Who knew that the all-popular pothos plant could develop bald spots? It tends to happen when spreading horizontally. The vines will lose their leaves near the base of the plant. Creating a “bald spot.” A TikTok video shows how one user easily fixed the problem and received 39.9 thousand likes.
The video does a great job of showing the process of fixing the issue. Although, as one Tiktok user states, “Sir your bravery with the snip snip snip impresses me. I can’t bring myself to do it. ever” it can be intimidating.
Pothos, in general, is one of the easiest plants to propagate. So, dont be afraid to experiment. For example, one user states, “I had no idea how propagate and literally just cut my pothos and stuck cuttings in soil. They actually took and are thriving “.
Too bad it wasn’t as easy as this for balding humans.
The Process of Fixing a Bald Spot on a Pothos
- Use clean pruning shears (hydrogen peroxide works well)
- Cut bald vines near the base of the soil with one node on each stem (yes, you can propagate pothos sections with no leaves)
- Place in a cup of perlite soil, or leca (commonly known by a brand name Hydroton, which is a lightweight expanded clay medium that pothos can grow in)
- Pour water to the top of the cup with perlite
- Smush nodes into perlite
- Spray/mist with water
- Fertilizer can help, but not required
- Cover
- Then, once rooted with 1-2″ of root length, you can transplant them back into a pot. They are fixing the old bald spot. Or, you can start a new plant.
How TikTok Users Responded & Additional Questions
Overall the video received a great response and 313 comments. Here are some of them:
TikTok user Han_nah asks, “Will the original plant continue to grow where you cut it? Mine won’t grow if I cut it”? Tanner responds with: Yes, it should grow from the nearest node.
RosekrohHuskiesmalamutes asks, “Can I do this with soil or does it need to be perlite?”. Tanner mentions, “It can be soil, just make sure there’s plenty of air flow.”
This method also works with other vining plants. Uses jojo asks, “can this method work on other “viny” plants?passion fruit for me rn.. taking the node and pushing it in the perlight”. The answer is yes.
Of course, you can also use this solution to fix all pothos varieties. For example, as mentioned by Madeline Cadiz, “can the same medium be used for a dragon tail (Epipremnum Pinnatum)? my plant has stopped producing leaves and I’veI’ve been holding back to cut it.” Replied with, “You mean for propagating? Yes.”
Here is a complete care guide on Dragon Tail pothos plants.
Cadies asks, “I pinned mine into the soil. Is that okay? Do i have to bury it?” Tanner replies, “Pinning is great!.”
TikTok users seemed happy to find a solution to their balding pothos and started asking more care questions, such as, “Wow that’s awesome!! My leaves turn yellow and fall off of mine any idea why??” Tanner answered back, “Usually a lack of oxygen problem.”
Ahhmi asks, “My leaves have been droopy, like how they get when they need water but it doesn’t need water…. Help?”. Responses were:
- “Sounds like root rot to me”
- “Maybe rinse the leaves off, pothos love a good shower! Also if too much dirt gets on the leaves it doesn’t photosynthesize as well.”
Then, she responded that she discovered the solution on her own, “Discovered it was lack of sunlight! I went away for a several days and left the window half closed, the sill was blocking its sunlight!”.
Based on the replies, a follow-up video will show the development of the roots. Here is the original TikTok video.
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Davin is a jack-of-all-trades but has professional training and experience in various home and garden subjects. He leans on other experts when needed and edits and fact-checks all articles.