So you’re wondering how to propagate a pothos (Epipremnum aureum) and make more houseplants for yourself. Well, you’re in luck because the pothos is one of the easiest houseplants to propagate. I’ve gone through this process of pothos propagation many times and want to share what I’ve learned works best for how to propagate your pothos.
To propagate your pothos you need to:
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- Make sure your pothos is healthy
- Get clean scissors or shears
- Cut at the stem and include 1-3 leaves and nodes
- Place cutting in clean water or soil
- Change water every week or so
- Let it grow
- Transfer cutting with roots to soil (if propagated in water)
Get your healthy pothos plant you want to propagate
This is a simple step, but an important one because it could actually lead to problems down the road. If you take a cutting from a pothos that is dealing with disease it can transfer to your cutting very easily, especially if it’s a disease living inside of your potho’s tissue. It’s likely that your cutting will turn black and die off. So just make sure you have a healthy pothos that can handle you cutting off a few of its leaves.
Get clean scissors or pruning shears
Another step that seems like common sense but you’d be amazed at how many problems from cutting with infected scissors or shears. Different plant diseases can be easily spread this way so just make sure to give your scissors or shears a good wash with some hot water to kill off any unwanted bacteria or fungi.
Cut at the stem and include 1-3 leaves and nodes
When making the cut just be sure that you have at least one leaf and or as many as three. Also, you’re going to need to include nodes. If you aren’t sure what they are, no worries, they are just those little brown bumps that occur along the stem. These nodes are found on most vining plants because, in the wild, they can grow into roots to secure itself as it crawls across the earth or to hold itself in place as the vine climbs up. You’re going to use these nodes to start growing a new root system once they’re placed in soil or water.
Place cutting in clean water or soil
Go ahead and place your new cutting in soil or into water, whatever you prefer. Water allows you to more easily see the progress of the roots but soil makes it so you won’t have to transfer it to soil later on. If you choose to place it in water, just get a container where your cutting can stand upright and keep the leaves out of water but keep the nodes in the water. And if you place it directly into soil just be sure to get the soil nice and moist after you’ve placed it into the soil. I personally have found success with either water or soil so it’s up to personal preference on which medium you’d like to place your cutting in.
Change water every week or so
If you’ve chosen to put your cutting in water, be sure to change out the water every week or so. If you notice any cloudiness, change of water color, or any algae growing just wash out your container and add some fresh water. How often you need to change the water depends on what condition it’s in. For some of my pothos cuttings, I kept the same water for weeks because I didn’t notice anything amiss with the water.
Let it grow
Once you’ve done all the above steps, it’s just a waiting game. Pothos cuttings can grow roots as fast as one week or take up to as many as six weeks for its roots to appear. Just be patient and there’s no need to worry, as long as your cutting still looks healthy. If for some reason your cutting turns black, some sort of rot has gotten into the tissue and it’ll be best to start fresh with a new cutting.
Transfer cutting with roots to soil (if propagated in water)
Once you see that your roots are about 1-2 inches long you are set to transfer your pothos into soil, if that’s what you wish to do. Pothos plants actually do great just growing in water (as long as you fertilize them) so you can keep it in water for as long as you wish. When you are ready to put into soil, make sure to water the soil thoroughly once it’s been set into its new home.
And that’s it! Congratulations, you’re on your way to creating many new pothos babies!
If you need additional help, be sure to check out this quick video I made about propagating a pothos in water.