Do you know how fast a pothos grows? Chances are, knowing it can put on staggering growth in any month indoors is what you made you choose it.
It’s disappointing expecting fast growth only to see it grow by a few inches. That’s the point for deeper research to find out how to make pothos grow faster.
The thing to understand with pothos plants is that they aren’t just any ordinary ivy plant. They’re tropical plants and that makes them somewhat tricky to get to grow fast.
Growing them is straightforward. They’re super easy to care for. Getting a pothos to grow fast though, that’s another matter.
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How to make pothos grow faster
Pothos grow faster when grown in hot, humid environments, under artificial grow lights, and in rich-quality potting soil. They need as many as 16 macro and micronutrients, which they can only get with a balanced fertilizer every few months. Inorganic fertilizers make them grow faster.
Grow it in soil, not water
You can grow a pothos plant in water but it won’t grow as fast as it will if you grow it with good potting soil for houseplants.
If you’ve had your pothos plant for a wee while and noticed growth is starting to slow, it may be time to repot it.
Every two to three years, pothos plants need to be repotted in a new container that’s one to two sizes bigger to give the roots room to grow. Without the extra growing room, they become rootbound causing growth to slow.
Bottom line: If you’re growing from new, grow in quality soil for houseplants that’s well-draining, in a suitably sized container with drainage holes.
For a pothos you’ve had growing a while and now noticing its growth has slowed, repot it in a bigger container.
Get the lighting conditions spot on!
Pothos ivy grows best in bright indirect sunlight. It’s extremely sensitive to direct sunlight.
Subject pothos ivy to too much direct sunlight and you’ll notice peculiar behavior.
Some leaves become almost translucent, while others take on the typical scorched look that’s always a sign of too much light and the heat from direct sunlight burning it.
If you’re struggling to maintain the delicate balancing act of high humidity, warm temperatures, and bright indirect sun, grow them in a hanging basket hung in front of your bathroom window.
Pothos is a terrific hanging plant for low-light rooms. The bathroom’s just the spot for higher humidity, just from when the shower’s running with the window closed.
Failing the bathroom hanging option, the alternative is to go with artificial grow lights to increase the number of hours of indirect bright light the plant gets.
Pothos is among the best houseplants for growing under artificial light. Combined with warm temperatures, good potting soil, and diligent plant care, you’ll find these really push the speed of growth without it becoming leggy because it has no need to stretch for light.
Grow them alongside more broadleaf plants
Ever wondered: Do houseplants increase humidity? The broadleaf ones do! The larger the surface area of the leaves, the more they transpire and that increases your room’s humidity.
It’s essentially the plants sweating. Put enough of them together in confined spaces, and you’re essentially creating a mini greenhouse atmosphere.
Popular choices for creating a sort of mini urban jungle environment in an indoor apartment building include Philodendron plants, Monstera, and the Pearls and Jade Pothos plant.
If you’re growing your pothos in a fairly big room, you can help it grow faster by growing houseplants with large leaves (like huge ones) nearby your pothos.
They help increase localized humidity rather than your entire room humidity levels.
As an FYI, if you don’t already know, the ideal conditions for pothos plant care are 70 to 90-Fahrenheit with the humidity between 50% and 70%.
They are tropical plants so higher temperatures in really humid environments are how these grow exponentially fast. But, increasing your room humidity to over 50% will make it unbearable to enjoy your plants.
Use a humidifier early on for blazingly fast growth of any tropical houseplant
The simplest way to give your pothos plant a staggeringly fast head start in life is to invest in one of the best humidifiers for houseplants.
They’re far more effective than misting, and do a terrific job at speeding up the growth rate, maintaining lush healthy foliage, and getting any tropical houseplant to grow faster.
Then it’s just a case of maintaining the plant care once it’s grown to the size and shape you want.
As these plants do need tropical levels of humidity, you’ll have an easier time if you have the space to dedicate as a grow room where the plants can grow in a super humid environment without it impacting your comfort.
Fertilize religiously every two to three months
Pothos do not need fertilizer to grow. They just grow slower without it. Think of fertilizer as a booster only. The only thing a pothos needs is well-draining quality potting soil.
Fertilizer just adds nutrients to the soil, giving it an edge to grow in faster.
How fast it grows depends on what you use.
Potted plants aren’t planted in dirt. The soil has nutrients added. Plants need as many as sixteen different chemicals to nourish them.
From boron to zinc.
Much more than the main nutrients in the soil of NPK – Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).
To get the fastest growth, fertilizer is needed. Now, if you want to stay true to organic, there’s a tradeoff of time.
Organic fertilizers take longer to work. They’re beneficial in the long term, but for fast growth in the short term, the best fertilizers for houseplants are inorganic.
Pothos don’t need much feeding though. For fast growth… warm temperatures, high humidity, and a regular fertilizer feed every few months with a balanced liquid fertilizer will have it putting on healthy growth and fast.
Frequently Asked Questions related to growing pothos faster
Why is my pothos suddenly growing slower?
When a pothos plant’s growth stunts, that’s dry roots that stunts growth. Fertilizer speeds up growth, but if it’s applied incorrectly, such as not diluting it to the right ratio, it can burn the roots, stunting plant growth. If that happens, the plant will need damaged roots pruned off.
How do I speed up growing pothos cuttings?
Propagating pothos is faster done in water. Start with a stem that’s 6 to 12-inches long with 2 to 3 nodes submerged in water. Replenish the water weekly and roots should have established within one month. When that happens, pot the cutting in soil for the plant to start growing faster.
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.