Why is my pothos not rooting?

Pothos cuttings not growing roots? I hate that! Let’s diagnose the most common reasons that your pothos not rooting!

Pothos plants are super easy to care for and super easy to propagate.

So, if your pothos isn’t rooting, you might feel like a disappointed loser.

Have no fear, I bet we can figure out the problem and solve it together!

Why is my pothos not rooting?

There are a few reasons that your pothos cuttings might not be rooting:

• Your cutting doesn’t have a node
• Your cuttings are unhealthy
• It hasn’t been long enough
• Your water is dirty
• Your cuttings are too long
• The cutting dried out
• They aren’t getting enough light

Your cutting doesn’t have a node

Can you propagate pothos without a node? No! Pothos cuttings require a node to root. A node is the bump where leaves and roots grow.

No node, no roots. You can’t root just a leaf with no stem.

Take a new cutting and try again.

Your cuttings are unhealthy

It is important to take cuttings from healthy portions of your plant, preferably spots with new growth.

If you take a cutting off a sad withered branch, or worse, try to propagate a piece that fell off half dead, you aren’t going to have much luck.

It hasn’t been long enough

You have to have a certain level of patience – roots don’t form over night.

How long does it take pothos cuttings to root? It can take 2 months for roots to really form on pothos cuttings in water.

How do I make my pothos root faster? You can apply rooting hormone to speed up the rooting process. Make sure it has clean water and plenty of indirect sunlight!

Your water is dirty

Dirty water is not conducive to root growth. Change your water when it gets foggy or looks dirty for best results at growing happy root systems.

Your cuttings are too long

Cuttings need energy to make roots. If the cutting has too many leaves – or even too long of stem – it will spend its limited energy keeping those alive instead of on growing roots.

I love a long cutting for the potential of a new big baby plant, but it’s better to cut it into sections and root them each separately.

The cutting dried out

Unlike succulents, you don’t let pothos cuttings dry or callous over before rooting them. Keep them moist at all times to get root growth when rooting in water.

If your water runs low or you kept the cutting out of water before putting it in, it could be too late, too dry, too sad for root growth.

They aren’t getting enough light

Just like a baby plant, cuttings need bright indirect light to grow. They need that solar energy to put into the root growth! Consider moving them to a sunnier spot to encourage your rooted pothos.

Any more questions about why your pothos isn’t rooting?

Thanks for reading!

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