PlantEvery pothos cutting needs at least one healthy node; keep it at 20–25 °C in bright indirect light and pot it up once roots reach 2–5 cm.
Find the node and make the cut
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) roots from its nodes: the slightly swollen points where each leaf joins the vine, usually marked by a small brown bump that is a dormant aerial root. A leaf with only its petiole will sometimes root but almost never produces a new vine, because it has no bud.
Use a clean, sharp blade and take cuttings 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long with 2–4 nodes, or cut the vine into single-node sections if you want many plants. Cut about 1 cm below a node and remove any leaf that would sit underwater or below the surface. Choose firm, green vine from a pest-free plant, not the thin, pale tips of a vine that has been hanging in dim light. The sap contains calcium oxalate crystals and pothos is listed by the ASPCA as toxic to cats and dogs, so clear up trimmings and wash your hands afterwards.
Water or substrate: choose one and commit
Both methods work. What harms cuttings is switching back and forth, because roots formed in water are structurally different from roots formed in a solid medium and must adapt once more when moved.
- Water: glass jar, nodes submerged, leaves above; change the water weekly to keep it oxygenated
- Water: roots are easy to monitor, but expect a short pause in growth after potting
- Substrate: moist perlite, sphagnum moss or a 50:50 perlite and potting mix, nodes buried 1–2 cm
- Substrate: cover loosely with a clear bag or tray lid to keep humidity high, venting daily
- Substrate: roots emerge already adapted, so the move into a pot is smoother
Conditions that speed rooting
Warmth drives root initiation. At 20–25 °C (68–77 °F) the first roots usually appear within 2–4 weeks; below about 18 °C the process slows markedly, so a spot near a heating vent is worse than a warm shelf away from drafts. A heat mat set to around 24 °C helps in winter.
Give bright indirect light, roughly 5,000–15,000 lux, with no direct midday sun, which overheats a jar of water. Do not fertilize: the cutting has no roots to take up nutrients, and salts only stress the cut surface. Rooting hormone is optional for pothos, which roots readily without it. Heavily variegated cultivars such as Marble Queen have less chlorophyll and root more slowly than green Jade.
Potting up when roots are 2–5 cm
Pot water-rooted cuttings when the roots are 2–5 cm (1–2 in) long; waiting until they form a long tangle makes the transition harder. Use an 8–10 cm (3–4 in) pot with drainage and a light, well-aerated mix, and plant three to five cuttings together if you want a full-looking plant quickly.
Set the nodes 1–2 cm below the surface and firm gently. For the first 1–2 weeks keep the mix evenly moist so water-formed roots do not desiccate, then switch to the normal pothos routine of watering when the top 2–5 cm is dry. Wait about 6 weeks before the first half-strength feed.
Troubleshooting a stalled cutting
A soft, dark or smelly stem means rot: cut back to firm, green tissue above the damage, rinse the jar and start again. One yellowing leaf while rooting is normal, since the cutting recycles nutrients from it. If nothing has rooted after 6 weeks, the usual causes are cold, low light or a node that was damaged or missing. Cloudy water signals bacteria; change it more often and use a smaller jar.
