How to Propagate Pothos in Water
If you have never propagated a plant before, start with pothos. It is the most willing plant we know. Cut a piece of vine, stand it in water, and within a few weeks you will see roots. It costs nothing, it is satisfying to watch, and it turns one plant into several. It is also the best fix for a pothos that has grown long and bare at the top.
What you need
- A healthy pothos with some long vines.
- Clean, sharp scissors.
- A glass, jar or small vase. Clear glass lets you watch the roots form.
- Room-temperature tap water.
Any variety of pothos works the same way. If you do not have a plant yet, our golden pothos is grown from cuttings taken exactly like this.
Step 1: Find the nodes
Look closely at a pothos vine and you will see small bumps along the stem, just where each leaf joins it. These are nodes, and they are where new roots grow. Many will already have a little brown nub, an aerial root waiting for a chance to grow. A cutting without a node will not root, however long you leave it in water.
Step 2: Take the cutting
Choose a healthy vine and cut just below a node. A good cutting is four to six inches long with three or four leaves. You can cut a long vine into several pieces, as long as each one has at least one node and one leaf. Spring and summer give the fastest results, but pothos will root at almost any time of year in a warm room.
Step 3: Prepare it
Remove the leaf closest to the cut end, so the node beneath it is bare. That node will sit under water, and a leaf left submerged will rot and foul the water.
Step 4: Put it in water
Stand the cutting in the glass so the bare node, and ideally a second one, is under water and the remaining leaves are above it. Several cuttings can share one glass.
Step 5: Find the right spot
Place the glass somewhere bright but out of direct sun. Pothos does well in low light as a grown plant, but cuttings root faster with more light. Direct sun heats the water and encourages algae.
Step 6: Change the water
Replace the water every few days, or as soon as it looks cloudy. Fresh water carries more oxygen, which the new roots need, and it stops bacteria building up. Rinse the glass if it develops a green film.
Step 7: Wait for roots
You should see small white roots emerging from the nodes within one to three weeks. Let them grow until they are one to two inches long and have started to branch, usually after four to six weeks. There is no rush. Pothos can live in water for months, but cuttings moved to soil sooner adapt more easily than ones left in water for a very long time.
Step 8: Pot them up
Plant several rooted cuttings together in one small pot with a drainage hole, using a light, airy potting mix. Three or four cuttings make a much fuller plant than one. Water well, and for the first couple of weeks keep the soil a little moister than you would for an established pothos, since water roots take time to adjust to soil. After that, let the top inch of soil dry between waterings as usual.
Troubleshooting
- No roots after a month: check that each cutting has a node under water, and move the glass somewhere brighter and warmer.
- A slimy or black stem: the cutting has rotted. Cut above the soft part, below a healthy node, and start again with fresh water.
- Yellow leaves on the cutting: usually one old leaf being used up as the cutting roots. If several turn yellow, change the water more often.
Beyond pothos
Once you have rooted a pothos, you will want to try other plants. Many vining plants, such as philodendrons and tradescantia, root in water the same way. Others need different methods: snake plants can be propagated from leaf cuttings pushed into gritty soil, and clumping plants are easier to divide. Our propagation guide covers each method and which plants it suits.
And when your pothos vines get long again, as they will, you will know exactly what to do with them.