Pothos 'Neon'

Getting Started with Your Neon Pothos

1. Light: A Neon Pothos grows in direct or indirect light and tolerates lower light. Bright, indirect light keeps its chartreuse color at its most vivid, while low light can darken leaves and create leggy vines. Protect it from harsh afternoon sun, which can bleach or scorch the foliage.
2. Potting and Drainage: Keep it in a pot with drainage holes and a well-draining potting mix. The Neon Pothos comes in 3 inch, 4 inch, 6 inch, and 8 inch pots, and it can stay in its nursery pot inside a decorative planter as long as excess water can escape.
3. Placement: Vines grow 6 to 10 feet long indoors, and even longer with support, with a spread of 2 to 3 feet. Let the vines trail from a hanging basket or bookshelf, or train them up a trellis or moss pole for a bold wall of electric green.

Care Instructions

1. Watering: Water when the top inch or two of soil dries out, typically every one to two weeks. It tolerates inconsistent watering, and slightly drooping leaves signal it is ready for a drink. Always let excess water drain and reduce watering in winter.
2. Humidity: Neon Pothos is happy in average household humidity. In very dry winter air, grouping it with other plants helps keep new leaves unfurling smoothly and prevents crispy edges. Misting is not necessary.
3. Fertilizing: A light monthly feeding with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer during spring and summer helps it grow denser and keeps the neon color bright. Skip feeding in fall and winter when growth naturally slows.
4. Pest Monitoring: Pests are uncommon, but check leaf undersides and stem joints now and then for mealybugs and spider mites. Wipe off mealybugs with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, and rinse the plant or use insecticidal soap for mites.

Maintenance and Long-Term Care

1. Repotting: Repot when roots circle the pot or grow out of the drainage holes, typically every one to two years in spring or summer. Move up just one pot size and use fresh, well-draining mix.
2. Pruning and Cleaning Leaves: Make your Neon Pothos bushier by trimming long vines just above a leaf node to encourage branching. Wipe dust from the leaves with a damp cloth so the bright foliage stays glowing.
3. Propagation: Snip a vine just below a node and place the cutting in water or moist potting mix. Roots usually appear within a few weeks. Pot the rooted cuttings on their own or tuck them back into the original pot for a fuller look.

Additional Tips for Neon Pothos

1. Pet Safety: Neon Pothos is toxic to cats and dogs. Like all pothos, it contains calcium oxalate crystals that can cause mouth irritation, drooling, and vomiting if chewed. Keep it in a hanging planter or on a high shelf away from curious pets.
2. Troubleshooting: Leaves turning deep yellow and soft usually mean too much water, so let the soil dry more between waterings and check drainage. Pale or washed-out leaves may mean too much direct sun. Dark leaves and long bare stems mean it needs brighter light.