Money Plant (Pothos)
Epipremnum aureum
Money plant is a vigorous trailing or climbing vine with heart-shaped leaves, often splashed with gold or cream. It tolerates lower light and occasional neglect, grows in soil or plain water, and can be trained up a moss pole or left to trail from a shelf.
Essential Care Requirements
Light
Bright indirect light, Low light
Watering
Moderate
Let the top 2–3 cm of soil dry before watering, then water until it drains. Drooping leaves that perk up after watering mean it was too dry; yellowing leaves in wet soil usually mean too much water.
Soil
A light, airy potting mix: potting soil or cocopeat with compost and perlite. Always use a pot with drainage holes.
Temperature and humidity
15–30 °C · Moderate humidity
Feeding
Feed with a balanced liquid fertilizer at half strength every 4–6 weeks from spring to early autumn. Skip feeding in the cooler months.
Pruning and propagation
Propagate by stem cuttings, layering
Cut leggy vines just above a leaf node to encourage branching. Root the cuttings in water and plant them back in the pot for a fuller look.
All parts contain calcium oxalate crystals. Chewing the leaves causes mouth irritation, drooling and vomiting in cats, dogs and people. Keep it out of reach of pets and small children.
Top Cultivation Tips
Variegated leaves stay brightest in bright, indirect light.
Wipe dust off the leaves every few weeks.
Keep away from cold draughts and air-conditioner vents.
Cuttings root in water in two to three weeks.
Common problems
Fertilizer burn
Brown, scorched leaf edges and damaged roots caused by too much fertilizer or a build-up of salts in the soil.
How to treat it →PestFungus gnats
Small dark flies that hover around houseplants; their larvae live in damp potting soil and can damage roots and seedlings.
How to treat it →DiseaseLow light problems
Slow, weak growth, pale or fading leaf colour and leaf drop in plants kept in a spot that is too dim for them.
How to treat it →PestMealybugs
White, cottony insects that hide in leaf joints and under leaves, weakening plants and spreading easily to neighbours.
How to treat it →DiseaseOverwatering
Too much water, or water that cannot drain away, starves roots of air and is the most common cause of houseplant death.
How to treat it →DiseaseRoot rot
Roots decay in waterlogged soil, so the plant wilts and yellows even though the soil is wet.
How to treat it →DiseaseYellow leaves
A common sign of a problem rather than a disease in itself, where leaves lose their green colour because of watering, light, nutrient or root problems.
How to treat it →
