A How to Guide for Repotting Pothos

It can be difficult to know when to repot your plants, especially Pothos, because they are such vigorous growers. My Golden Pothos has needed a repotting for some time. In this blog I will walk you through repotting Pothos plants. You will learn how to recognize the signs your Pothos needs to be repotted. I’ll cover how to repot and what equipment and tools you will need. I’ll also tell you how to multiply your plants by propagating Pothos.

When to Repot Pothos

I have actually been meaning to repot this golden pothos for several months now but never got around to it. Pothos are real troopers so I knew I could procrastinate. As you can see, it was going to be a pain to get it down from that window which is about 15 feet up. The time has come though. We’re getting our windows replaced in a few weeks so I have to take it down anyway. I'll go through a few reasons that let you know when to repot your pothos.

Unhealthy Foliage

As you can see from the picture, this Pothos was beginning to get yellow leaves. Those yellow leaves eventually die off. If there are one or two, that’s not an issue. Leaves don’t last forever. If you are getting several like I’ve shown, then it’s time for repotting your Pothos.

Root Bound Pothos

You can lift the plant and roots out of its existing pot to check if it’s root bound. If the roots are really crowded together or there is barely any soil left in the pot, then repotting your Pothos is a good idea. The roots on my golden Pothos were fairly dense. There was still a lot of loose soil around the top of the pot, so I wouldn't call this one root bound necessarily.

Watering Your Pothos Becomes an Issue.

Watering is an issue if you are overwatering or under watering. This Pothos was not drying out as quickly as I would like and that has actually been the case for a while. I’ve been meaning to switch the pot to see if that helps. When I have a plant that isn’t drying out fast enough, I like to move it to a terracotta pot. Terracota pots are very porous and allow the soil to dry out much quicker than a ceramic pot, which is what my Pothos is currently in. On the other hand if your plant was drying out too quickly, you may want to increase the size of your pot so that the soil can hold moisture longer.

How to Repot Pothos

Pothos are easy to grow and extremely resilient, so don’t sweat it. Make sure you have all of your tools and supplies ready beforehand. Being organized will make everything go more smoothly, especially if you’re dealing with supersize Pothos. Follow the steps below to learn how to repot pothos.

Repotting Tools and Supplies

You need your new pot, potting soil, and possibly perlite. Perlite will add some bulk and help with drainage. I pretty much always add perlite unless it’s a plant that likes to stay moist. Generally when repotting Pothos your new pot should be the next size up from your current pot. If you are pruning your Pothos while you repot, then you will need a sharp knife or household scissors. Your cutting tools should be sterilized before you use them. Rubbing alcohol will do the trick.

Remove the Pothos from the Old Pot

Pull the Pothos out of its old pot. Be gentle. You want to keep the roots intact. You may need to wiggle the plant and pot around a little bit to dislodge it. Hold the plant close to the soil when you are wiggling, that way you won’t cause damage to the plant. Inspect the roots for damage and discoloration. If the roots are mushy then they are rotting and you have been overwatering. If you find damage or discoloration, you should remove it with your knife or scissors. Some people also gently shake or remove excess soil to loosen up the root ball. I don't always do this and I'm not convinced it really does much, if anything.    

Putting your Pothos in its New Pot

Fill the new pot with potting soil and perlite mixed together. About a 4 to 1 ratio of potting soil to perlite will work for Pothos. Your pot should have drainage holes. If it doesn’t, make some drainage holes, or get a new pot. In order to keep the soil from spilling out of the drainage holes, I like to put a small square of paper towel over the hole. You want a paper towel or something similar that will still allow water to flow freely from the drainage hole. Next place your root ball into the pot and backfill the rest of the pot with more of the same potting soil and perlite mixture. Make sure the root ball is covered with soil and not protruding out of the top.

Pruning Pothos

Pothos are prolific growers. Mine had several vines over 12 feet long with the longest around 15 feet. All that to say you may want to take a little off the top of your plant. And Pothos are extremely easy to propagate, so of course you want to trim your Pothos. If you're interesting in pruning, I did a blog on drastically pruning my Money Tree recently.

Where to Prune Pothos

When pruning Pothos, you want to cut just above a leaf node. New growth will resume from the last node. Pick a spot on your vine where you are comfortable cutting some length off. Pothos are quick growers so don’t be too afraid of making the cuts. If you have a really long vine like I did, you can cut that one vine in multiple places to make many cuttings to propagate. Below you can see where to cut. This vine has some aerial roots at the nodes, which makes it even easier to tell where to cut.

Propagating Pothos

Soil Propagation

My Golden Pothos before repotting was a bit long and thin. I want to make it fuller looking so I decided to propagate some cuttings. Pothos are very forgiving. I just dipped four vine cuttings in rooting hormone and stuck them into the soil of my newly repotted Pothos. I’ve done this before with many varieties of Pothos and it was a success. Be careful though, not all plants are as easy to propagate as Pothos.

Water Propagation

Pothos can grow roots in water as well. It is fun to watch too because you actually get to see the roots start as little bumps and then grow out from there. I think it’s pretty hard to transition water propagated plants into a soil environment though. However, I’m someone that keeps my plants on the dryer side to begin with. I recently propagated a plant (not Pothos) in water that I unfortunately let dry out too much when I transferred it to soil. Update: after about ten days we have our first root from the water propagated pothos!

Do you have questions about repotting pothos? Share them in the comments.