A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Leggy pothos

I am trying to help my mother-in-laws pothos. It is very long with leaves pretty much on the bottom. There are very long stems until the leaves. I am wondering if I should trim all of it and try to root some of the stems or if there is something else I can do. Thanks for the help

That's exactly what I would do. Cut the leggy part of the stems off & root them in water (for a head start). They'll also root if you want to stick them back down in the soil, but it'll be faster if they have some root on them first. Remember that Pothos do lose leaves, so don't have your stem very long to begin with... & don't let any leaves sit in the water, because they'll rot.

I have Golden pothos at my job that no-one was taking care of and they were also very leggy. I did exactly what Patty is suggesting and they have come back very nicely and I have gotten a few new plants from the cuttings. So go ahead and trim it back.

Myrna

They root like CRAZY in water...in fact I keep a few in water ALL the time. and they grow like crazy! I have no idea how many cuttings I've given from my plants, and I STILL have to have 3 different pots to keep it all.

I supose I COULD get a bigger pot!...nah... they're easier to give away when they're already rooted in a pot.

when i root mine I have been making new pots with them. How many should I put in a pot? Should I make very full. I had put just a couple in a small pot but it looked sad. So i was thinking I should put more in each pot? Is there any harm in this idea?

Pothos don't branch out like other plants so if you start with only one or two cuttings in the pot, that's all you'll ever have. Densely pot several plugs (3-4 rooted cuttings into each hole) and prune regularly to maintain a compact look. A leggy stem won't reverse itself so go ahead and trim it back.

Thank you Cricket, I will combine some of the little plants I have started. I only put a couple of legs in the pots, and I left them a little leggy so I will change this now.