Cuttings · Beginner friendly · 4 min
Turn one pothos into many
A simple water-propagation project using a stem you already have.
Reference photograph: Joydeep · CC BY-SA 3.0. Display may be cropped. Not the offered plant or packet.
By Growhood · Updated
Watch the technique
Follow this article's GCC timing and care advice alongside the demonstration.
- How to propagate pothosBy Summer Rayne Oakes on YouTube
Video notes
A demonstration of pothos propagation in water and growing medium. Use a stem with a node, not a leaf alone, and follow this article for moving a rooted cutting into a pot.
Links only, with no embedded player or autoplay. Video link checked .
Opens YouTube in a new tab.
Growing instructions
- 01
Find a node
Choose a healthy vine. Look for the small bump where a leaf joins the stem: this is the node. A leaf alone without a stem node will not grow into a new pothos plant.
- 02
Take your cutting
Cut just below a node with clean scissors. Keep one or two leaves and at least one node on each cutting. Remove leaves that would sit underwater.
- 03
Place the node in water
Submerge the node, not the leaves, in a clean jar. Put it in bright, indirect light. Replace water when it gets cloudy, roughly weekly, and keep the node covered.
- 04
Move into soil
Once several roots are roughly 5–8 cm long, plant gently in moist, well-draining mix. Keep lightly moist for the first week or two while water-grown roots adjust, then allow the top of the mix to dry between waterings.
- 05
Grow and give
Wait for healthy new growth before sharing. Label it as pothos, explain its light and water needs, and include the propagation date. Keep some vines growing so you can share another cutting later.