I have a 1yr old pothos plant that was started as a cutting and has grown non stop. It has had several trimmings over the past year. Recently I decided to remove it from its hanging basket and repotted it in a bigger pot with a post wrapped in coconut fiber for it to climb. I wrapped the long vines up the post and secured them after cutting it back several feet. (the longest vines before the trim were close to 10 ft and too much of a tangled mess.)
However it seems pretty reluctant to sprout aerial roots, even with the high humidity and wet coco fiber. What it is doing is shooting new growth from every leaf joint, not the nodes, but right from where the old leaf meets the vine.
It has never grown from any point except the end of the vine until now, I'm curious as to why it has suddenly done this and why I'm getting no aerial roots.
Pothos Plant responding strangely
Where the leaf joins, or used to join the stem, is a node. What you describe is normal. When the tip of a vine is removed, side branches must grow. That looks great!
I've cut it back multiple times and it has never decided to do this before, but I'm happy it has. However, Its reluctance to sprout aerial roots is frustrating. It isn't a huge deal, either way it is anchored and has no choice in its position, but I was hoping for some bigger leaves up top, my bottom leaves are 6-8 inches long and 4-5 inches wide.
Pothos leaves grow bigger when the stem is anchored or growing on a surface. In other words when the growing stem is hanging down free from any support the leaves get smaller and smaller. Now that your plant in attached to the post the leaf size should increase.
I don't know about the aerial roots. Maybe when the plant matures and gets bigger it will grow them.
Whenever you remove the apical meristem (growing branch tip), you remove the primary source of the growth regulator (auxin) that inhibits lateral breaks. This allows another growth regulator (cytokinin), which stimulates secondary/lateral growth, to become dominant. The result is predictable - new branches forming in existing leaf axils or from immediately above (distal to) old leaf/bundle scars.
Al
Al, you are certainly up on your plant physiology. I'm impressed! I hadn't thought about those terms since I took botany in college oh so many years ago.
Post a Reply to this Thread
More Beginner Gardening Threads
-
Curling leaves, stunted growth of Impatiens
started by DeniseCT
last post by DeniseCTJan 26, 20261Jan 26, 2026 -
White fuzzy stems
started by joelcoqui
last post by joelcoquiJan 29, 20263Jan 29, 2026 -
What is this alien growth in my bed
started by joelcoqui
last post by joelcoquiOct 15, 20254Oct 15, 2025 -
Jobe\'s Fertilizer Spikes
started by Wally12
last post by Wally12Apr 02, 20262Apr 02, 2026 -
citrus reticulata tangerine somewhat hardy
started by drakekoefoed
last post by drakekoefoedApr 01, 20261Apr 01, 2026
