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Can You Keep Pothos in Water Forever? (Here is How)

You can grow pothos cuttings in water, but can you keep them growing in water as they are? The bottom line is that Pothos can stay in water cuttings forever.

Plants in water are cool and refreshing! However, if you do not maintain them, the roots will become clogged, so regular care is required. In this article, I’ll show you how to keep Pothos growing in water.

What To Prepare

  • Pothos to be hydroponically grown
  • A container for watering Pothos
  • Water (tap water is OK)
  • Liquid fertilizer

If you have Pothos, a container, and water, you can grow Pothos hydroponically; however, you will also need liquid fertilizer for healthy pothos growth.

Water, light, and nutrition are pothos’ primary needs. When you plant Pothos in the soil, it will get water and nutrients from the ground, but the earth is not necessary as long as you give the plant water, food, and light.

Take Nodes and Leaves with Cuttings

Pothos Stems with Aerial Roots in Each Node

If you look closely at a pothos, you will see that each stem has leaves and shoots, called aerial roots, on nodes at regular intervals.

However, you cannot grow Pothos hydroponically without aerial roots because roots grow from aerial roots.

Therefore, you will need at least two, and preferably three, healthy pothos nodes with leaves. While cutting, you should make your incisions just below the nodes with aerial roots.

When cutting in the water, leave one or two leaves on it to stimulate photosynthesis and growth.

How Long Does It Take To Root?

Once you have everything, you must add enough water to submerge the aerial roots.

This is less difficult than arranging flowers in a vase. Next, place the plant in an area with soft light, away from direct sunlight, and observe it.

You will know you have succeeded when the roots appear! The rooting process typically takes one to two weeks, so there is no need to worry before that. Depending on the condition of the Pothos, it could take longer.

Trim Roots To Keep Pothos In Water Cuttings Forever!

Pothos grows more roots and leaves, even from cuttings in water. This is because the roots are more crucial than the leaves when the plant matures.

If the roots become clogged, the plant will not get enough water and nutrients, and the older leaves will begin to die.

Make The Jar or Pot Bigger If You Want The Pothos To Grow Bigger

Whether you keep Pothos in water or soil, if you want them to grow faster, you should make the vase or pot bigger.

By making the vase bigger without cutting the roots, you can make the Pothos grow larger without causing the roots to clog up.

Pothos Grows Super Fast In Water

If the Pothos is put in an area with the right light, temperature, and humidity, it will grow big in a pot or the ground. For example, the Pothos below has been growing for half a year.

With only water, the vine has grown to more than 3 feet and is still growing quickly. Once it reaches this point, its growth rate accelerates, and within a week, you can see a significant difference in length.

I might grow them shorter because I want to grow many of them and take cuttings from the vines at the right time to make more Pothos. However, as seen in the photo, Pothos can grow large even with water cuttings.

Keep Pothos To Stay The Same Size But Not Lose Their Leaves

If you want to keep your Pothos in their current shape but keep the leaves from dying, you need to prune them. In particular, you should take out any roots that have become clogged.

Don’t cut the white, hard, newly grown roots. Instead, cut the soft or squishy roots and turn them brown so that the rotten or old roots are gone, and only healthier ones are left.

The amount of Roots And Leaves Is Always Balanced

Roots and leaves are always in balance, meaning that when roots grow, so do leaves, and when leaves grow, so do roots.

In other words, if the roots are clogged, they can’t get water and nutrients to the rest of the plant. It would be best to cut back leaves because the roots can’t grow anymore.

Over time, only the new, healthy leaves are kept, and the older, less vigorous leaves with a lower metabolic rate are shed.

The roots are a big part of why a pothos dies, so if you think the plant is getting weaker, you can often solve the problem by assuming something is wrong with the roots.

Cuttings Without Roots Are More Likely to Grow in Water

One reason you might want to consider growing Pothos in the water forever is that you can root and re-grow pothos cuttings much more quickly in water than in soil.

It’s tough for a plant to get enough water through the stem end when it has no roots at all and only stems and leaves. Putting it in water will allow it to absorb water more quickly than if you put it in soil.

When Pothos Is Grown In Water, The Roots Don’t Get Enough Air

The roots’ role is frequently misunderstood as only sucking up moisture, but they also suck up air from the soil.

The roots take in the right amount of water and air so that nutrients can be distributed throughout the plant effectively.

However, because the roots cannot suck air from the roots during water growing, their role is limited to moisture absorption.

Plants can get air not just through their roots but also through their stems and leaves so they won’t die. But for plants to grow as well as they can, they must breathe air through their roots.

Balance Roots and Leaves to Keep Pothos in Water Longer

As the seasons change, so do the temperature, humidity, and amount of sunlight. To ensure a pothos can live for a long time, moving it, changing its water, and giving it fertilizer are crucial.

Even if your Pothos has outgrown its container, there’s no need to repot it in soil. However, Pothos can be kept alive in water without withering.

The most important thing is to keep the roots and leaves that have grown, and it is possible to keep them in the same condition for a long time.

Frequency Of Water Change And Fertiliser Application

Hydroponics is a simple way to grow Pothos, but the plant will grow well with clean water.

Therefore, changing the water and keeping the container clean is essential. From time to time, you should also add liquid fertilizer.

However, it is optional to change the water daily. Instead, the water should be changed once a week or every two weeks if you need to remember.

New roots are easily damaged, so it’s best to change the water once a week, so the Pothos doesn’t have to deal with too much stress.

The amount of fertilizer depends on the type of fertilizer, the container, and the water used, but it should always be a few drops.

Too little is better than too much, so if a product doesn’t say how much to use for hydroponics, it is safer to add just a drop.

Excess fertilizer can affect the water and container and kill the Pothos.

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