How To Propagate Pothos: Simple Step-By-Step Guide to Growing More Plants for Free

Whether you’re a brand new plant parent or have years of experience, there are many benefits to learning how to propagate pothos. These classic vining indoor plants are attractive and carefree, and propagating them is a fun way to expand your plant collection for free.

You can also share propagated plants with friends or family to help them start their own indoor plant collection. Once you learn how easy it is to propagate and care for pothos, you'll be cloning plants constantly.

I'll walk you through step-by-step how to propagate pothos plants. Plus, I'll share my expert insights into the best times and methods to grow more of these lovely, low-maintenance houseplants.

Best Time to Propagate Pothos

The best time to propagate pothos is when plants are just waking up in spring. However, you can propagate a pothos anytime during the growing season, which is spring through early fall.

During late fall and winter, pothos plants enter dormancy and their growth slows. This makes it more difficult to propagate plants, though it is still possible. For the highest chances of success, propagate your pothos during the growing season instead.

Best Methods for Propagating Pothos

The best ways to propagate pothos plants are by cuttings, division, or layering. For immediate results, division is the best method. As soon as you divide and repot your pothos, you have a new plant to share or to expand your own collection.

Layering is an easy way to sprout new pothos plants, but it takes longer than division. It's also the least common way to propagate pothos, but it's just as simple as taking cuttings.

Which brings us to the most common way to grow new pothos plants. Taking cuttings and rooting them in either water or soil is the way most home growers propagate houseplants. Though it's not as immediate as dividing, it's a fun and easy project to try at home. I'll walk you through how to propagate pothos cuttings step-by-step.

Pothos Propagation Essentials

How to Propagate Pothos by Cuttings

Propagating pothos via cuttings is the most popular method. In addition to giving you more plants to grow or share, taking cuttings can make a pothos fuller as well. Just follow these three steps for cuttings that are ready to root into new plants:

1. Find a node.

For this method of propagation, you need stem cuttings that are 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm) long and have two to four leaves. Choose healthy looking stems and find a node, where the leaf meets the stem.

Nodes are where new leaves and aerial roots emerge. Just look for a bulge near where a leaf meets the stem.

2. Make the cut.

Place a clean pair of scissors or pruners just above the node at a 45-degree angle and cut using a clean, sharp pair of pruners, like these ones from Fiskars.

Remove any leaves within a few inches of the cut end. This section of stem is the cutting you will use to propagate new plants. There may already be some aerial roots present near the node. These will grow and form your new plant's root system.

3. Prepare cuttings for rooting.

You can dip the cut end with rooting hormone to jumpstart growth, but this typically works better when rooting plants in soil. You can get rooting hormone from Amazon to give cuttings a boost.

Now that your stems are ready to grow, put your plant cuttings in water or plant them directly into soil to start forming roots. I'll walk you through both options below.

Rooting Pothos in Water

To root pothos in water, place stems in a jar or other vessel, like this propagation station from Amazon, filled with room temperature water. The node where you cut should be below the water line. Don’t let leaves dip into the water or they will rot and potentially kill the cutting.

Place your cuttings in a location with bright indirect light. Change the water every couple of days. When 1 to 2 inches (3-5 cm) of roots form, plant pothos cuttings in a container with well-draining potting soil. This indoor plant potting mix from Miracle-Gro is a great option for strong growth.

Rooting Pothos in Soil

To root cuttings in soil, prepare a clean container with a well-draining, pre-moistened potting mix. Dab a pencil into the soil to create a hole for the cutting. Place the cutting into the hole and firm the soil around it until the cutting stands upright on its own.

To help cuttings start to form roots faster, increase the humidity around the cutting. You can do this by enclosing the container in a plastic bag or topping it with an inverted glass jar or humidity dome, which you can get on Amazon.

As moisture collects, open the bag or vent the dome to allow for air circulation, then reclose. Add water as needed to keep the soil moist, but not wet.

When new growth is visible, that means roots have formed. You can check for roots by lightly tugging on the cutting. If it resists, there are roots growing under the soil.

When rooting plants from cuttings you can also use perlite, vermiculite, or coarse sand first and then transfer to potting soil when roots have formed.

How to Propagate Pothos by Division

The best time to propagate a plant by division is when it is coming out of dormancy in late winter or early spring. Have your new containers and potting soil, like this organic option from Amazon, ready before you begin the division process.

Remove the entire root ball from the pothos' current container. Gently separate stems by the roots and repot your pothos in the new containers at the same soil level they were before. Water plants and continue with normal care.

How to Propagate Pothos by Layering

You can also root pothos vines by layering or laying stems on soil to root and make a new plant. If there is room in your current pothos container you can do it in the same pot. Otherwise, you can place a stem in another container filled with moist potting soil.

Bend part of the stem into the soil and cover with soil, leaving several inches of stem exposed. Once roots form, cut the stem from the parent plant and grow as usual.

Check Out Our Complete Guide to Propagating Houseplants

Frequently Asked Questions