Potting Water-grown Pothos

11 years ago

Hi all!

A couple months back I bought a golden pothos at a garage sale. It was growing in water inside a canning jar, but it was way bigger than a cutting. I didn't have time to transplant to soil at the time, so I brought it home and put it in a larger mason jar.

Its vines are now ~ a foot long, and I'm wondering if I should transplant to soil, or keep it in water. All the guides are for cuttings, though, so my questions:

1. Is it too late to transplant to soil? Would it be too hard on the plant?

2. If so - how large a vase should I put it in? It's still in a mason jar and looks rootbound, but I don't want to overwhelm it with too much new room at once.

3. If I CAN move to soil, how? I've seen different methods, ie adding a bit of soil at a time, or alternately just plopping it in some potting soil all at once.

Please help! My plant and I will appreciate it :)

Featured Answer

MrBlubs

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

The problem with plants that have been growing in water for long periods of time and cuttings of plants grown in water is that their roots are specifically designed for water growing in water and do poorly once introduced to soil.

With cuttings and baby spiders and so on you can start them in water then switch them over to soil once they've grown a fair amount of roots. Usually, the plants aren't as adapted to growing in water and can accustom to the change in media and start to grow soil roots.

Since you've had it growing in water for a couple months plus the added amount of time that it was growing in water with the other people, it's probably very well adapted to growing in water.

I'd keep it growing in the vase as for the reasons above. If you want to plant it in soil (or some of it) take cuttings and root them via the soil method or do the water method but transition them to soil once they've got a fair amount of roots.

Did

that make any sense? It did in mymind but now I don't know... Purp,Al, or Sans or someone else will

probably provide more insight and explain it better.....

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Comments (12)

zzackey
11 years ago
I would pot it up in soil.
0plantqueen0 thanked zzackey
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asleep_in_the_garden
11 years ago
One way to deal with this issue is to add aquarium or pea gravel to the water and keep an eye on the water level. This will replace most of the volume and soon when it is nearly gone due to use and evaporation,during that period the roots will have been adapting to a terrestrial environment as air is actually interacting with the rootmass at this point and there should be far less chance of transplant shock.
0plantqueen0 thanked asleep_in_the_garden
patton40
11 years ago
I agree with Mr. Blubs and asleep.

When a plant has been grown in water for an extended amount of time they become used to the water and grow different roots than the roots they would grow in soil. That is why they have a harder time transitioning into soil without shock. That is the reason why sometimes you hear people say add soil to the water. To give the plant a chance to grow its soil roots before the transplant. Or like asleep said if you add rocks it takes some of the water away so it can grow stronger roots to get ready for transplanting. The water roots aren't strong enough to support the plant in soil. So, by transferring straight to soil the plant would be starting all over again in a sense. The water roots would die and the soil roots would start growing. I hope that makes sense. I grow a lot of plants and root a lot of plants in water and some plants are tougher than others when it comes to the transplant. In my honest opinion, I would just take cuttings and root them in dirt and leave the rest in the jar of water. You could even cut some of the water roots off and put it back in water. It will grow new roots.
0plantqueen0 thanked patton40
0plantqueen0
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, all. I think I'll put the original plant in a larger vase of water, and take cuttings to plant in soil. These comments were really helpful!
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
11 years ago
Getting cuttings going first is always a good idea if doing anything that makes you nervous. Vibes matter so much!

Science-y & mystical stuff aside, I've never had a problem just plunking a big ball of water roots into a pot of soil & suddenly treat it like any other potted plant (water when dry.) ...Except when I've used a bottle with a small opening & the root ball won't come out.

From tropical vines to Coleus cuttings saved in bottles of water on windowsill over winter to Sansevieria (snake plant) leaf rooted in water, I just do it when I decide that I feel like making that change. This time of year would be great, with the day length & warmer weather in which tropical plants do their best growing.

Many people keep them in water for years, decades. Whatever you would enjoy most is the best thing for you.
0plantqueen0 thanked Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
jentsu926
11 years ago
Personal experience: I transferred a hydroponic (water grown) pothos into soil a few months ago. It didn't do that well. It struggled for a while and just looked kind of wilty. I ended up taking the cuttings in the end and re-rooting the cuttings in soil. The soil-grown cuttings look a lot better.
LeslieM peoria az
11 years ago
Pothos will grow fine forever in water. Just make sure to dump the water out and give it fresh frequently, or you end up with a nasty mess. I also apparently one time had a mosquito get in the house and find my water-grown pothos, and lay eggs. I couldn't figure out why I had so many mosquitos in the house all the time, until I realized I had my own thriving little mosquito ranch. Frequent water changes avoid that.
Becky
11 years ago
I was wondering about this myself, since I have some cuttings that have been in water for 2~3 weeks and have finally rooted. I was going to mail them out to friends but now I worry they won't take to soil very well!
MrBlubs
11 years ago
2-3 weeks should be perfectly fine. It's only if they've been exclusively growing in water for months or years on end, though even then they still can adapt sometimes like purp said.

I've rooted heartleaf philodendron that had been growing in water for a little over a month and they all transitioned fine.
Sans2014
11 years ago
Good discussion!
User
11 years ago
My personal experience with transitioning pothos from water to soil has been great. I had some pothos cuttings in an old milk bottle on the banister railing 15+ feet from a south facing window. I potted them up and now have a nice healthy plant. They were in water at least 6 months maybe. I'll insert some pictures. I have a vase of pothos cuttings on my refrigerator and have learned the hard way that you have to change the water because everything became a mucky mess and some started to rot...