Why is my pothos droopy? Troubleshooting help!

Wondering why your Pothos is droopy? Let’s diagnose this common problem and get your plant healthy again!

Pothos (epipremnum aureum) are a super popular houseplant. They come in many varieties, but what most have in common is that they are super easy to keep happy, grow quickly, and propagate easily too.

So, if your pothos isn’t doing well, you might be a little puzzled.

Kind of like how snake plant was one of my first plants – it had a tag on it that said IRON PLANT HARD TO KILL – and I killed it within the month.

Even easy plants can have problems and need some troubleshooting.

So, today we are going to chat about droopy pothos plants and what to do about them!

Why is my pothos droopy?

There are a few main reasons why your pothos is drooping:

• Under watering
• Overwatering
• Low humidity
• Cold temperatures
• Low light
• Reaction to repotting

Under watering

Under watering is the #1 cause of pothos death and pothos wilting.

Signs that your plant is under watered:

• Hard, compact, very dry soil
• Crispy or brown tips on leaves

How to fix an under watered pothos:

Give it a good soak – be sure the pot has drainage holes and submerge or fully wet the soil. Let dry and shake off excess water.

Over watering

Overwatering is equally as deadly as under watering and causing limp pothos leaves.

Signs that your plant is over watered:

• Soggy soil
• Limp, mushy leaves or leaves with mushy black spots
• Mold or mushrooms on soil
• Small gnats around soil

How to fix an over watered pothos:

Let the plant dry out before watering again! If it is very soggy, pull it out, dump the soil, and repot in fresh soil.

Be sure that the pot has drainage holes and drill them if necessary to prevent future water-logging of the root system.

Low humidity

Pothos are rainforest plants that like humidity. While it would have to be extreme for lack of humidity to cause pothos plant wilting, it is possible.

Signs that your plant needs humidity:

• Brown crispy tips on leaves
• Limp wilting leaves

How to give a pothos plant more humidity:

You can mist your plant to give it instant humidity. More passive ways for lasting humidity include running a humidifier, using a pebble tray, or grouping your plants close together to enjoy each other’s humidity levels.

Cold temperatures

Pothos are tropical plants and temperatures under 50 degrees will kill them.

Signs that your plant is cold:

• Plant was left outside with temps under 50 degrees overnight
• Plant looks limp including leaves and stems
• Potting mix is not super dry or wet

How to fix a cold pothos:

Unfortunately, there’s no bringing it back. Cut off dead leaves and limp branches and hope there is enough for new growth to grow.

Obviously, move it into a warmer spot moving forward.

Low light

Pothos can live in low or bright light but won’t thrive in low light.

Signs that your plant needs light:

• The plant gets no natural light
• Pothos leaves are soft and droopy
• Potting soil is neither very wet nor very dry

How to give a pothos more light:

Move it to brighter light! Bright indirect light is best.

Reaction to repotting

Repotting your plant is great when it starts to outgrow its pot. However, many plants go into shock after being repotted.

Signs that your plant is in shock:

• Sudden drooping, leaves turning yellow, dropping leaves immediately after repotting

How to fix a shocked pothos:

All you can do is be sure it has proper light and amount of water. It should perk up in a few days!

Wilted Pothos FAQ

Why are my pothos leaves limp?

There are a few main reasons why the leaves on your pothos are drooping:

• Under watering
• Overwatering
• Low humidity
• Cold temperatures
• Low light
• Reaction to repotting

How do you fix a droopy pothos?

First you need to identify why your pothos plant is drooping. Then, remedy the issue. Hopefully the droopy leaves will perk back up.

Why is my pothos droopy and yellow?

Droopy and yellow leaves are usually drooping due to overwatering and not-well drained soil.

Can pothos recover from overwatering?

If your pothos plant still has white firm roots, it can recover from overwatering. If the roots have gone black and mushy, that is root rot. Remove the rotten roots, place the remaining plants in water and see if they will grow new roots.

Thanks for reading!

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