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dick_baker

Pothos problem

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago


A few weeks ago I brought home a beautiful pothos plant. Two weeks ago I noticed some leaves had crispy brown spots on the edges. A few had what looked to be the beginnings of spots on the leaves. I went over the entire plant and removed about two dozen leaves. Starting last weekend, I've been spraying it every other day with Bayer Natria insecticide soap. I don't know if that's helped. There's still a couple of new affected leaves every day. I've attached a photo below.

This started about the same time that I noticed mealy worm cotton ball stuff all over my majesty palm. That plant went from being an almost perfect specimen to looking like it's not going to survive.

From some articles I've read on pothos problems, it seems like that could be a bacterial or fungal problem.

Has anyone had this on his/her pothos, and knows what it is?

Thanks for any replies.

Comments (5)

  • 10 years ago

    Those lesions look more like physical damage than a disease problem. Careless handling during shipping or at the garden center could be to blame....it can take a while for tissues surrounding a scratch or tear to die. I see no indications of disease or insect pests in the picture.

    Now, if the leaves are developing large blackened spots at the tips, that might be different. That could be a root rot issue.

    I'd stop spraying.

    Majesty palms, by the way, are famously difficult to grow as a houseplant. Do a bit of research to learn about palms that are more forgiving.....the Majesty palm will never be on that list! Sorry you had to find out that way. /:-(

    In fact, palms in general can be wicked magnets for spider mites and mealybugs.







  • 10 years ago

    Is your Pothos in a hanging pot?

  • 10 years ago

    The pot has a hanger, but I don't hang it. I put it on a counter about 15 feet from windows.

    There were a lot of spots and semi-circular crispy brown areas on the edges of the leaves a couple of weeks after I bought it. They were not there before. I removed those leaves, but then had new ones develop. I marked the new ones, and then marked other new ones as they developed, using a felt tip pen.

    I don't think the spraying is doing any harm, but i don't think it's doing any good. I'm certain I'm not overwatering.

    On the majesty palm, I'm now on my fourth. The first one I bought already had damage, and I rotted the roots by watering too frequently. The second one I bought looked really good, but I didn't know what the white puffy balls and shiny sticky substance that developed all over the plant were, and didn't treat it. The mealy bugs sucked everything out of that plant. The third one was perfect, full, and beautiful, and stayed so for a couple of months. I saw the white cottony balls all over it, but didn't research it soon enough, and now it has damage. I might be able to get it to recover. I don't know. The latest one is looking fine for now.

    I now know the proper amount to water, where in the house they get the right amount of light, and things to watch for such as mealy bugs. I might be able to get one to survive this time. It can't be impossible.

  • 10 years ago

    I ask about the hanging pot because most of them have a drain hole that's recessed above the bottom of the pot about 1/2 inch, allowing 1/2 inch of water to stay in the bottom of the pot, even after it's finished dripping. That excess water can make plants ill. Poking or snipping a hole at the bottom of the pot can help prevent unhappiness when using these pots.

    About 15 feet from a window that faces which way? Sounds like very low light, but you might have huge windows, IDK.

    Pothos is not known to struggle from more dry air inside. If there is a surface pathogen causing damage spots on leaves, misting/spraying will exacerbate/cultivate it. There's no benefit to be gained from spraying leaves unless you're doing it often enough, in a fine enough mist to actually increase humidity without getting leaves drippy wet (hundreds of times per day.)

    As said, majesty palms aren't great house plants. Parlor palms (Chamaedorea elegans,) OTOH,
    got the nickname from being able to survive in a parlor (dim lighting,
    dry air, little air movement, though these are not ideal conditions,
    they do usually stay alive.)

    If you've tried a same plant a few times, I would encourage you to try
    something different, if it ends up not working out again. Try to find
    something that would like the condition you have, instead of trying to
    have a plant that doesn't like it survive anyway.


  • 10 years ago

    My ex-wife worked in a greenhouse for many years, and I learned a bit from her. One thing I learned was to drill drain holes in the bottom of pots right after buying the plants, and I always do that.

    It's about 15 feet from a bank of windows eight feet tall by about eight feet wide that faces south. I had another pothos on a table closer to that window, and the leaves turned pale, I'm pretty certain because the light level was too high. The leaf color on this plant is very good.

    I'm going to try to resuscitate the mealy buy-infested Majesty. If not, I'll toss it and try one more time with the latest one. I'll also look for some Lady Palms or other less finicky palms




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