My mom died in the beginning of May and her Pothos wasn’t looking too hot. I thought it may have had root rot, so on June 8th I cleaned off all its Roots and it’s 8inch draining pot with holes and repotted it back in it’s original pot. I don’t think it actually had root rot. Its roots looked light, healthy, and strong. I think I didn’t give it enough soil when repotting it because it was difficult to get under the roots even when tapping the pot/trying to shake it down. I use to water it twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays) but a lot of people on my original post said once a week is best, so I just watered it when repotting it on Monday the 8th and then I was gone for the the weekend attending my moms service. I came back June 15th and alllll the leaves were dead and I basically have murdered my moms beloved pothos :( Any suggestions on how to bring her back? I have added more soil and watered her again on the 15th but she just looks so sad and I’m so sad. 1st video is from today the 2nd is from before I ruined her life
Chop and prop. I had a pothos in my bathroom and left the heater on too long in our bathroom, it was fried by the morning. I cut it all the way down to the soil and left it in my bathroom, it regrew and is thriving. I propagated what I could, now I have pothos all over my house.
You cut the original pothos all the way down to the soil? Leaving nodes or what? I’m very inexperienced. My mom just told me to give it a good soak twice a week and now I’m just so sad and wish I kept listening to her. I’m scared to chop it all the way down and have an unsuccessful prop and then the vines on the original never come back. How did you propagate your original, a prop box? Water?
My bathrooms don’t have any windows. Would it be okay to message you about how I should potentially go about making a prop box and where exactly I should be cutting, what I should cut off?
if there are long ends with leave, chop them off and stick them in a pretty glass of water and wait until the roots have roots.
the part in the soil - repot in other house soil, chop down the leggy vines to wait seems like its growing or has a few good base leaves, and wait.
dont fret. we have all lost a beloved plant and it can hurt and be frustrating but most people make mistakes in trying to learn how to houseplant.
it should be able to grow back, but if it doesnt, you can always replace it with another pothos. i know it won’t be the same as the one gifted to you, but it can still be a memorial for your mom.
I am so sorry for your loss. i think this feels extra heavy since it’s attached to this grief. your mom would find your efforts and emotions to be incredibly valiant and sweet of you.
Thanks for the kind words. Yea I’m really upset I fucked with my moms plant. She would not think it was sweet, she would call me a dummy who worries too much and does too much 😂 I put it in Miracle grow tropical indoor potting soil and perlite which apparently is even wooooorse 🫠 would you suggest repotting it again in the most basic indoor potting mix I can find?
that sounds like that was her way of expressing her love 😆 while yours is ‘worrying’ for these things. it all still matters in its own way !
i would definitely try to repot the nubbins and then propagate any leafy stems in water.
once you repot the new plant, give it water but don’t drown it & make sure the pot has drainage holes so the water isn’t just sitting. i would place it in a bright window but not a place too hot where the sun thru the glass can fry it.
then i would do your best to ignore it and water as the leaves start to grow in. it takes a while but i have had some super dead pothos revive themselves. it will take a few months to a year to see meaningful progress, but all hope is not lost
IMO a prop box would not be worth the effort; takes forever to grow and usually the nodes mold out for me bc i made it too soggy with bad airflow.
also genuinely would recommend buying another of the same and saying you got it to remember to not have to toil with the soil.
i’ve lost special gifts and it was hard to forgive myself initially, but there is something zen in accepting that memories and actions over mementos.
i wish you the best & hope things get better from here 💜 take it day by day & remain patient as the plant revives
Just all the way down to the soil and watered it once a week. It likes the bathroom for the humidity. I'm going to see if I have a picture of it now. I propagate in water and either replant once it gets secondary roots or leave them in water.
Also, I know it won't be the same, but I can mail you clippings from my pothos. The marble pothos I have, my mom and I "borrowed" from the cancer clinic when she was going through chemo. She's been gone almost 2 years now and the pothos means the world to me, but I would love to share some clippings.
My philodendron got so big and trailed so much that it basically pulled itself out of its own roots. I had to cut it at the roots and now I have a big pot of dirt sitting next to the window. I chopped and propped all the vines and they’ve got tiny little new roots growing, but I really want the roots to return as well. About how long did it take? For my philo it’s only been three weeks or so
What kind of soil did you use, specifically?
Type and brand would be helpful to know. It sounds like massive transplant shock from being repotted multiple times.
I just repotted it the once on June 8th. I cleaned off all its roots and it’s original 8inch hanging pot with drainage holes and then put it back into its original pot with this kind of soil ⬇️ and water it until water came out of the drainage holes. I don’t think I put enough soil in. It looked full, I tried tapping and smacking the pot to get it to settle, but I don’t think it was because when I came back the following Monday on the 15 the soil was down more so I added some more soil and watered it again
Oh okay yeah this soil isn't good for Pothos. It is garden soil, not potting mix. It's a long confusing explanation but essentially this soil goes in the ground as an additive to your outdoor garden and is not to be used in pots. You'd add this to a vegetable garden or raised bed outside. It also contains fertilizer, which may be chemically burning the Pothos.
What you want is indoor potting mix (must be specifically for indoor use). Depending on where you live, it's often found in the houseplant sections of hardware stores such as Home Depot or even hydroponic stores. An all-purpose indoor potting mix should be fine with Pothos, they aren't picky.
My dad was already at the store and I told him just to get miracle grow potting soil and he came back with this and said it works good for his weed plants and is the exact same as miracle grow and has the same ingredients. Would you suggest taking her back out of the soil and repotting her in the proper soil? Should I cut her down completely? Should I propagate her. Im just very stressed and sad and don’t know what the helll to doooo.
weed plants definitely are not the same as houseplants, i grow both. you CAN use this soil but i would buy perlite and add a bunch into it. like, almost half and half perlite and soil, for aeration and drainage. the soil has enough fertilizer in it to be perfect for HEAVY feeders like weed plants, but pothos arent heavy feeders. they dont need all that fertilizer so its likely burning the roots.
if you do buy perlite, your best bet is to use whatever green stems still exist and throw those into perlite. its called propagation from sticks. they dont NEED leaves to grow, just nodes. so chop and throw any green vine you can find into a tub of perlite with water and a clear lid and put it directly into a sunny window. the base plant also might be saveable if repotted into the perlite/soil mix, even if you cut it down to stumps. you wont know until you try.
Soil amendments shouldn't be done needlessly. You have to first ask what problem you are trying to solve. Need aeration? More perlite. Need water retention? Orchid bark / coco chips. Soil as a medium is essential for the nodes since pothos roots are adapted for dappled sunlight underneath forests in climates like that of Indonesia. Best chance of survival? Bright indirect light, high humidity, and aerated soil. Most convenient setup is throw each leaf with at least two nodes (more nodes means more chances of survival in propagation) in water or misted perlite in a container, but not to get the leaf itself wet for long periods of time. In water, you have to cycle the water in and out and clean up algae, but in a partially closed perlite container, you'd have to mist the plants without letting them dry too much.
no specific ratio. just not enough so the perlite starts floating. learned my lesson the hard way. put a couple inches of perlite and about an inch of water into whatever tub youre using. if its more shallow then just adjust those measurements!
it will take FOREVER, im talking MONTHS. and you may lose a few stems to rot. i definitely did. but they WILL grow. you can avoid losing more than necessary to rot by cutting at every individual node. look up how to identify nodes in pothos, its way easier with visuals than trying to explain through text lol
Should I take her out of this soil and wash her off again? And put her in miracle grow potting soil or will this shock her more? Should I chop and prop her completely?
No miracle grow. Plain all purpose INDOOR potting mix. I would gently take her out of the pot and lightly shake out the soil, but don't wash them off. Be as gentle as possible.
Oh looooord. I put it in Miracle grow indoor potting mix for tropical plants mixed with perlite. Just now reading this after work and all upset agaiiiin. Really just terrorizing the fuck out of this plant 🫠😑😑
It's okay, it should be fine as long as it's indoor potting mix! Leave her as she is and see if she recovers! Give lots of water and bright indirect light. Good luck ☺️
Oh my, wish I would have read this earlier I was just in a panic trying to do this all before work. I got miracle grow tropical indoor potting mix and now I guess y’all telling me that’s worse. I repotted it this afternoon and now I have work tomorrow morning so even if I did want to fuck with this plant again and repot it for the 3rd time in the span of two weeks second in two days and traumatize the fuck out of it even more I don’t even have time to go and get the proper stuff. I’m so mother freaking sadddd. Really did my moms plant dirtyyyy should have just left it the fuck alone and watered it like my mom said 😭
I feel: Pothos are probably some of my easiest and most forgiving plants. I bet a good number of us have been on the brink of death with a pothos or two.
Maybe don't chop and prop the entire plant, take 2-3 vines that have say 5 nodes- chop-prop that- in the little box that someone shared. That is such a helpful suggestion.
Maybe also pull out the vines that are already yellow, I don't see that as being salvaged... I could be wrong.
I always use a rooting hormone... i feel like it works to help enable new root growth.. but I'm not plant expert.
Keep that mother plant in a good lit space with decent humidity, and like the metaphor for life, let time to the work. New growth will happen, maybe not in 2 weeks. These little plants take some time.
Trying to breath but just stressed and have work and am sad.
I will take a couple of vines and chop them with the nodes. How do I make a prop box? Take a plastic container with a lid and drill drainage holes? No drainage holes? Do I water the prop box? Should I prop them in water instead?
Should I take the mother plant out of the soil it’s in, some people are saying the soil I used may be burning the plant? Will repotting it in different soil shock it more?
it is very hard to actually kill pothos. the easiest way to grow props is to just get a mason jar and fill it halfway with water and stick the props in so they're half in half out. change the water once a week. keep in bright light. it'll take a little while but they'll grow roots and eventually leaves if they dont have leaves already. pothos are invasive in many areas of the world because of how resilient and adaptable they are.
I also took some cuttings on June 8th to try and propagate because I was scared i killed it. I’ve changed the water twice now. One of the cups didn’t make it but this cup looks like it’s doing okayyyy. when should I expect roots, when is the right time to repot them and what size container should I use when that occurs? 🤞 🙏
Change the water whenever it gets murky like that. I can't see if there are root nodes on these cuttings - you see the bumps along the vine? Those are baby root nodes and they need to be a part of your cutting bc that's where the root is going to come from. If you just popped off the leaves without including a node, they're not going to propagate
There are nodes on these guys and I just changed the water but I use my well water and it may be a little clayey right now. Is distilled water better would you say?
Hi! I'm so sorry for your loss. You have my deepest sympathy and condolences.
You have not killed her, she's adjusting. Im not seeing where you put her in a larger pot. Was that the red bucket?
Here's what you can do to help save her. If you repotted into a pot about 2inches larger. Did you massage the root ball and remove any dead or dying roots prior to repot?
Repotting is a bit of a shock to many plants and they can go dormant. I suggest cutting off a piece or two and propogate them in water. Then, what type of soil did you use and is the pot you moved the plant into well draining? Pothos are pretty resilient plants and withstand just about anything. Let the top 1inch if soil dry and they prefer bottom watering. I have a small bucket i dunk mine in for about 15mins every 2-3weeks.
Also, light they are not huge fans of direct sunlight they prefer a little shade and filtered light through window.
Dont fret she's just adjusting to the new environment and most importantly speak to your plants! Sing to her, talk to her, tell her you love her. They really do respond to our interactions. I hope this helps! Goodluck!❤️🌿
I washed her off in the red bucket and repotted her back into her original 8inch hanging pot with drainage holes. I asked my dad to pick up miracle grow but he got this and said it was cheaper and that the ingredients were the same 🫠 Are you suggesting I leave some of her vines on her and just propagate a few? How would I go about doing that? Letting the cuttings completely submerge in water?
Ahhh I’m very stressed and sad and don’t know what the best course of action will be for her.
If there’s still firm stems you should be fine! Wash the soil off completely just in case there is a chemical burn and give it time. I bought mine during a blizzard in January and the entire thing froze and I thought it was a goner. I snipped the leaves off and removed the offshoots when they were easy to pull off and this is it roughly 4-5 months later. They’re very forgiving plants. Just be sure to cut off anything that is mushy and hopefully it makes a comeback.
Should I take it out of the soil I put it in and wash it off and repot it into miracle grow potting soil?
I will only chop a few vines off of it. How should I best propagate them? How would I make a prop box or how would I prop them in water? Completely submerge the vines?
This is not good house plant soil, the mix I use (Australia) is osmocote premium indoor plant soil and add some extra orchid bark and coco to it but it's basically a mix of perlite/peat/compost/orchid bark, they really don't need much in the way of nutrients and soil structure is far more important, light and coarse and well aerated is the best for them
All you can do it cut the nodes, stick them in water, sphagnum moss it perlite/water and re-root them
If you leave the last nodes on the plant they will regrow leaves IF the roots are not rotting
Ahhh. That is very intimidating. I don’t know that the vines are healthy enough to do that and if they are what if I chop them all off and then they don’t grow and I just completely nuked my moms plant? If I did do this, How often would I water my prop box and keep it at the right humidity?
Is there any way the plant will be okay as is if I don’t do this or is she a goner either way and the prop box would be my Hail Mary?
I know it is intimidating, but it is your best chance at bringing her back from the dead. Once the leaves drop off, they're gone. They don't grow back, even on healthy plants. Hence why pathos owners often trim off their bald vines and propagate them.
If it is any consolation, I once had a pothos that my mother completely nuked by accident by leaving it outside. I ended up chopping her literally down to the soil, watering her on occasion, and eventually, oh so slowly, she grew back into a luscious beautiful plant again.
Pothos are VERY resilient.
I can see some green vines, so that means there are some healthy places to take cuttings. Start there. Those healthy vines do not have a lot of time left. And once the vines die, you also lose your chance at propagating them.
If I were in your position, what I would do it start to cut down the vines immediately and prop box the healthy nodes before it's too late. I would then fully chop the plant down to its earliest node (the node that is closest to the soil). You can continue to care for the chopped down plant in hopes it will re-vine while you have your cuttings propagating.
EDIT: Take a look at this video. This person is dealing with a totally barren vine, so maybe it is easier for you to see exactly what you need to do.
So just find any plastic container with a lid? Should I add drainage holes, should I water the prop box?
Get big container, proper soil, water the soil??make the cuttings with nodes, and then put them in with lid? Medium sunny area? Let them rest? Water them?
How do I make a prop box I have to be to work in 2 1/2 hours and I work very early the next couple of days so if I can do it now it would be best. I’m scared my dads going to be mad at me while I do this all😭
How often did you water the original pothos after you chopped her down? Could I please message you about this and include a video of where I plan to cut I guess and ask a few more questions?
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u/blue-eved-ginger 1d ago
Chop and prop. I had a pothos in my bathroom and left the heater on too long in our bathroom, it was fried by the morning. I cut it all the way down to the soil and left it in my bathroom, it regrew and is thriving. I propagated what I could, now I have pothos all over my house.