the Growli community. Where a problem matches one of our diagnostic guides, click through for the full step-by-step recovery plan written for pothos specifically.

• Yellow lower leaves — Overwatering or pot-bound roots.
• Brown leaf tips — Low humidity or fluoride from tap water.
• Slow or stalled growth — Too little light or seasonal dormancy.
• Variegation reverting to solid green — Low light — move closer to a window.
• Long bare vines (legginess) — Pinch tips regularly to encourage branching.

Companion plants

Pothos pairs well with Monstera, Philodendron, Spider plant, and Snake plant. These are species with similar light and water needs, so you can group them in the same room or on the same shelf and water as a batch.

Propagation

Snip a vine just below a node, root in water for 2-3 weeks, then pot up in moist potting mix. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Pothos is toxic to pets. ASPCA lists Epipremnum aureum as toxic to cats and dogs due to insoluble calcium oxalates. Chewing causes intense oral pain, drooling, and difficulty swallowing. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Pothos deep-dive guides

Every aspect of pothos care, each with its own calibrated guide:

• Common pothos problems & fixes
• Pothos watering schedule
• Pothos light requirements
• Best soil mix for pothos
• Pothos fertilizing guide
• When to repot pothos
• How to propagate pothos
• How to prune pothos
• What's eating my pothos?
• Pothos growth rate & size
• Pothos cold hardiness
• Pothos temperature & humidity
• Is pothos toxic to cats & dogs?
• Is pothos toxic to cats?
• Is pothos toxic to dogs?
• All 22 Epipremnum varieties
• Pet-safe alternatives to pothos

Featured in these plant shortlists

Pothos qualifies for 5 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

• Best low-light houseplants — Houseplants that need no direct sun and cope with a north-facing room or a spot well back from a window.
• Best plants for a north-facing window — Houseplants for a north-facing window: bright, even, indirect light and no scorching direct sun. Each pick verified against its documented light needs.
• Best trailing & climbing houseplants — Vining and trailing houseplants for shelves, hanging pots, and moss poles — selected by growth habit.
• Houseplants toxic to cats & dogs — The common houseplants the ASPCA lists as toxic to cats and dogs — the ones to keep out of reach, each with its symptoms and a safe alternative.
• Best houseplants to propagate in water — Houseplants that root from a cutting in a glass of water — the easiest, cheapest way to turn one plant into many.
• Browse all 30 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

Related guides

Pothos is also known as devil’s ivy, golden pothos, and money plant.

• Pothos care — the deep-write article with seasonal care notes
• Pothos yellow leaves — causes and the fix
• Pothos curling leaves — causes and the fix
• Pothos drooping — causes and the fix
• Pothos brown spots — causes and the fix
• Pothos mushy stem — causes and the fix
• Pothos no new growth — causes and the fix
• Pothos vs Philodendron — which to choose
• Spider plant vs Pothos — which to choose
• Pothos vs Spider plant — which to choose
• Pothos vs Hoya — which to choose
• Types of pothos — varieties identified, with care and pet-safety
• Hinds' Torchwood care — light, water and common problems
• Gumbo Limbo care — light, water and common problems
• Fragrant Bursera care — light, water and common problems
• All 10153 plant care guides in the Growli library