Deleted duplicate post. This post was edited by susanzone5 on Thu, Feb 6, 14 at 18:29

It's common for the leaves of some plants to tear as they unfurl if relative humidity is low. USUALLY, dorms are very low in RH. Might that be the case in your room? MG potting soil is very water retentive ...... to such a degree that they are best used with one or more work-arounds to mitigate the impact of excess water retention. Your digital devices (fingers) aren't as good at determining when it's time to water as a wooden "tell" would be. Moisture levels deep in the pot are what determines whether it's to water or withhold water. I just left the following on another post here at houseplants, you might find it interesting. Rather than check soil moisture levels with a digital device (a finger), it would be better to use a "tell" made from a 1/4 or 5/16" wooden dowel rod. They can be had from any hardware or home improvement store for 50-75 cents. Buy one 48" long, cut it into 2-24" pieces, and sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener. To use, push the dowel deep into the soil, as in all the way to the bottom. Pull it out, inspect the tip. If it's wet or stained dark from water and whatever's suspended in the soil solution, withhold water until it comes out nearly dry. If you check the top couple of inches of soil with a finger, and your finger reads "DRY", whatever is beneath the depth you can reach with a finger can be 100% saturated, which is decidedly bad for whatever plant is in the pot. From something I left on another thread about using a "tell": Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. None of the plants in the Ficus genus is particularly difficult to keep happy. As with all plants, soil choice is very important. Beyond that, they want LOTS of light, a warm spot free from cold drafts, and a nutritional supplementation plan that can be hit and miss if you can't water appropriately because of an overly water-retentive medium, or monkey easy if you're using a good soil or even a middling soil with work-arounds in place. Al

I bought a golden pothos last weekend at my local Home Depot. This is my first pothos plant so I’m not sure what is normal and what is not. When I brought it home I noticed some of the leaves had tiny red specks on them, and others had brown spots. This morning I took a look at it and some of the leaves have holes in them, and some look like a critter has been munching on them. Those leaves have a brown edge, so I think those are old leaf injuries? I looked around in the pot but I didn’t see any bugs. Does someone know what could have caused the holes? Are the brown spots and red specks normal?

I tend to agree. If you can repot into just slightly damp soil, cutting off blackened and damaged root, you might be able to save it--I've managed with my pothos and it's now very happy many years later. Nowadays, I water my pothos "when I remember," which is usually when I notice it's wilted. Rather wilted. Once every ten days tops, with the plant receiving bright, filtered light through a paper shade and a southeastern window, and occasional southeastern sunlight if I have the window shade open (spring and fall, sometimes, winter, often). If you can't repot it with fresh soil, this is...not canonical, but sometimes works. Lift the plant. Shake off the soil into the pot and the towel/paper you put the pot on. Cut away black/dead roots and some healthy root around that to get ahead of the damage. Take the existing soil and microwave it until it's steaming hot. We're talking boiling. Spread the soil and let it cool and dry a bit--the plant will be just fine as long as it's inside or in shade for the time being, pothos are tough. Repot in the old, now sterilized and somewhat drier soil. Don't water the new plant until the soil is rather dry. Yeah, sounds crazy, but I've done it. :-) If all else fails, take 6" trimmings off your old pothos and root them in water. Bingo, new pothos! Start in a fresh, new pot with fresh potting soil (the old pot is fine, just sterilize it with a 1 part bleach to 10 parts water solution. Throw out the old soil). Use a light, airy potting soil that dries quickly.