Pothos w/ cottony bits after being left for vacation

We got back from vacation, and my pothos has little cottony bits of fuzz all over the leaves. I left it sitting on the windowsill (facing south) of my kitchen sink while I was gone, because I had just watered it well. It got a little dried out and I lost a couple of leaves, but I have never seen anything like the cottony stuff. I didn't see any critters on it, and I have a rosemary right next to it, so I hope whatever is wrong with it won't get my rosemary, too. I have had the plant since the end of the summer and haven't had any issues with it before now. Nothing else has changed, except the location of the plant. Any ideas what is wrong, or how to fix it?

Do you have pictures? I googled for pothos disease and nothing in there seems to fit your description.

Is it possible to post a picture of your ailing plant? I'm wondering if it you have a mealy bug problem? Here's a link to a site showing photo's of a plant with mealies: http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/LSO/Mealybugs.htm

Definately sounds like mealy bug. If you pinch the "cotton" with your fingers do you see any indication that there are bugs inside the clumps? If you do, a small plant responds best to hand eradication I think. Take a cotton swab and alcohol and get down in the leaf axils and everywhere else you see the bugs. They are tiny, so use a magnifying glass if needed. Continue to monitor the plant for new colonies every few days. Time consuming, but the only way to get them all. In the meantime, keep this plant away from others so the bugs don't hitch a ride on their neighbor.

ok - I went to the link about the mealy bugs and I really don't like bugs (in my house - in the garden outside they aren't so bad) and my stomach started churning. I took a good look at my plant and there were little antanae sticking out of the little tufts all over the leaves. I took the plant outside to deal with later and rinsed down my rosemary really well. I didn't see anything, but I will be keeping a close watch on it. How could my pothos get mealy bugs all the sudden? Where do the come from, and how can I avoid getting them again? I have been having houseplants off and on for about 5 years (often I have to find new homes for them when we move) and never seen anything like this before!

Mealy bugs can get indoors and onto your plants just the same as in your garden, it might have got into the house by being transferred from your clothes if you were outdoors, could have been blown in via a window, open door etc or from another plant, it may even have been on the plant when you got it in the summer but because it was being cared for all the time, the plant could fight it off or the conditions were not what it liked, however, now that your plant was a wee bit neglected because you were away, the bugs really got hold, these are quite common bugs, but an attack can cause real damage
because of the protected woolly covering these bugs have it is difficult for predators to eat them and even harder for pesticides to kill them off, the only thing I can suggest is to run your tap, look warm, so as not to chill the plant leaves, and with your one hand, rinse the plant while it is turned upside down in your other hand, trying to remove the bugs as you rinse, then keep an eye on the plant for the first sign of re-infestation. As you said you dont mind this bug in your garden, this indicates you may have had it outside plants before you left for your vacation, so it could well be where it came from and transferred as I suggested. There are ways to give your indoor plants water for a weak or so when you are away, it is called a capillary system either by drip watering or by using a capillary mat that you attach a piece of the same fabric tucked under the pots and a bowl of water , it acts like a wick, the matting draws up a little water when it starts to dry out and the plants get enough water to survive without being completely dried out. good luck. hope this helps you out for now. WeeNel.

I haven't seen this type of bug anywhere outside or in before, and I don't like having bugs attack my garden for sure. I meant that I don't mind bugs in general being outside, I just don't like any kind of bug being in my home. I may just call the plant a loss as I have a cutting that has a good root system on it that is ready to plant. For right now it is outside in isolation. Thanks for the watering suggestions for next time I travel.

Do make it a habit to check any plants your planning on bringing in the house for critters before you do. Much easier to treat them outside. All of us at some time or another get pests on houseplants. You learn to deal with it and if you take precautions and use good sanitation measures it doesn't happen often. The wick idea is a life saver and I actually use a similar method in my garden for certain veggies and flowers. We have a shallow well, so I have to be very careful about water use. Much as I would love a drip irrigation system, I also like to take a shower, wash dishes, etc.......LOL Sinking a new well is beyond our means financially right now. LOL

I agree doccat, about looking over the plants before we bring them indoors, but to be fair, sometimes we just miss the tiny creators and before we know it, we have a problem on our hands, the scary thing for some folks when they do notice a bug, they think they will eat away at the house and everything in it, but the truth is, most bugs only go to a certain plant, greenfly and that sort ofcource, have great appetites for anything green and juicey as I can vouch for, but for folks that dont do outdoors all the time, it really is quite scary. so I guess we all have to learn to be vigilant outdoors and inside. feel so bad about your water situation, who knows, maybe this will be the year for a lottery windfall and you can add the new well to the top of your list. best wishes. WeeNel.

I do check over my plants well when I get them. This plant was never outside at all, so unless the bugs were dormant for 5 months I don't know how they got into the house and on my plant. I only have the two plants right now, and the rosemary is still fine. Thanks for the advice and helping me figure out what the little varmint is.

If you just had a couple bugs on there when you brought it home, you probably never could have seen them. And if your plant is healthy, sometimes it can take a long time before the bugs can really get a foothold. But the second the plant becomes the least bit stressed (which definitely could have happened while you were on vacation) then all of a sudden the bugs can really take hold and go crazy.

Hi Wanderinggarden, you will soon learn that not all bugs attack all plants, your Rosemary has woody stems and the mealy bugs prefere softer more tender plants as they are hidden inside the woolly fluff to protect them as you have now discovered, so probably the R/mary wont be infected, but still best to keep an eye on it, sound to me like the very young or the eggs of the bugs came with the plant and as Ecrane said, once the plant got a bit stressed with dry conditions while you were away, the bugs really got hold and the foliage being unhealthy looking was one way of showing the problems up, I feel sure you will be able to get your plant back to health again with some well earned TLC, so good luck, this happens to everyone at some point in our gardening life, it's a way of learning about conditions, problems and fixing them. best wishes. WeeNel.