Discover Tricks To Make Your Pothos Grow Longer Vines that you won’t find elsewhere. Don’t miss out on these secrets!
Pothos is the most popular houseplant; everybody knows how to care for it. However, most gardeners don’t know how to make it look bushier or grow longer vines the way you want. So, it’s not about the right care or fulfilling the requirements; it’s about tweaking it a bit and following these tricks.
Tricks To Make Your Pothos Grow Longer Vines
1. Cut at the Right Place
Cutting pothos at the right spot helps vines grow longer by redirecting energy to healthy stems. You have to cut just above a node (the small bump where leaves or roots grow) as it encourages faster, focused growth.
For this, use sharp, clean scissors. Be careful not to cut too close to the node to prevent damage. Also, trim back any short or leggy stems. This redirects energy to the remaining vines and helps them grow longer. Here’s what to do if it is overgrown.
Note: Prune during the growing season (spring and summer) to encourage fresh, vigorous growth. Avoid pruning in fall and winter when the plant is resting and less likely to produce new growth.
2. Use The Light Trick
Plants have a habit of searching for a better light source, and they grow toward it. You can use a low-wattage grow light pointed at the base of the plant in the evening. It will stimulate your pothos to escape toward a better light source outside, encouraging the plant to stretch its vines outward.
Pothos generally thrive in bright, indirect light, and their beautiful vining will grow slower in low-light conditions. Therefore, you can use a light source as a trick to ensure that vines of pothos grow longer.
3. Train Your Pothos
If you hang a lightweight string or wire near your pothos, your plant can be guided to use it for support, which will give you a way to make its vines grow longer.
This technique is more effective with a little intervention. All you have to do is loosely tie the tip of the vine to the string or wire you have hung near it, making it easy for your pothos to climb.
Your pothos will naturally grow longer with vertical support or nearby anchors, which are easy to climb on.
4. Apply Aloe Water
Aloe extract has unique sugars and phytochemicals that can improve soil fertility and promote plant growth. You can dilute a teaspoon of fresh aloe vera gel in a liter of water and use it to mist the vines and soil. Aloe has been found to promote cell elongation in plants, which results in rapid growth.
Aloe vera contains auxins, natural plant hormones that encourage root development and elongation. While its sugars and phytochemicals are beneficial, the auxins play a more direct role in promoting cell elongation. The same diluted aloe water spray can help with plant health and slight elongation.
You can apply aloe water as a foliar spray, which can be sprayed onto the leaves of your pothos. This will help your plant absorb nutrients faster than through the soil and help it grow healthy.
5. Proper Fertilization
Give your pothos plant the right balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) to grow fuller. These plants are not heavy feeders, but a balanced houseplant fertilizer once per month during the growing season can help them grow longer vines.
Water-soluble fertilizer is simple to use and less likely to cause problems. However, the amount on the label is often too strong and can harm your plant.
To avoid this, follow the instructions but dilute the fertilizer to half-strength. Mix it in a watering can and use it to water your plants the way you usually do. Once every 2–4 weeks is usually enough. You can also use these DIY fertilizers for pothos.
6. Use Compost or Seaweed Solution
You can add a small amount of compost or liquid seaweed solution to your fertilizer to enhance foliage growth and longer vines. Another way is to spray it at the ends of the vines. This will direct nutrients straight to elongating the vines, and you will have bushy and longer vines.
7. Focus on Less Vines
Keeping only 3–4 vines in a pot can help pothos grow longer vines. With fewer stems, the plant can focus its energy on elongating the existing vines rather than producing more.
This reduces competition for nutrients and space, encouraging the vines to trail longer and healthier. Regular pruning of excess stems also supports this growth strategy, directing resources toward lengthening the selected vines.
Well, what are you waiting for? Try these tricks, and you’ll be surprised by the vine growth progress of your Pothos in just a few weeks! Do let us know how it goes for you in the comments below.
