Have you ever thought you can’t keep plants alive to save your life? Some folks swear they have a brown thumb when it comes to growing anything, outside or indoors.
We’ve all been there before- we either tried too hard or we did absolutely nothing and the walk with a dead plant to the dumpster is the closest to a walk of shame that most will experience. Here is one that will prove that you are NOT a plant killer.
The thing is, there are plants that thrive on neglect and others that need to be watered once a month or less. Start with those! The first step is building up your confidence and seeing proof that you CAN keep a plant alive. If you are looking for a houseplant that is virtually kill-proof, look no further than a pothos.
Pothos, commonly called Devil’s Ivy thanks to its vigorous growth and its penchant for bouncing back to life even in the worst conditions, is easy to care for and undemanding. It’s an easy way to add some green to your home. These plants enjoy a wide range of environments. They do well in bright indirect light as well as low light and can be grown in dry soil or in vases of water. They will thrive in nutrient-rich soil but do almost as well in nutrient-poor soil. Pothos plants make a great addition to your bathroom or office because they can tolerate low light.
While pothos likes a wide variety of light conditions, they do not do well in direct sunlight. If your pothos is highly variegated — particularly variegated with white — they may either not grow as well in low light or may lose their variegation if the light is too low. Only the green parts of the leaves can make energy for the plant, so it must be able to get enough light for energy or its growth will slow or the leaves will compensate for the lack of light by becoming more green.
Pothos is very popular due to the fact that it can be grown in water or in dry soil. Cuttings can be taken from a mother plant and rooted in water and kept in water as a houseplant. This is convenient for placing a pothos plant in hard-to-reach areas in a jug of water where it can remain untouched as long as water remains in the jug. On the opposite end, pothos can also be started in soil and will tolerate moderate periods of dry soil with little effect to the plant. Oddly enough, cuttings started in one growing medium have a hard time switching to the other. So, a pothos plant started in soil has a hard time thriving if moved to water, and a pothos cutting started in water will not do very well in soil, especially if it has spent a long period of time growing in water.
Easy Care. Pothos, whose name is Epipremnum aurem in the botanic world, do just fine in lower to medium light. The lower the light, 
the less variegation &/or color your plant will have. If you’re heavy-handed with the watering can, then you’d better change your ways. This plant needs water every 7 to 10 days, less or more depending on the temperatures, & will rot out in no time if you overdo it.
Low Light Tolerant & Durable. Pothos are one plant that can tolerate low light conditions. They’ll revert to solid green & won’t grow too much but they will live. Medium light is their sweet spot. These plants seemed to be oblivious to the recycled air & lack of circulation in offices.
Versatility. You can hang Pothos to enjoy their long stems trailing down or place them on a table, shelf or file cabinet. They are commonly found in dish gardens mixing & mingling with other plants.
Easy To Propagate. Pothos are so easy to propagate that you’ll be giving plants to your friends in no time. Simply cut off a piece of the stem anywhere from 6″ to 12″ long, strip off the lower leaves & place it in water.
Air Purification. Pothos are champions at cleaning the air. That’s right, while they’re sitting there looking pretty, Pothos are actually removing toxins from the air around them. They take in the bad & release the good!The heart-shaped leaves of pothos are beautiful. One of the reasons, besides its adaptability, is that it is a spiller. There are three golden rules in planting most containers, granted this applies to mostly outdoor containers, but you should include a thriller, a filler, and a spiller. Pothos is my favorite indoor spiller!
