Pothos
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called Ceylon creeper, devil's ivy, Devil's Vine, Golden Pothos, hunter's robe, Ivy Arum, Joseph's coat, Marble Queen and Taro Vine.
Pothos is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Insoluble calcium oxalates. Clinical signs: Oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting (not horses), difficulty swallowing. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Insoluble calcium oxalates. Clinical signs: Oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting (not horses), difficulty swallowing. ASPCA
- Toxic to people. People and pets: harmful when eaten; irritates skin and eyes. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Low light 100 fcClemson Extension · read 11 September 2026Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 11 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °CRHS · read 11 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- People and pets: harmful when eaten; irritates skin and eyes. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 11 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Brown brittle margins with a green centre
The pothos shows browning on many leaf blades at once, all at the margin, with no spots or soft patches anywhere.
Leaf margins are the end of the water supply, so they are the first tissue to run short when the air takes more than the roots can send. Penn State Extension cites 30% to 60% as the recommended indoor range, and a heated room in winter sits below it.
Telling it apart: Look at the pot rim and the soil surface. A white crust points at a build-up from tap water or feed rather than at the air. Penn State also reports misting and pebble trays do little to the humidity around a plant.
Penn State ExtensionPothos brown leaf tips and edges: causes- The vine leans hard toward the window
A pothos reaches. Stems extend between leaf blades, and the newest growth is the palest thing on the plant while older leaf blades hold their colour.
Its source places it in low light. In less light than that the plant cannot fund full-sized leaf blades, so it makes smaller ones and spends the difference on stem.
Telling it apart: Whether it leans. A plant reaching for a window is answering a light question, and it leans before it pales.
Clemson ExtensionDiagnose leggy growth on this Pothos- Yellowing that begins at the leaves nearest the soil
Yellow spreads upward through the pothos a few leaf blades at a time, and the compost darkens and stays cold to the touch.
Its source describes soil that is moist but well-drained. Roots held below that are short of air, and roots short of air stop moving water, so the vine wilts in a wet pot.
Telling it apart: Whether new growth is affected too. Root damage shows up everywhere at once; ordinary leaf loss shows only in the oldest leaves.
RHSPothos leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Pothos.
Routine care
- Watering
- Raise humidity with a humidifier or a tray of wet pebbles under the container, and water once the well-drained potting mix has dried. Vines root readily in water.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- Feed every two months, except in winter while the plant is dormant.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Stem cuttingsNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026In spring or summer, take leaf-bud or stem tip cuttings, or layer.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Cut stems back to keep the plant bushy.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by banded greenhouse thrips.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Usually free of pests and diseases.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Epipremnum aureum is a species in the arum family Araceae, native to Mo'orea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The species is a popular houseplant in temperate regions, but has also become naturalised in tropical and sub-tropical forests worldwide, including northern South Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, Indian subcontinent, the Pacific Islands and the West Indies, where it has caused severe ecological damage in some cases.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Society Is. (Mo'orea)World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Society IslandsNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Society IslandsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- wet tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- climberWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Ground Cover, Herbaceous Perennial, Vine; habit climbing, creeping, spreadingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Climbing, Trailing (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 6–8 in; width 156–480 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 4-8 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 10–20 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow, green, purple/lavenderNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers green in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Pothos
Other Epipremnum
More of the Araceae family
Arrowhead plantEdges of the leaf blades brown while the middle stays sound
Calla lilyEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
Dumb caneLeaf tips go crisp and brown
Elephant earCrisp margins that appear in winter
Flamingo flowerBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Heartleaf philodendronA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Plants with similar care
Sources
- ASPCA · read 11 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 11 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 11 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.