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Yellow leaves · Pothos
Why are my pothos leaves turning yellow?
The usual reason pothos leaves turn yellow is too much water: soggy or poorly draining soil suffocates the roots and can lead to root rot. Let the top few centimetres of soil dry before watering, soak the pot and let it drain fully, and repot into an airy mix if it stays wet. If the watering is right, the plant may be hungry, too dark, too cold, or simply dropping its oldest leaves.
Check these first
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Push a finger a few centimetres into the soil. If it is still wet days after watering, overwatering is the most likely cause.
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Check where the yellow leaves are: the oldest leaves near the pot often yellow and drop naturally, while yellowing along the whole vine points to a care problem.
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Look at the stems at the soil line. Soft, dark stems and brown or missing roots mean root rot.
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Notice whether the yellowing comes with black or brown leaf tips and edges, which can mean salt buildup from too much fertilizer.
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Check the spot: far from any window, next to a cold window in winter, or in the path of an air-conditioning or heating vent.
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Look in the leaf joints and along the stems for white, cottony clumps (mealybugs) or brown bumps (scale). Both feed on sap and can yellow leaves; dab them off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.
Causes and fixes
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Overwatering and root rot
How to tellLeaves yellow and wilt even though the soil is wet. Stems may turn soft and dark at the soil line, and the roots are brown and mushy or have died back.
What to doStop watering until the top few centimetres of soil are dry. If roots are rotten, trim them back to healthy tissue and repot into fresh, airy, well-draining mix in a pot with drainage holes. Empty the saucer after every watering.
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Soil kept too dry
How to tellThe soil is dry right through, the vines wilt, and older leaves turn yellow and fall first, sometimes with dry brown edges.
What to doWater until it runs out of the drainage holes and let the pot drain. After that, water each time the top few centimetres are dry rather than waiting for the whole pot to dry out.
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Low fertility
How to tellOlder leaves fade to an even pale yellow over weeks, growth is slow, and the plant has not been fed or repotted for a long time. The soil moisture is fine.
What to doFeed with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer every 8 weeks in spring and summer, and skip winter. If roots fill the pot, repot in spring into fresh mix.
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Too little light
How to tellNew leaves are smaller and plain green instead of marbled, vines stretch with long gaps between leaves, and the lower leaves yellow and drop.
What to doMove the plant to a brighter spot with bright, indirect light and no hot direct sun. Prune long, bare vines in spring so it fills out again.
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Cold or drafts
How to tellLeaves yellow or dry out soon after the plant sat by a cold window, an outside door or an air-conditioning or heating vent.
What to doKeep it in a warm room away from vents, cold glass and drafts, especially in winter.
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Too much fertilizer
How to tellLeaf tips and margins blacken or brown and the leaves turn yellow, and a white crust may form on the soil or the rim of the pot.
What to doFlush the pot with plenty of plain water to wash out the salts, scrape off any crust, and feed less often. Repot into fresh mix if the buildup is heavy.
Stop it coming back
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Water only when the top few centimetres of soil are dry; pothos does better a little on the dry side than in constantly wet soil.
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Use an airy, well-draining mix and a pot with drainage holes.
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Give it bright, indirect light to keep leaves large and well coloured.
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Feed lightly in spring and summer only, and flush the pot with water now and then.
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Keep it away from cold windows, drafts and air vents.
When to worry
When to worry
Pothos naturally sheds its oldest leaves, so a yellow leaf now and then near the base of a long vine is no cause for concern. It is in trouble when many leaves yellow at once, the soil stays wet, and stems turn soft or dark at the soil line: that is root rot. Act quickly. Unpot it, cut off all rotten roots and stems, and repot what is healthy in fresh mix. If little healthy root is left, take cuttings with at least one node from firm, green vines and root them in water or fresh mix to start a new plant.
