If you have a leggy pothos plant and don’t want to give it a drastic trim, here are four methods to provide it with a fuller, bushier look.
1.) Propagate Cuttings in the Same Pot
Take a few pothos cuttings, then simply plant them in the same pot as the mother plant. You don’t even need to root them in water first. Just stick them in the soil, and they will start growing new leaves and stems after 4 to 6 weeks.
2.) Grow Two Plants in One Pot
If you have two leggy pothos plants, you can plant them in the same pot to achieve a fuller look. Or, if you have a pothos plant that’s lost some leaves from the top, you can plant a younger, smaller pothos next to it to fill in the bald spots.
And if you’re feeling creative, you can even plant different pothos varieties in one container to create what houseplant enthusiasts call Frankenpothos (Frankenstein’s pothos).
3.) Loop the Long Vines Around the Pot
This is a great way to fix a pothos plant that’s only growing on one side or a plant with only one very long stem. Take the vine and loop it around the pot once or twice, depending on its length, then use string or cable ties to keep the vines in place.
It only takes a minute, and the plant will instantly look fuller.
4.) Coil and Pin the Vines on Top of the Soil
You can use this method to fix pothos with long vines and no leaves. Basically, it is a form of air layering, a propagation method that encourages new root and leaf growth without cutting the stems from the mother plant.
Start by identifying the growth nodes on the bare pothos stem. Each node will have a small, hardened lump, which is the aerial root. In healthy plants, the growth node will also have a leaf. But if the plant is stressed, whether as a result of too little light or too much fertilizer, the stem will be bare.
To fix it, coil or loop the stem around the pot, and place the aerial root on top of the soil. Use a couple of paper clips to secure the stem in place and ensure that the aerial root makes contact with the soil.
You can repeat the process for each leafless node on the vine until you run out of space in the pot. When you’re done, move your pothos to a brighter location and water it regularly.
The bare stem may take several months to grow a single new leaf from each growth node. In the process, the aerial root will also start growing into a proper root.
Then, when the time comes to repot your pothos, you can cut the stem to separate the “pups” from the mother plant and transplant them separately.
Related Articles
So, if you have followed the above “how to make pothos bushier” guide and want to help prevent this in the future- here are some related articles that will help:
- If you have a leggy pothos plant, start here.
- How To Make Pothos Grow More Stems (2 Excellent Methods)
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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.