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I recently inherited this plant, and am not sure of what type of plant it is or what its needs are (as far as watering, light, temp, etc.). Any help in either respect would be greatly appreciated.

Here are links to pictures of the plant

golden pothos

golden pothos 2

Niall C.
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newPlant
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2 Answers2

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This plant has several names such as pothos or Epipremnum aureum. Is an evergreen vine from the Australia/South Asia area and has become naturalized worldwide. The reason you do not see any flowers on this due to it's life cycle. Botanists saw two forms of the same plant:

  • the juvenile form that you have that does not flower and whose leaves are not split
  • the adult form that has much larger leaves that are split and does flower

As the shape of the leaves and the size of the two forms was quite different it took a while for botanists to conclude that they were the same species.

It is very easy to propagate and care for indoors. Most potting soils are suitable and a schedule of regular watering when the soil gets dry is appropriate. You can propagate this plant by taking a cutting and putting it in a glass of water.

Maintenance of an established plant involves cutting back the stems close to the base. Leave at least one node above the soil line and new growth will sprout from that point.

Insect pests include mealybug (white cottony tufts in the leaf axils) and thrip. If your plant gets any of these insect pests control is difficult. You could try cutting the plant back hard so it has no leaves or dispose of it.

Edit: on maintenance - as the stems grow longer and age the oldest leaves die off and the stems get thicker. After a few years you have a tuft of leaves at the end of six foot (two meter) stem. If you like that look then enjoy but to encourage new growth and keep the plant at a reasonable size cutting back the stems is both an aesthetic and good maintenance practice.

kevinskio
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  • Thank you very much for your help. When you say "Maintenance of an established plant involves cutting back the stems close to the base. Leave at least one node above the soil line and new growth will sprout from that point." Does that mean that this is something I should do regularly, or just if I wish to manage its size? In other words, is that aesthetic maintenance, or is it good for the health of the plant? – newPlant Apr 06 '13 at 17:47
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Its very same question I answered few mins back..! Agreeing with Kevinsky, its Money plant (Epipremnum aureum). I am just showing the propagation pictures by stem cutting and placing it in water filled bottle for few days till fresh roots develop. Then it is ready to be planted in the soil.

enter image description here

Zoomed View: Notice white colored roots growing! :)

enter image description here

jaczjill
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  • Thank you very much, I appreciate the photos. And I apologize for missing the recent question you answered – newPlant Apr 06 '13 at 17:49