pothos limp & droopy

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by moonlitpath, Feb 28, 2008.

  1. moonlitpath

    moonlitpath Active Member

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    My pothos has been limp and droopy for the past week or 2. Does anyone know why its like that? I watered it because the soil was dry and that didn't seem to help. I even moved it cuz it was 5 feet from an air vent, but that didn't help either.

    Any suggestions??

    *moonlitpath*
     
  2. Marn

    Marn Active Member 10 Years

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    Do you have it near some sun ??
    how long had it been since you watered it before you did this last time ??
    It maybe still to dry near the center.. stick your finger down in the dirt near the base of the plant .. if the dirt is still dry then water again ..

    Pothos are a pretty hardy plant and they usually dont just go down .

    good luck ..

    Marion
     
  3. moonlitpath

    moonlitpath Active Member

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    No it wasn't by any sun.

    It was maybe 2-3 weeks I didn't water it. So I watered it a week ago with bottled water. And then a couple of days ago the soil was really dry again so yesterday I rewatered it.

    How much sunlight does this plant like? I moved it yesterday so I can keep a closer eye on it. I checked for bugs and nothing came up. So I really don't know why its become so limp and droopy.

    Thank you, Marn!!


    *moonlitpath*
     
  4. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    pothos does okay in shady spots. it will do much, much better if it gets some bright indirect light. even direct light will be okay as long as it's not all day long.

    they should be watered every 7-10 days. always check the soil, as marion said, first. if it's still moist, wait a day or two and check again. water thoroughly if the soil is on the dry side.

    they also like to climb, so putting some kind of trellis or piece of wood in the pot so that it can grow up it would make the plant happy. leaving the vines to trail is okay too - they tend to lose the leaves when left like that (as i learned recently). i got mine up on a support pole and the leaves are filling in on the bare spots again...
     
  5. Rhynno

    Rhynno Active Member

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    As Marn suggested it's possible that the soil in the centre isn't taking up the water. You might have to immerse the pot in water for a while so as to get the whole of it to take up water. I've had this happen when I haven't watered a plant in a week or two or if the soil isn't good quality. My sister's pothos was a pain for a long time until it recently decided that it liked her--I haven't had this happen myself but it's possible that they're tempermental when their growing conditions change suddenly like when you first bring them home (like a ficus or jade etc).

    Best of luck.
     
  6. moonlitpath

    moonlitpath Active Member

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    oh ok!! That sounds easy enough! I did move it to a little bit more sunnier spot than where it used to be, hoping that would work. I'll repost and let you guys know how my poor pothos is doing!!

    Thank you so vey much Rhynno, Marn & Joclyn!!

    p.s. i use miracle grow soil with miracle grow perlite .. is this good?

    *moonlitpath*
     
  7. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    that soil should be okay for now. next time, i'd repot with something that doesn't have fertilizer already added in (miraclegro always has fert in it). some plants don't need it all the time - the pothos should be okay with it though.

    i use a mix of regular plain potting soil and prepackaged cactus soil or prepack cactus soil and prepack orchid mix. depends on the plant which mix i use. perlite or even broken up foam shipping pellets add spaces in the soil for air movement as well as keeping the soil from becoming compacted - so what you're using will do okay.

    the regular potting soil will tend to hold moisture (and even more so if it's the 'moisture retaining' type they now offer), so be sure and check that soil before adding more water!! hold off if you feel moisture in the soil around the edges of the pot. if that's dry and around the roots still has a little moisture, time to water.

    setting the pot in a container and filling with water and then letting the water be soaked up into the soil is a very good way of watering thoroughly. and basically a must-do if the soil has been allowed to dry out too much. when the soil gets too dried out, when you water it, the water basically runs straight through without doing anything for the plant. so, get it all rehydrated and then go from there.

    most of my plants are watered from below all the time - regardless of whether it's by necessity/needs for the plant or not. i've found that it's just a better way to water.
     
  8. Bluewing

    Bluewing Well-Known Member

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    Your pothos problem does sound water related. Maybe too much peat if it's drying out so fast, if so, using better soil and perlite mixed in for good drainage, or, it's just not being watered enough to get the entire rootball wet.
     
  9. moonlitpath

    moonlitpath Active Member

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    I'm sitting here looking at my poor plant and something just dawned on me! The pothos that I have are actually 2 cuttings I got from my sister. Thing is ... I have them planted in a 6" pot. So my question is ... do pothos like to be root bound?

    I actually have 4 more cuttings from the same plant waiting to be transplanted. I was going to put it all in the same pot. I have the 4 cutting right now in a vase with water. I wanted to wait to find out what was wrong with the plant 1st before putting them all together in the same pot.

    So do you think, that may be the problem??

    *moonlitpath*
     
  10. Bluewing

    Bluewing Well-Known Member

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    Yes, you want to keep them snug, or on the rootbound side in the pot. A 6" pot seems too big for pothos skinny stems, even for 6 cuttings. The two wilty ones in the pot now are probably waterlogged, not taking up any water, especially if the soil has been watered and is moist or wet now. I might try using a 3" pot for all the cuttings with a and good soil mixed with 1/3 perlite.
     
  11. Marn

    Marn Active Member 10 Years

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    Did you just recently plant these cuttings into the pot ???... if you did you may have an air pocket around the roots/stems ... I would give the pot a couple of good taps on the floor or hard surface to knock all the dirt down in and around the roots .. when this happens the plant wont grow or take up anything .. I had this happen to my pothos when i repotted it and couldnt understand why it wasnt growing ... untill i stuck my hand down in the dirt to take a chunk of the plant out for a trade and noticed there was a big pocket of air under the roots .. i gave it a good tap and it has been growing since ..

    Marion
     
  12. moonlitpath

    moonlitpath Active Member

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    Actually the cuttings have been in that pot for over a year now. But since I wanted to add at least 2 more cutting to the pot to look fuller I thought maybe I should go down in a pot to a 4" instead of the 6" pot.

    *moonlitpath*
     
  13. moonlitpath

    moonlitpath Active Member

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    So I did a little experiment 2 days ago. I cut off 2 pieces from the droopy plant and stuck the cuttings in the vase with the rest of the cuttings in water. And I was looking at them today and they're not droopy or dilcate anymore. They're more vibrant, shiney and overall more healthy looking now that they're cut and in the vase filled with water.

    So does this mean that they were lacking water?

    I'm going to repot them today in a smaller pot with a few of the other cuttings and see how well it does then.

    *moonlitpath*
     
  14. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    yes, it does sound like they weren't getting enough water! a smaller pot will help, as well as thorough waterings. you'll find that you need to water less frequently if you give the plant a good; thorough watering each time you do give it a watering.
     

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