Offhand, I would say not enough light on the WJ - but if you give the WJ enough light, you run the risk of burning the pothos.

Both of these plants seem to like filtered light, but the WJ needs a lot, while the pothos needs medium - at least in my house. (WJ is in SW window, pothos is in N window, both with blinds to soften the light)

My personal preference would be to separate the plants, but doing so might insult your friend...

I've heard that it is possible to condition a pothos to take more light. Somebody else here could probably explain that better than I can.

With regard to the current legginess of your WJ, *snip, snip* and stick the cuttings back into the soil with the mother plant. This is one of the easiest rooters that I have ever come across.

HTH, if anybody has different/better ideas or more knowledge, please add & correct me!

You really do need to separate these two plants.

The WJ needs much more frequent watering than the Pothos: if you keep them together & water enough for the WJ, it's likely the overwatering will kill the Pothos (& overwatering is virtually the ONLY way one can kill a Pothos).

Hi,
I am also having a problem with my wandering jew and it's pretty much the same thing. It looks too "leggy" and there are some parts drying out. I live in northeast Florida and it's been cold lately. I did leave it outside in the cold for a little while during the day so I'm wondering if that did it. Also, can I water it too much?
Thanks,
Tricia

Yes, you can overwater. I let mine dry out before I water again - and when I water, I flood it.

I would chop off the drying parts and let it recover before trying to deal with the legginess.

Here is a link that might be useful: WJ care

My wandering jew's leaves are really curled, even the old ones seem to not uncurl. I am wondering if I did something wrong because awhile back I saved the WJ when it wasn't getting enough light by taking cuttings thinking that it would stop the curling but now its even worse and there is no beautiful purple. Should I ditch it and get a new source to start over with? Did I create some mutant Wandering Jew?
Thanks

What lighting is it in? What kind of soil? What size pot? Is it root-bound? What are your watering habits?

Any chance of posting a picture?

Redhead, You did not say how long ago your friend gave you the plant. I have potted up plants and gave them to friends. At first they do look bad. Which might be the problem. I would give the plant time to get use to it's new location and see what happens.

If you want the plant full I would break some of the ends and root them and put them in the pot.

You should separate them. Their water and light needs are too different. While the pothos can learn to take more light, it will never want as much water as the wandering jew.

my wandering jew is in a tall 8" diameter pot that is about the same in highth. It's in organic gardening soil. It's growing well, as in lots of new growth that would look normal if its leaves weren't curled. It's not root bound because the cuttings just went into new soil over a month ago and its now doubled in size at least. We water it about once a week in a southwest window, but wait for it to dry up a bit.
thoughts?

I had this problem with my plant, as well and was told that if you don't trim them back consistently, they will get bare and drop leaves at the base of the plant. Trimming them back forces them to send shoots out from the nodes closer to the base of the plant. I did this and it seemed to help, but it's never been as full as I wanted. I just recently took a ton of cuttings from it and am going to root them and plant them all back into the pot. Hopefully this will help.

Janet, you mentioned using gardening soil..is this soil for outdoor use? If so, it's much too heavy for tropicals. If you're using outdoor garden soil, you need to repot using house plant soil and other mediums..

Sak, Most WJ get spindly during winter months when daylight hours shorten..Since you have cuttings, rooting then adding in the pot will definatly make plant compact..Also, instead of trimming, why not just pinch end leaves every other month? Doing so will make a difference. WJ enjoys a sunny spot, but keep eye on soil..In summer I keep mine semi-moist..they do great hanging on awnings facing west..Good luck, Toni

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned humidity. Granted the plant definetly needs more light, it also looks like it's not humid enough for the plant. This is one plant that really needs daily misting and a shower once a week at least. The pothos would also benefit from a shower weekly.
I have a pothos sitting on the edge of my shower. I move it in the tub weekly an let my shampoo drip onto the plant and then rinse it, let it drain, and move it back. It is the most beautiful plant I've had and the only pothos I've ever had without spider mites.
High humidity is a must for Jews. I've been looking to replace my WJ, BJ, bridal veil and Moses in a cradle, all related, all requiring similar care. They will all go into the bathroom or kitchen where it's more humid.

I think I overwatered...I have a green wj and the leaves seem to turn a pale green...kinda sickly...IF i STOP watering for a period of time, will they come back or do I need to give a haircut and start over...? thanks all for your help!

I just got a very full WJ and it is very heavy. Where do I get a hanging pot that won't dump water on my floors when I water?

Can you give some cultural background so we can more easily diagnose what is happening?

You can cut it and the vines very easily reroot if you put them on top of the potting media.

If you want to avoid this look in the future, it'll need more light. They can take a fairly high amount of light but if you want to give it that much light, you'll need to slowly acclimate it to the higher levels (and avoid burns).

Thanks! Our office doesn't get great light but I still enjoy the plant. Any special instructions on the rerooting process? Does it need any soaking or burying? Or literally just set it on top of the soil? Appreciate the assistance!

No special instructions, you can bend a paper clip to keep it fastened to the potting media just be sure not to pinch the vine. Bruised plants will rot. Water it the same as you were before, it may even want less water since you've cut the vines off, it may take longer to dry out.

If you can see or feel the nodes, you can place those in contact with the potting media.

Can you get a desk lamp and put a 6500k (called "day light") rated squiggle bulb in it for the plant? Even just a 13w bulb would make a big difference. The good thing about these lights is it's much more difficult to burn the plants than with sunlight.

If you remember, please let me know how it goes!

It will look better after a pruning and some new cuttings. It doesn't look too bad for"office "conditions lol. Still able to see the purple.

I thought it should create new babies near the base of the plant..??