Need help with Golden Pothos

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Hello everyone,

I have somewhat recently acquired a '2nd hand' Golden Pothos that was made to climb a coconut hair pole. It grows like crazy and, because this is one of my first plants and I have never before cared for any myself, I didn't really know what to do with the vines. I just kept tucking them away in between the others without trimming, and it has gotten really messy-looking as a result. I have just now untangled the vines, and some are up to 10m/32 feet long, with only about a third of each vine holding leaves.

I want to grow it up the pole and keep the vines no longer than needed to reach the top of the pole, so as to make it bushy rather than leggy and messy. But if I do this now, I will cut off about 95% of the leaves. What remains are vines that have been fastened to the pole and have become rather ugly: they are thick and have become stem- or bamboo-like. The longer vines containing leaves are run-offs of these 'stems'. Also, a few individual leaves have shot from these 'stems'.

Now for some concrete questions: can i just cut off all the vines that are too long? Will the 'stems' grow back enough leaves to produce a full plant and cover themselves? Or should I wind the long vines around the pole? Or perhaps get rid of the whole thing and just start all over again with some cuttings?

Thanks for reading!

Kind regards,

Noah

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

MrBlubs
6 years ago
Usually when you cut off part of the vine, a new one grows right at the node of the cut. And sometimes 2 will sprout or some further down, but it's usually just the one at the cut.

Do you have a picture? Seems like it would be quite an impressive plant.

Based on what you said, I'd either wrap the vines around the bare stems or cut the vines a couple of inches down from the top of the pole and root the cuttings in the same pot.

That way the 'main' vines are still there and will sprout new growth from the top and then the cuttings can grow up and cover the bare stems.

It's best to do major pruning when the plants are actively growing such as in June (in North America), but I'm sure a pothos could handle it.
janejane12345 thanked MrBlubs
janejane12345
Original Author
6 years ago
Untangled vines (Don't look untangled, I know, but they are.)

I realise now that my astonishment at untangling this plant and my haste to post about it have caused me to overestimated the length of the vines. Having just measured one crudely, I can say the longest one is about 7m/23 feet.

This is what they were wound about.

I'm thinking now that I'll repot the whole thing (I just found out that roots are coming out from underneath the pot big-time) and start as you have described, MrBlubs: with the longer/newer vines cut off and replanted in the same soil.
Related Discussions
Question about new leaves on a golden pothos
Q
Comments (2)
Deleted duplicate post. This post was edited by susanzone5 on Thu, Feb 6, 14 at 18:29
...See More
HELP!!! Golden Pothos Plant Question
Q
Comments (1)
You need to get it out of the miracle gro moisture control soil. That is the only Miracle Gro I have ever had trouble with.
...See More
Golden pothos help!
Q
Comments (5)
Are they dormant root buds? Sounds like that's what they are. A picture will confirm.
...See More
Help! Golden pothos leaves are turning brown/yellow
Q
Comments (9)
Sorry Annabelle, It's easy for tags to be switched btwn pots. Also sometimes their tags are just wrong, it this case they appear to have been switched. Here's some Golden Pothos (Epipremnum), that I grow in water. But my Pothos growing in soil get watered every 7-10 days or so, I think yours MAY be underwatered. Yours is some variation whose name I forget. Something about Joy or Cream in the name. Let's allow some time for others to chime in, someone here will know. In the meantime, I'd try watering a bit more often & water well, 'til some comes out the bottom.
...See More
Danielle N
6 years ago
Hello, Pothod root very easily. I would wait until the start of summer to take cuttings and restart. I would take the best looking sections at the end of the growth. If some of the vines are ugly I would cut them away. If there are bare patches in the pot you could plant the cuttings you took from the ends back in the soil. Longer cut pieces 8"or more seem to root better. Cuttings also root really easy in water and look pretty. Hope that helps.
janejane12345 thanked Danielle N