How To Fix Pothos Yellow Leaves (Simple Yet Effective #21 Tips)

Despite having the reputation of a strong Pothos Plant (also called philodendron, Pilea peperomioides, money plant) full of vitality, people still encounter golden pothos turning yellow and brown.

There are many types of research that happened on pothos, and NASA listed pothos plants as a plant that produces more oxygen (Clean Air Plants) and clears the air.

We will now discuss the various pothos problems, reasons for golden pothos yellow leaves, and how to fix them with amazing tips to revive root bound pothos yellow leaves. The main reasons are many for Pothos Yellow Leaves, like excessive sunlight, hard and tap water, Overwatering, Low humidity levels, Under-Watering, a fungal disease. To Fix pothos yellow leaves stop overwatering your plant and avoid hard tap water. Let’s talk even more about them one by one along with the below FAQs.

  • How to cure pothos yellow leaves brown tips
  • How to identify pothos yellow leaves brown spots
  • Revive pothos yellow leaves and wilting
  • Cure for pothos turning yellow and brown Tips
  • Fix pothos plant in water leaves turning yellow
  • pothos leaves turning yellow after repotting
  • pothos leaves turning yellow with brown spots
  • and pothos plant care tips and tricks
Pothos Yellow Leaves (Golden pothos, Money Plant) Care Guide
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Is Golden Pothos Same As Money Plant?

  • ‘Pothos’ (Epipremnum aureum), also referred to as Devils Ivy, Golden Pothos, and Money Plant is a tropical vine in the arum family ‘Araceae’.
  • Pothos another type is also called glacier pothos, which has whitish patches on the leaves.
  • Marble queen pothos neon leaves also have one of the varieties of pothos.
  • It is native to the island of Mo’orea, in French Polynesia, and is now grown in Australia, South and Southeast Asia, the West Indies, and many islands in the Pacific.
  • The golden pothos in water is the most popular way used indoors. The money plant is considered auspicious in Feng Shui, which brings good luck and prosperity.
  • Though it has been adapted as a houseplant, it usually propagates fast and clings to the trunks of trees in the wild.
Pothos Yellow Leaves
Pothos Yellow Leaves (Golden pothos, Money Plant) Care Guide

However, it can be kept in check indoors and is quite easy to grow. Pothos has been known to generate variegation. And has produced several cultivars such as – Marble, Classic Jade, Cebu blue pothos (blue pothos plant), and Neon.

Many people also ask, Is golden pothos poisonous? To answer this yes golden pothos is toxic for animals( dogs and cats) and also for humans.

Golden pothos or Money Plant cant create serious issues if eaten but they may cause vomiting, irritation, and difficulty swallowing

Find below my top recommendation for Money Plant or Golden Pothos, which can enhance your indoor/outdoors.

Last update on 2024-03-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

What Causes Pothos Yellow Leaves? (15 Reasons)

Before you get worried about why is my pothos dying and start treating the pothos plant yellow leaves, it is important to find out the exact reason behind it. So it can be addressed properly.

The yellowing of the pothos leaves could be because of any of the following reasons. You could also look for answers on “why are my plants turning yellow“.

#1 Excessive Light

The pothos plant prefers bright to medium indirect sunlight. So, if you leave the plants, especially marble queen pothos, in too much light.

They will reduce the production of chlorophyll to defend themselves. This could make the marble queen pothos leaves turning brown, and sometimes yellow.

#2 Improper Light

Golden Pothos plants are adaptable and can survive in low light as well. However, if they are placed in an area that receives very low light.

This might result in the marble queen Golden pothos yellow leaves. A proper amount of indirect sunlight is essential for them to thrive.

#3 Low Humidity Level

An insufficient level of humidity and dryness in the soil may result in the leaves of golden pothos turning brown around the edges.

Which can later lead to the entire browning or yellowing of the leaves? We recommend misting the plant to increase the humidity level.

#4 Overwatering:

This is the most common cause for the yellowing of leaves, especially in the silver pothos plants. It is essential to keep the pothos soil damp, but overwatering can make it wet or soggy.

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It could cause severe damage to the cell walls in the tissue of these plants. Eventually, you will see the silver stain pothos leaves curling, and turning yellow.

#5 Under-Watering:

As people consider Pothos Leaves plants to be sturdy, they sometimes leave them unattended and neglect their watering needs. The scarcity of water significantly impacts the photosynthesis process.

And leads to the Golden pothos plant drooping.  These droopy pothoses later show signs of yellowing of the leaves. SO you have to have a pothos watering schedule to avoid overwatering as well as underwriting issues.

#6 Fungal Diseases

With pothos plants, you need to follow the proper watering technique. When you tend to overwater them or mist the plant too much. Also if pothos is grown in water. Do you need to watch if the water turning yellow? This also indicates that you need to replace water.

It can encourage the growth of fungal diseases in the soil, leaves, and stem of the plant. Once infected by the fungi, the plant gets limited nutrition and the golden pothos plant yellow leaves in a waterfall off slowly.

#7 Poor-Quality Fertilizer

The lack of essential nutrients in the soil could severely impact the health of the pothos plant. If you are using poor-quality fertilizers, it halts the growth of the plant.

Especially, nitrogen-rich fertilizers are important for the growth of this plant in the growing season. With poor nutrition, the yellow leaves on pothos become inevitable.

#8 Too-Much Fertilizer

The pothos plants require only a certain amount of nutrients to thrive. These can be best added by using organic methods as they spread in the entire soil evenly.

However, when using fertilizers, you must not use too much, or else it could disturb the nutrition level in the soil.

This build-up fertilizer can affect the plant adversely which causes the pothos yellow leaves to fall off the plant gradually.

#9 Cold And Hot Temperatures:

The pothos plant prefers moderate temperatures and can survive only in a fairly small temperature range. If the plant is left outside in the cold weather

It could lead to pothos leaves turning black or yellow because of cold damage. When inside the house, keep these plants away from air vents as they sometimes blow out hot air directly onto them.

This could also be a reason for the yellowing of the pothos leaves.

#10 Stress From Repotting

Like any other plant, the pothos plants grow the best when left in peace. If you change the place of a plant, it causes stress as adapting to the new environment affects the metabolic functions of the plant.

They sometimes sacrifice the old leaves to focus more on preserving the newer ones. So, you might see some pothos leaves yellow in color immediately after repotting.

If you are growing them in soil or water, it is best to leave them be.

#11 Bacterial Leaf Spot

This common disease can affect the pothos plant as well if they are placed outdoors. Some bacteria feed on the leaves and stem of the plant and this results in the yellowing and browning of the leaves.

But to notice the damage, you will have to look carefully at the isolated yellow spots on cebu blue the leaves which could be smaller in diameter than half an inch.

This yellowing may have a dark brown center as well. These irregular jaundice spots can be spotted both on top leaves and the bottom of the pothos leaf.

#12 Spider Mite Infestation

Among a few of the pothos leaves diseases, these plants often fall victim to the spider mites as they feed off the sap in the plant as start yellowing.

These mites appear on the leaf and the stem, like small white spiders, and leave behind soft webbing.

As this pest spreads aggressively, it is advised to separate them from other plants immediately and treat them at the earliest.

#13 Pests Mealy Bug Infestation

Mealybugs are another pest that usually preys on the pothos plant. The female ones can be identified as white and fuzzy insects while the males have small wings as well.

They also feed on the plant’s sap like the spider mites and cause the yellowing of the leaves.

#14 Root Rot

The pothos root rot can also cause the yellowing of the leaves. It is a fungus in the soil that is mostly found in overly moist or poorly drained soil.

As the roots appear black and mushy, the pothos yellow leaf bush slowly dies and fall off the plant.

#15 Natural Aging Process

As the plant grows, the older leaves need to be shed as the plant focuses more on the nourishment of newer leaves.

This could cause the yellowing of the leaves towards the bottom of the plant. This is just a natural process and you don’t need to worry or act upon it.

#16 Pruning Or Triming

When we start trimming a plant to make it bushy or give proper height. It also supports new plants growth by removing old stems. During this process sometimes we get too hard of the plant. That lead pothos to develop yellow leaves.

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Last update on 2024-03-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

How Do You Fix Pothos Yellow Leaves Top Tips

You don’t have to worry after looking at yellow pothos leaves at the list of reasons mentioned above that cause the Issues.

Pothos Yellow Leaves
Pothos pot plants turning yellow

All of these issues can be easily treated with regular inspections and maintenance. Following are some of the ways that can help you in understanding how to revive a pothos plant:

#1 Pothos Yellow Leaves- Sufficient Light

The pothos tree grows best when it gets sufficient indirect sunlight. To avoid too much sunshine and discoloration which might cause pothos leaves to turn white and pale.

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Try to avoid placing these plants near a southern facing window. You can select an area that receives sufficient indirect sunlight in the room.

You can also opt for putting curtains on the windows to decrease the sunshine. While growing them outdoors, make sure that they are planted under shade or in partial shade.

#2 Proper Watering Technique

This is the most common reason behind pothos yellow leaves and pothos wilting. You should avoid both under-watering and overwatering.

Water the plants only when the top 1/4th layer of the soil seems dry. This will help the roots to retain moisture while the soil won’t get wet or soggy which can damage the plant.

In the winter season, you can reduce the watering frequency and opt for methods to increase the humidity instead.

We recommend using a humidifier, a pebble tray, or misting the plants regularly. This will maintain the soil moisture for healthy pothos roots.

Keep the humidity levels in check, restrict the pothos leaves curling, and avoid the occurrence of fungal diseases.

#3 Add Fertilizer In The Growing Season

The pothos plant is hardy and does not require too much fertilizer when kept in a decent potting medium. If you wish to boost the growth of this plant, you can apply fertilizer once a month during the growing season.

We recommend you to use only good quality and balanced houseplant fertilizer for best results. You can also choose organic methods to add nutrients in the soil as they spread in the soil evenly and slowly.

#4 Check For Pothos Root Rot

It is advised to plant the pothos (especially jade pothos) in well-drained soil, or else you can add some perlite to improve the drainage. If you want to know if root rot is the reason behind jade pothos yellow leaves.

Take out the plant carefully and inspect the roots. The white color of roots suggests that they are healthy and the yellowing of leaves could be because of some other reason.

However, if you notice that roots have turned brown, then prune the rotten roots and leave only healthy roots. It is also advised to re-pot the pothos plant in new soil so that they can grow better in a healthy environment.

#5 Maintain Temperature

The pothos plants prefer a fairly regulated temperature and thrive in between 70°F and 90°F. Though they can survive temperature drop to 50°F as well, it halts the growth of the plant resulting in pothos black leaves.

And if the temperature exceeds 90°F, you will see the pothos plants leaves turning yellow. That is why we recommend you to place the plant properly indoors and avoid areas that receive cold drafts or blows of hot air from the vents.

#6 Repotting Suggestions

It is advised to re-pot the plant in the spring season when the plant and the roots are growing fast. Remember to water the plant a day before repotting pothos, and also the new soil before you place the plant in it.

The even distribution of humidity in the soil will cause the least stress to the plant while adapting to the new environment.

#7 Treating Pest Infestation

If you notice the pothos leaves turning yellow because of pests or bacteria, it is best to treat them at the earliest stage.

First, remove them from the plant by running lukewarm water down the leaves after cutting off the worst affected leaves.

Then, use neem oil or insecticidal soap as a spray to get rid of them completely. You can use insecticide spray check infestation.

However, this must be done once a week for a month to ensure that there are no new pests hatching from eggs on your plant.

What Nutrient Deficiency Causes Pothos Yellow Leaves?

The lack of essential nutrients can be a reason for the pothos leaves turning yellow, and it can be identified through the different symptoms.

#1 Lack Of Iron

In this deficiency, the veins of the leaf will be visibly green but the surface of the leaf between these veins will show yellowing. 

#2 Lack Of Nitrogen

In the case of nitrogen deficiency, you will notice that the yellowing of the leaf starts at the tips and gradually spreads to the rest of the leaf.

 Additionally, the growth of the plant will come to a halt and be accompanied by the general lightening of all the leaves.

#3 Lack Of Magnesium

This deficiency pushes the plant to go into a condition known as chlorosis. It can be identified by the appearance of yellow patches between the leaf veins.

This might also lead to necrosis at a later stage which can cause parts of the leaf (or whole leaves) to die and fall off.

How Do I Add Nitrogen To My Soil?

Nitrogen in the soil is instrumental in the growth of plant branches and leaves.

  • Nitrogen fertilizer should be added to the pothos plant in the growing season to facilitate its growth and health.
  • Nitrogen can be added to the soil using organic methods. It does take time to adjust the nitrogen level through this method, but it provides an even distribution in the soil over time.
  • You can add compost manure or coffee grounds to the soil. You can also plant nitrogen-fixing plants such as beans or peas.
  • Or plant a green manure crop like borage to increase the overall nitrogen level in the soil.
  • For non-organic methods, you can opt for an NPK fertilizer that has a higher concentration of nitrogen. This will give faster results than organic methods.

How Often Should I Water Pothos Plants?

  • With pothos plants, you need to be careful to not overwater them. These plants grow best when you allow the soil to dry out between watering.
  • The suggested watering technique is to add water only when the top two inches of the soil layer is dry.
  • This will ensure that the roots stay moist. Another indicator of overwatering is that you will notice the pothos plant leaves turning yellow.
  • Similarly, if you are under watering the plant, you will see pothos brown spots on leaves or the pothos plant leaves turning brown completely.
  • You can adjust your watering frequency accordingly.

How To Identify Overwatered Or Under-watered Pothos?

Frequently yellowing happens due to over or under-watering. In the event that you see a blend of yellow and earthy colored on a similar leaf, it is likely due to overwatering.

In case you’re seeing yellow leaves, alongside some earthy colored firm spots on extra leaves, at that point, the reason could be underwatering.

How Do You Save Overwatered Pothos?

Dispose of the entirety of the wet soil. Remove any roots that appear to be delicate, saturated, and not firm. Permit your plant to pass on uncovered roots overnight and dry out. Re-pot the plant into a little holder just an inch or two bigger than the root ball.

Should I Cut Yellow Leaves Off Pothos To Revive?

  1. The answer to ‘should I remove yellow leaves from pothos’ is – Yes.
  2. We recommend you to cut off the yellow leaves on pothos using a sterilized scissor.
  3. This will avoid the spread of infestation to other parts of the plant.
  4. You will see new leaves developing in no time and your pothos plant will be healthy again.

Can Pothos Yellow Leaves Turn Green Again?

How do you fix yellow pothos leaves and make them green again? For plants with yellow leaves, have common problems. you have to understand that after the leaves have turned yellow on your pothos plant.

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It is unlikely that green yellow leaf plant will turn green again. We suggest you remove these leaves using a sterilized scissor so that the plant can focus on growing newer and healthier leaves.

How Do You Tell If Pothos is Overwatered?

Are you wondering ‘why are my pothos leaves turning yellow? Well, the most obvious reason could be overwatering. Keep a check on the following indicators and you will know it’s time to cut back on the watering:

  • The leaves will turn yellow but you will also notice that they soften and lose the shape. They will fall off from the plant and look flaccid and soft.
  • If you observe, then the yellow color of the leaves will be more of a matt ochre shade.
  • The yellowing leaves will be visible on all parts of the plant and this discoloration will develop rather fast.

Pothos Plant Care Tips

We have seen all the above problems on How To Fix Pothos Yellow Leaves. Now we will see a few tips on how to care for pothos in advance to prevent yellow leaves.

  • Always keep pothos inside, ideally with splendid, not immediate light, despite the fact that it likewise will endure low-light conditions.

Tip: Pothos Yellow leaves imply an excess of sun, and loss of variegation implies close to nothing.

  • Pothos likes to have its soil dry out among waterings and subsequently acknowledges whimsical watering care.
  • It certainly loathes soaked roots. Tip: The leaves hang when the plant is parched and needs a beverage.
  • In any case, don’t let this wither y stage go for a really long time or you will begin to see leaf drop.
  • Fill pothos with fertilized soil and sterilized soil.
  • Pathos plant is a light feeder, however, you can give it a month-to-month nibble with a decent compost figured for what causes yellow leaves on houseplants.

How To Care Cebu Blue Pothos Yellow Leaf

Cebu blue pothos needs the same care guidance as normal pothos plants. The only things are that if you are planning to move this plant outdoor, then try to keep it at a place where it doesn’t get direct harsh sunlight, for example, under a bigger plant or tree

You may also like to read below articles.

Lest talk On some common FAQs- Why Pothos Turning Yellow How To Fix


How do I know when my pothos needs water?

Dark spots on the leaves and the abrupt breakdown of the plant demonstrate the dirt has been kept excessively wet. Let the plant reveal to you when to water—when it begins to hang, it needs a decent beverage

How long can pothos live underwater?

Pothos can live in water for a long time. Only thing is that the jar or container needs to be cleaned from time to time as tap water contains chlorine, which is bad for the plant.

Do pothos like coffee grounds?

coffee and plants make a powerful pair because of the highly corrosive substance of java and a plant’s normal requirement for nitrogen. Houseplants, for example, jade, pothos, and African violets can likewise utilize espresso as compost.

Does pothos grow faster in water or soil?

Water developed Pothos will develop, however not exactly as fast as Pothos that are filled in soil. For the quickest development, pick a norm, well-depleting gardening soil.

Are eggshells good for pothos plants?

Eggshells contain such a plenitude of calcium that they can be utilized practically like lemon, pothos however, you would require a ton of eggshells to have a quantifiable effect.

Why are my pot plants turning yellow?

There can be many factors that plants’ leaves turn yellow. If your pothos yellowing leaves after repotting. The most common reason is due to moisture issues.
People tend to overwatering or under watering the plant. So be aware and check the plant’s soil from time to time in order to identify the water requirements.

How to fix pothos leaves turning black

There are many reasons which you can blame for Pothos leaves turning black. Like excessive light and fertilizer use, Underwatering, overwatering, Heat, or diseases

how to get pothos to branch

To get pothos to the branch you can follow the below tips.

Use a nutritional fertilizer for the soil.
Give proper sunlight.
Maintain the room temperature 70°F – 90°F.
Water the plant well, not underwater not overwater

What Do Yellow Leaves Mean On Pothos

This Is Really A Big Issue When Once In A Life Every Garden Lover Faced For Indoor And Outdoor Plants, Suddenly Their plant leaves drooping turning yellow, white and brown in color. The Main Signal You Can Get From This Issue Is Due To A Lack Of Correct Watering Requirements And Stress.

Conclusion

  • People usually get the pothos plant thinking that it is sturdy and indestructible. That is why when they see the leaves turning yellow, it might frustrate them.
  • However, you need to understand that this problem can be easily treated if you find out the exact cause of the Pothos Leaves yellowing.
  • As mentioned above, the reasons for your Pothos Yellow Leaves could be overwatering, under-watering.
  • Incorrect feeding, improper sunlight, pest infestation, or naturally shedding the old leaves. Keep a watch on the plant and all these problems can be resolved without the hassle and successfully.

You can also check the complete pothos meaning and plants profile for more info.

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2 thoughts on “How To Fix Pothos Yellow Leaves (Simple Yet Effective #21 Tips)”

  1. Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article!
    It is the little changes which will make the greatest changes.

    Thanks a lot for sharing!

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