The beauty of Pothos ranges from deep greens to bright gold on variegated leaves, but your lovely Pothos should not turn yellow.
An occasional yellow leaf should not cause too much concern, but many yellow leaves signal danger for your plant.
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Why Golden Pothos Leaves Turn Yellow?
Your golden pothos leaves turned yellow because it received too much or too little water. It also may have contracted a disease or received too much sunshine. You can return it to its green glory by watering appropriately and treating any diseases present.
Yellowing on Golden Pothos Leaves: What Causes It
If you watered your Golden Pothos too much, you can simply reduce the moisture by repotting it with fresh potting soil in the same container.
If you examine the plant and find root rot on top of the yellow leaves, you should un-pot it, then re-pot it in a larger container with drainage slots and a water tray beneath it.
Use potting soil that retains moisture but drains well. This way, when you water it, it retains needed moisture but does not become overburdened with water.
Since these plants remain privy to root rot, soggy conditions can nearly kill them. If you have your golden Pothos planted outside, beware that heavy rains can hurt it.
This stops the plant from being able to breathe and feed properly. It won’t just turn yellow; it will wilt and take on a completely unhealthy appearance. The leaves might also develop brown spots.
Test the soil with your finger. Does it feel moist? If so, then it has enough water.
If it feels dry, then you need to water it. Give your pothos a drink of water.
Using a spray bottle to mist it provides the best method. This feeds the leaves directly. You can mist the soil to provide it with the appropriate amount.
It is easy to overdo it if you use a watering can. You should only water this plant when its soil becomes completely dry.
The pothos can suffer from yellow leaves if it receives too much sunlight. You might think this would just encourage evapotranspiration, but no.
It causes the leaves to yellow. Think of it as overworking them.
You can move the lovely potted pothos to a shadier location where they will only get the indirect sunlight it desires. If you can bring it inside, do so. You can perfectly control its climate that way.
As pretty as pothos is, it can suffer the pathos of diseases. Examine it for fungal diseases.
Prune off the yellow leaves, so the plant has less work to do to remain green. This helps it re-green quickly.
Saving Your Golden Pothos
Let’s say you tried your most obvious problem fix from above. It failed and your plant’s leaves are still yellow.
No problem. You need to repot your plant and give it a full examination in the process.
Carefully unpot the plant. Slip it out of its container by placing it on its side and loosening the dirt pack by tapping or squeezing the sides of the container.
Slide it out completely and hold it by the edges of the top of the root’s dirt package.
Tap the dirt from around the roots. You need to reveal them to examine them. Your plant’s roots should appear white if healthy.
They should not have yellow or brown tips or streaks. Also, if you see black roots, If the roots are mushy, have to go.
If you see either of those colors on its roots, trim the bad parts using sterilized pruning shears. It is probably bacterial root rot or Pythium root rot.
Prepare a larger pot than your pothos had. Make sure the golden pothos’ new pot comes with drain holes and a water tray beneath. Fill this with a peat-based potting mixture.
Pothos do not like regular dirt. In nature, they grow up the side of a tree or twine around branches.
They grow in humid environments, so the next step is to find a spot indoors that you can climate control.
Your pretty pothos needs a recovery room with 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius).
It can go as high as 70 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit (21-23 degrees Celsius)., but it would prefer a constant temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This is close to its native conditions.
Set up a humidifier to keep the room at about 70 percent relative humidity. This helps it retain just the right water amount.
Next, you give it two weeks to recover in ideal indirect sunlight. Make sure your golden pothos has a shady spot indoors.
After two weeks, you can feed it a tiny bit of fertilizer. It won’t need much.
Feeding it too much causes the same yellowing problem, so follow the package directions carefully. By now, your pothos probably looks rather normal.
Frequently Asked Questions about Why Golden Pothos Leaves Turn Yellow
Can fertilizing adversely affect a pothos’ health?
These plants really only need one application per season at the beginning of spring. Find a lower sodium fertilizer since too much salt in the soil can pull moisture away from the plant’s roots and that results in a thirsty pothos with yellow leaves.
Why do you see leaves curling when they yellow?
When the leaves curl, the golden pothos signal that it entered water conservation mode. It wants to keep its little water and curling its leaves helps it do this. You should water your poor pothos. It is really thirsty.
Conclusion
Yellow leaves aren’t a cause for worry, since you can easily reverse the situation by determining its cause and implementing a quick fix.
Prune the yellow leaves off and change the watering schedule or its soil to start saving your pothos plant.
Daniel has been a plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He owns hundreds of houseplants and prepares for the chili growing seasons yearly with great anticipation. His favorite plants are plant species in the Araceae family, such as Monstera, Philodendron, and Anthurium. He also loves gardening and is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, and many more vegetables.