Before and after of Cascading Pothos getting a good watering.

Why is my plant so droopy?

Noticed your plant’s leaves and vines looking extra droopy? Your plant is most likely very thirsty! Plants tend to droop when they’re thirsty due to the way they distribute water from roots to leaves. If the roots aren’t getting enough water, maintaining the ideal water pressure in the rest of the plant becomes very difficult, and the leaves droop or wilt.

While this is a common occurrence in many different plant varities, some of the most notable are Calatheas (who’s leaves will also curl when underwatered), Pothos (pictured above), Fiddle Leaf Figs and Peace Lilies.

How to revive droopy plants

The good news about droopy plants is that they are generally very easy to fix (and much easier to fix than a plant that has been overwatered). Here's how to get it looking perky and happy within hours:

1. Remove plant from its decorative planter and submerge the bottom of the nursery pot in a bucket filled with 2 inches of water. If your plant is potted directly in a planter with drainage hole, you can skip this step and place your plant with its pot in water.

2. Leave the plant for a few hours or up to a full day to soak up the water. It will either drink all the water from the bottom-up, or if there’s still water remaining, remove it and let it drain out before returning to its decorative planter.

3. Within 2 to 24 hours, come back and see your plant lush and full of life!

This method of watering is called bottom watering, and you can read our full guide on how to deeply water here.

Which plants will benefit from this technique?

Literally any thirsty plant! But you will find some are much more showy about it than others. Plants like Fiddle Leaf Figs, Calatheas, Peace Lilies, Rubber Trees, Pothos tend to droop more than others when thirsty, and their rebound will undoubtedly be very dramatic. Try it at home to bring life and lushness back to your thirsty plants!

---

Cascading Pothos

A popular, attractive, and truly easy-care plant, the Cascading Pothos has smooth and leathery heart-shaped leaves. They adapt easily to all environments and will grow quickly with minimal care, a perfect addition to refine any desk or shelf.

SHOP NOW

The N’Joy Pothos enjoying a refreshing summer drink!

While ACs so pleasantly cool down our indoor spaces, they also remove warmth and humidity that our plants need and crave. Most indoor plants prefer temperatures between 65-75ºF, any extremes above or below can affect your plant's happiness and health. In addition to balmy temperatures, many common houseplants hail from tropical regions where humidity is not lacking, and unfortunately, air conditioning is the nemesis of good humidity! Follow these easy steps to keep your plants happy and healthy all summer long!

• Air drafts - check for chilly air blowing directly on your plant. Consider temporarily moving your plant to a new spot or another room to protect it from the drastic changes in temperature.

• Humidity - offset the dry air created by air conditioners and bring some humidity back to your plant by regularly misting its leaves when the air feels dry.

• Watering - dry air also causes your plants to be thirsty and drink more water. Check the soil more frequently for potential changes in its watering schedule.

Look out for fading or wilting leaves as this may be a sign of a plant's unhappiness with its conditions. You can safely remove these leaves by clipping them close to the root, and follow the steps above to re-balance its comfort. Seeing other signs of the summer blues? Check out our full post on what to look out for when temps start to rise.

---

The Pothos Collection

From the Cascading Pothos to the N’Joy Pothos, discover our full collection of lush and trailing Pothos.

SHOP NOW

The Cascading Pothos, also known as simply Pothos or Devil’s Ivy, is one of the easiest plants out there to care for, and a great plant for beginners. Learn the basics of Pothos plant care including light requirements, watering frequency, and how to troubleshoot common problems you may encounter along the way.

How much light does a Pothos need?

Pothos prefer bright indirect light, though they can easily survive in low-light environments. Keep your plant out of harsh direct sunlight as their leaves will quickly burn.

How to water your Pothos

Let your plant dry out between waterings. Water thoroughly when topsoil is dry, usually once a week.

• Avoid overwatering, and note that your watering schedule may be less frequent during winter months or if the plant is getting little light.

How fast does a Pothos grow?

In prime conditions, the Pothos is an incredibly fast grower and its tendrils can grow over 10 feet long! Fertilize your plant 1-2 times per month in the spring and summer with indoor plant food, or foliar feed year round.

Pothos leaves turning yellow

Are your Pothos’ leaves yellow? Pothos have many leaves and if it’s just one or two and the rest of the plant looks healthy, most likely those leaves are just on their way out. You should be able to easily pluck them off. This is totally normal and nothing to worry about!

If you notice many yellow leaves on your Pothos, it could be a sign of overwatering. Check the soil and make sure it dries out before watering again.

Pothos leaves wilting or drooping

If your Pothos looks droopy or the leaves are wilting, most likely your plant is under-watered. This is easy to check by simply touching the soil, or checking the weight of the plant (lift it up— does it feel very light? If so, it needs a good drink!). Sometimes Pothos become so dry that when you water it, the water just drains right through. If this seems to be the case, let your plant sit in water for a few hours (no more than one day) to drink as much as it needs from the bottom up.

RESTORATIVE PLANT CARE ESSENTIALS

Keep your (plant’s) medicine cabinet fully stocked. Our complete set of natural vitamins and pest solutions is the ultimate curative remedy for plants undergoing stress due to common ailments such as fungus or infestation.

Heal Your Pothos

Shop the Cascading Pothos at leonandgeorge.com

How to maintain a beautiful and healthy Pothos

Take care of your Pothos and it will take care of you! Below are simple tips to continue caring for your Pothos over time.

• Pruning your pothos - Remove yellow leaves all year round, and prune often if you’d like a fuller, bushier look. Simply cut the tendrils just below the node.

• Cleaning your pothos - With so much foliage, the Pothos can be annoying to clean! Mist regularly to keep dust off, and once ever few months use a damp cloth to clean each leaf and reveal a healthy shine (also helps the plant soak in more light!).

• Repotting your pothos - Houseplants grow much slower than they would in the wild. Depending on the size of your plant and the density of the roots, this is nice to do every 2-3 years to provide fresh nutrients and encourage new growth.

  • When to repot - Pothos are incredibly hardy plants and can live in the same pot for years. If you want your Pothos to grow very large, repot every 2-3 years.

  • Pot sizing - if you want your plant to grow bushier, find a nursery pot that’s 2” in diameter larger than the current pot. If you want your plant to stay the same height, you can reuse the same pot and simply change the soil.

  • Get your hands dirty - spread out newspaper on the floor, remove the plant from the pot and shake off as much of the old soil as possible so that you have clean roots. Place the plant in the center of the pot, add new soil and pat down firmly. Water the soil thoroughly and place the plant in an area with bright indirect light. Your plant will take 2-4 weeks to settle from the shock and adjust to its new home.

• Staking your pothos - Some Pothos owners like to stake their plant to encourage vertical growth. You can do this by simply inserting a moss totem and attaching the stems of the plant to it with prongs.

Shop the Cascading Pothos at leonandgeorge.com

How to propagate a Pothos

Whether you want to recycle your Pothos cuttings after pruning or you simply want to create a new plant, know that the Pothos, thanks to its aerial roots, is one of the easiest plants to propagate. Though there are many ways to do this, water propagation is generally the easiest way to go about it. Follow these instructions to propagate your Pothos:

• Select a stem to propagate - Using a clean blade, cut an inch or two below an aerial root. You don’t have to propagate with an aerial root, but this is a guaranteed way of propagation success!

• Place in water - Find a clear glass and fill with water. Make sure only the stem is submerged, and no leaves are sitting in the water.

• Place in a bright area and wait! - Avoid any direct sun. It usually takes just a week or so for the root to start growing.

• Transfer to soil - After a couple weeks, transfer to indoor potting soil. A small pot is best — no larger than 6” in diameter.

• Keep hydrated - During the first few weeks, or until your plant feels firmly rooted in its soil, regularly water and drain your new Pothos. The soil should be just barely moist to the touch at all times until the plant is thoroughly rooted in the soil, at which point you can water every time the soil dries out.

Illustrations by our talented plant stylist, Kailie Barnes.

---

Cascading Pothos

A popular, attractive, and truly easy-care plant, the Cascading Pothos has smooth and leathery heart-shaped leaves and is adaptable to virtually any environment.

SHOP NOW

The Cascading Pothos (epipremnum aureum), also known as the Devil’s Ivy, has a well-deserved reputation as the easiest houseplant to own. With very little care, this plant develops long vining stems (that can grow up to 10 feet long!) with leaves that unfurl open and grow larger over time. Read why our plant stylists recommend this plant time and again for beginners just starting out!

1. They’re not picky about light

   Though the Pothos grows best in bright light, it can survive even in dark corners of a home or office, so even if you aren’t sure what light your space has, you can bet this plant will be just fine!

2. They’re fast growers

   The Pothos is one of the fastest growing plants out there and will give new plant parents instant gratification. With plenty of bright indirect light, this plant will constantly sprout new leaves on its vines, and can grow over 10 feet long!

3. They’re easy to style

   Some plants require extra maintenance to keep them looking as good as the day you bought them. The Pothos is not one of them, and like other trailing plants, it simply grows in a beautiful shape on its own. However, for those of us who want to get creative, pinning up the vines or styling them on a bookshelf is an easy way to make it a bit more unique to the space!

4. They’re communicative

   This plant isn’t just easy to care for (it is so indestructible that it has earned the nickname “Devil’s Ivy” because of its hardiness). Even in the worst cases of neglect, the plant will communicate its thirst by heavily drooping, only to spring back to life once it’s watered.

5. They’re great air-purifiers

   This plant is not only beautiful and lush: it is also a terrific air purifier that filters our indoor toxins like formaldehyde and benzene from the air. That means that, while beautifying any space, they are also doing their part to clean the air!

Want to try a Pothos for yourself? The lush, leather-like leaves of the Pothos come in all sorts of colors and varieties, like the N’Joy Pothos or Jade Pothos. Check out this plant and more on our easy-care plant section, and remember that you’ll have help along the way — all Léon & George plant purchases come with lifetime access to plant care support!

---

Indoor plants, potted & delivered

Premium plants paired with stylish ceramics, plus lifetime plant care support. Each purchase plants one tree in a US national forest. Order online at leonandgeorge.com

SHOP NOW

A fast grower that's easy to care for, the Pothos is known as the perfect plant for beginner green thumbs. Here are the most common characteristics that might cause new pothos parents worry. 

Yellow & brown leaves

Finding the right light/water balance for pothos is as easy as it gets in the houseplant world. Yellow leaves = too much water, brown leaves = too little. Snip off any discolored leaves, adjust your watering amount, and your plant should make a full recovery.

Limping

If the vines are looking limp and less perky, your plant may not be retaining the water it needs. Soak the bottom of the plant in an inch of water, allowing it to drink through the holes in the bottom of its pot. Within 24-36 hours you should see the vines perk back up with life and fullness. 

Slow growth

While the pothos can sustain lower light areas, it won't grow as fast, and in some cases not at all, without proper light. If you're aiming for that sweet jungalow look with vines that can trail up to 10ft in length, keep your pothos in a room with bright indirect light. 

Varieties of Pothos

Available in a range of colors and patterns, keep in mind that the variegated species with touches of yellow and cream grow slower and need more light than their fully green cousins. The green surfaces of the leaves are responsible for photosynthesis and if there's less green covering the leaf area, more sunlight is needed to keep your plant looking its best.

Here are some of the most popular varieties of Pothos:

• Cascading Pothos

• Jade Pothos

• N’Joy Pothos

• Marble Queen Pothos

• Golden Pothos

• Neon Pothos

• Silver Satin Pothos

• Manjula Pothos

• Glacier Pothos

• Hawaiian Pothos

• Snow Queen Pothos

• Jessenia Pothos

• Silver Splash Pothos
  

---

THE CASCADING POTHOS

Gorgeously potted and delivered straight to your door, plus lifetime Plant Doctor support. Order online at leonandgeorge.com

SHOP NOW