Pothos is a vigorously growing plant that is easy to keep as a houseplant. Even so, it may react negatively to inhospitable conditions by drooping.
What are some of the things that will cause droopy pothos, and what can you do about them?
This article presents ten reasons your pothos’ leaves may be drooping, along with quick, easy fixes.
We also provide sound advice to help you grow healthy, happy pothos.
Top 10 Causes And Fixes For Drooping Pothos Plants
In a nutshell, the most common reasons your pothos may be drooping is
1. It is thirsty. If the soil feels dry and the plant is drooping, place the entire plant in a container of lukewarm water for about an hour. It will perk right up.
2. Its leaves are parched. Dry air can cause the leaves to droop, even if you are watering the soil correctly. Mist the plant or increase humidity with a humidifier or a pebble tray.
Apart from transplant shock, repotted pothos may also get droopy leaves. Owing to this fact, leaf cells are liable to make less chlorophyll. In search of light, their foliage tends to grow a bit longer. As a result, stems grow weaker and softer.
The yellow leaves on your pothos plant are most likely caused by too much water in the soil. This can lead to problems with drainage and oxygenation,
3. It is drowning. Pothos may also droop if they get too much water. If the soil is soggy and the plant is drooping, withhold water until the soil is dry. Provide an antifungal treatment with the first watering.
Overwatering your pothos container is like coming up with a slowly killing mechanism. Overwatered pothos mimics a sick plant. After a few weeks, it refuses to grow, and the leaves become droopy and yellow. When they turn brown, you start counting the days.
So check whether the drainage holes have stopped functioning. Then, if you think you used a bit of hot water,
Make sure to drain excess water carefully before you move your pothos back to its default spot. Your pothos should show signs of perkiness, and the leaves should uncurl by the next day.
However, when your pothos can’t get enough water from the soil, the foliage will become sag, droop, and may turn brown starting from the tips and edges.
4. Lighting is inadequate. Pothos don‘t like harsh, direct light but need a full day of bright, indirect sunlight for photosynthesis. Without it, the leaves will droop, and the plant will die.
If your droopy pothos is potted in the correct pot size and receive a good water supply, the issue could be too much direct sunlight.
If your Pothos plant is kept under low sunlight, then it will not require as much fertilization due to changes in metabolism.
Excess light also aggravates or worsens symptoms of underwatering, low humidity, and drafts. Conversely, wilting and drooping can also result from too little light.
5. Fungal or bacterial diseases may have developed. Plants overwatered or kept in an area with too little light are subject to fungal and bacterial growth. When this happens, prune away damaged leaves and roots, use appropriate fungal or bacterial treatments, and repot.
6. The soil is wrong. Pothos needs a light, airy soil mix that allows good air circulation to the roots. If your mixture is heavy or compacted, repot using a good quality potting mix or add some perlite.
7. The plant is crowded. Pothos is a very enthusiastic grower that can quickly fill a small pot with roots and use up the soil.
Pot soil dries up more quickly during dry weather. Fixing Pothos Dehydration Don’t be self-misled or let the potting soil has to dry out almost completely.
When this is the case, leaves will droop due to a lack of moisture and nutrients. Repot using a good quality potting mix.
8. Your plant is in shock. Plants recently moved or repotted may droop for a few days due to transplant shock. Provide TLC, and your plant will pull through.
9. Your plant is cold. Pothos need consistently warm temperatures (70°-90° degrees Fahrenheit). A plant exposed to cold drafts or temperatures below 50° degrees Fahrenheit for several hours or below 32° degrees Fahrenheit for a brief period will experience damage and droop.
Cut away the damaged leaves and move the plant to a consistently warm setting.
10. Sap-sucking insects make leaves droop. Weakened plants can quickly become infested by houseplant pests that suck their life out. As described above, take good care of your pothos to avoid having pests invade.
When the roots remain too damp for too long, they become susceptible to root rot, too. This also causes your pothos to emaciate and droop, eventually dying if you do nothing to save it.
A pest infestation can be a common problem for pothos plants and can cause them to droop and lose their leaves. The most common pests that affect pothos plants are aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites.
Drooping leaves on your pothos can occur because bacterial, fungal, and viral infections have taken hold of your plant. They are usually opportunistic pathogens that make a home of your pothos when it’s weak, unhealthy, and vulnerable.
Use insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, or alcohol-dipped cotton swabs Root-bound pothos Repot using a well-draining pot that’s at least twice the size of the previous container.
Mist the plant with a neem oil solution to repel pests and give the leaves a bit of shine.
Quick And Easy Pothos Care
There are wide varieties of Epipremnum aureum (ep-ih-PREM-num AW-ree-um), and they are all very easy to care for.
These perennial, evergreen members of the Araceae family of plants make wonderful beginner plants and grow enthusiastically when kept as a hanging basket, pedestal, or tabletop plant in the home or office.
In tropical settings, they can do well as a ground cover.
No matter what kind of pothos you have, remember that when taking care of it, moderation is key- avoid extremes.
Simple, consistent care will pay off with healthy, thriving, happy plants.
Be sure your pothos has:
Moderate Light
If you want to use your plant in a low-light setting, do so on a rotational basis. Keep a couple of pothos plants and let them take weekly turns between bright-indirect sunlight and low light.
Clean Leaves
Mist your plants’ leaves daily to keep humidity levels high. Once a week, mist with a neem oil solution and wipe the leaves gently to discourage pests and shine and clean the leaves. This also helps the plant make good use of sunlight.
Light, Occasional Feeding
Give your pothos a half-strength feeding of water-soluble houseplant fertilizer once every couple of months.
Regular Grooming
Trim your plant to encourage a bushy growth habit. Pick off yellowed older leaves as they occur.
Consistently Warm Temperatures
Place your plant in an area that doesn’t get cold or hot drafts. If you are away from your home or office for an extended period, ensure the temperature stays regulated.
Or have your plant cared for in a setting where the temperature will remain consistent in your absence?
It’s easy to see that the care of pothos is quite simple. These rugged houseplants can do very well in almost any comfortable indoor environment.
Provide simple, basic maintenance, and you can boast of thriving pothos.
Then you can share healthy cuttings with your gardening friends and relations.
