Pothos Root Rot - Why?

7 years ago

While inspecting my newest Pothos this morning, I smelled something terrible coming from the soil. My immediate thought was that it was root rot, so I went ahead and unpotted & completely bare-rooted to get a look at the roots. Here's what they looked like:

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There were about 5 small roots that were completely brown/black and clearly rotted. Others had tips that were black as you can see above. I tried my best to cut them all off.

I also found this strange "mucus-like", sticky substance in the center of the roots, closest to the most rotted parts:

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I bought this Pothos about a week and a half ago, and immediately repotted into well-draining soil the day I got it. It had been pretty severely rootbound, so I untangled the roots before the repotting. I left it in completely dry fresh soil for a week after repotting before giving it any water. There are currently no visible pests in the soil or on the plant. Nothing seems to be wrong with the foliage itself, other than this one brown spot close to the soil:

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What is causing this? Is this plant salvageable as is, or should I start cutting it up for propagation?

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User
Original Author

7 years ago

Little update:

I've been letting these guys sit out in the air while waiting for anyone to guide me on what to do here. Noticed something strange now that the roots have dried off: some of them are.... stringy? In fact, there are many small little "hairs" in the root system. Never seen this before. Very strange. Any ideas?

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Comments (6)

User
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
webuser_832110964's ideas · More Info

When I first bought this plant, I found these spots on some of the lower leaves as well. I cut them off as soon as I saw them, and haven't seen any more leaves like this on the plant, but maybe this will be helpful in identifying the problem.
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Dave
7 years ago
If you’ve left it unpotted with the roots exposed to air, that’ll kill it.

Roots cannot dry out.

What did you use for a fast draining mix?

How did you go about repotting or potting up?
Dave
7 years ago
Also, that above photo, the lower part is rotted and dead.

Im not sure the plant is salvagable since youve let it dry out, but if the leaves look ok, cut off all of the roots, some lower leaves to give a little stem and then re root it.
User
Original Author
7 years ago
Understood! I'll try to figure something out fast, then.

I used probably 40% potting soil, 60% perlite. I repotted it into a pot that another pothos had been in, and gently untangled the rootbound root to loosen them up. They were wrapped around themselves multiple times, so I just gently tugged. Then put the plant into dry soil and did not water for a week.
User
Original Author
7 years ago
Sad day! I went ahead and cut this guy up for propagating. It was kind of convenient -- as the "plant" was actually just about 8 cuttings that had been potted together.

Here's my temporary propagation station. I made sure to thoroughly clean each bottle before placing them in there :)

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Moment of silence for the MANY beautiful lower leaves I had to remove :(

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Now that we're at this point, here's what I'd like to know:

What was the original cause of the root rot? Pests? Infection? Insufficient drainage? How can I prevent this from happening to the cuttings in the future?