A leggy pothos is something that can creep up on you. One day you have a beautiful trailing plant and the next it’s looking a bit like green spaghetti with a few leaves leftover. I’ve had it happen with my pothos a few times and it’s annoying as hell.
But a leggy pothos isn’t some strange curse that we don’t understand. There are some very obvious reasons when you look at why your plant has become so sparse.
So I’m going to take you through all of them as well as what you can do to fix the problem. I’ve made pretty much every one of these mistakes so you can learn what not to do from my mess ups.
Quick Answer
- Not Enough Light (Most Common): Pothos stretch toward light when they don’t get enough. Move the plant to bright, indirect light to get better growth.
- Lack of Pruning: Long vines happen when the stems are never cut back. Trim your plant regularly to force it to give you new growth.
- Low Feeding or Old Soil: Weak growth can be because of depleted soil. Refresh the potting mix or feed it lightly during the spring and summer.
1. Not Enough Light (The Big One)
This is the reasons for leggy pothos in about 80% of the cases. One of my first pothos plants, which I stupidly put in a dark corner of my bedroom because I’d been told pothos aren fine in low light, had this problem. And while they can tolerate low light – similarly to how I can tolerate my neighbor’s terrible music at 2am – it doesn’t mean it’s ideal.
When pothos don’t get enough light they start reaching for it (called etiolation).
The stems get longer and have fewer leaves because the plant is trying to get itself more light.
I moved that leggy pothos of mine about 5 feet from an east facing window and it quickly started getting new growth that was much fuller. Not a miracle fix but it stopped the problem from getting worse.
2. You’re Being Too Nice With Watering
This sounds backwards but hear me out. Overwatering doesn’t directly cause legginess but it does cause a lot of problems that will end up there.
When you overwater the plant the roots can’t breathe properly and that stops them from taking up the nutrients it needs. This in turn means the plant can’t grow well.
I had a pothos in my kitchen that I was watering every week thinking I was doing everything right. But the pot didn’t have very good drainage and the soil was staying wet for way too long. The plant wasn’t dying but it was growing sort of weird, with longer stems with really small leaves.
Once I let the soil dry out more between each time I watered – and I mean properly dry where the top 2 to 3 inches feel dry to the touch – the new growth started looking a lot better.
For more help see our pothos watering guide.
3. Your Pot is Too Big
We’ve all been told that plants need room to grow. But pothos actually prefer being a little rootbound.
When you put them in a pot far too big they take all their energy and grow the roots instead of growing a lot of bushy leaves/vines.
Last year I repotted a small pothos from a 4 inch pot straight into an 8 inch pot. That turned out to be a big mistake.
The plant went leggy within a few months, giving me long and sparse vines instead of the sort of growth I was hoping for.
The general rule is to only go up one pot size when you repot. So from a 4 inch to a 6 inch, not an 8 inch pot. It seems like it wouldn’t matter much but it makes a real difference.
4. Poor Soil Quality
Soil breaks down over time. It compacts, loses its structure and stops having enough nutrients and air flow that roots need.
I’ve had pothos that were in the same soil for over 2 years and by the end the soil was more like concrete than anything plants should or could grow in.
When soil is compacted or depleted of nutrients the roots will struggle, and when roots struggle you get weak, leggy growth. It’s all connected.
I try to refresh the soil or repot my pothos every 18 to 24 months now even if they don’t look like they need it. Use a mix that drains well – I do about 60% potting soil, 30% perlite and 10% orchid bark.
5. Not Pruning (Ever)
You might not be aware but pothos don’t just stay bushy. They need to be pruned.
In their natural habitat they would climb up trees and get pruned naturally by animals, weather and just everything that goes on in a rainforest.
But when in your living room? They just keep growing longer and longer, putting all their energy into the tips of the vines instead of putting out any new growth near their base.
I was really worried about pruning my first pothos because I thought I’d hurt it. But actually pruning is probably the best thing you can do for your plant.
Cut back the long vines by a third or even half and it should react by putting out new growth from the nodes near the bottom.
6. Temperature Stress
Pothos like consistency. They’re tropical plants that evolved in warm environments.
When the temperatures change a lot – like when they’re near to window that has drafts, a heating vent or your air conditioning – the plant goes into a weird survival mode where it tries to stay alive instead of growing big and bushy. Which to be fair makes sense.
I had a pothos on a windowsill that I let get hit by cold air in the winter when I opened the window. The stems that were closest to the window went leggy whereas the rest of the plant looked fine. It took me an embarrassingly long time to make the connection.
Room temperature of 65 to 85°F (18-29°C) is best for pothos. Try to avoid letting the temperature swing back and forth a lot.
7. Not Enough Humidity
Pothos can handle average household humidity but when it drops too low they start to struggle. Low humidity stresses the plant and stressed plants don’t produce compact growth.
I don’t go crazy with humidity but I do keep my pothos grouped together with other plants. They help increase the humidity for one another. And I will also mist them occasionally.
8. Using the Wrong Fertilizer (Or None at All)
For the first year I had pothos I never fertilized them. I just figured they’d get the nutrients they needed from the soil.
And technically, they did – for a while. But soil nutrients run out, especially in containers where there’s no way they can be replenished naturally.
Pothos that don’t get fed will give you weak, leggy growth because they don’t have the resources to produce full, healthy leaves.
I use a balanced fertilizer (something like 10-10-10 or 20-20-20) diluted to half strength. I’ll give it to my pothos once a month during the growing season.
I skip winter because they’re basically dormant then anyway. You can see how different the growth is with fuller leaves and just overall looking healthier.
9. Old Age and Natural Growth Pattern
Sometimes your pothos is leggy just because that’s what pothos do. As they get older they want to climb and vine. In the wild they would be climbing up 40 foot trees, not sitting in a hanging basket.
The older parts of the vine will naturally have more spacing between leaves as that’s just how they grow. New growth comes from the tips and the plant puts less energy into the older parts.
In this case it isn’t really a problem you need to “fix” – it’s just understanding what plants do. But if you want bushier plants this is where propagation comes in.
I’ve started just cutting back my older pothos and propagating the cuttings to start fresh, bushy plants.
10. Pests Draining Resources
I discovered spider mites on one of my pothos last summer but it would have been very easy to miss them. They’re tiny,l for starters and the damage at first can be subtle. But one of the first signs was the plant looking weak and having leggy growth.
Pests will suck the life out of your plant. They drain the nutrients, damage cells and stress the plant to the point where it can’t produce healthy growth.
Common pothos pests include:
- Spider mites (look for webbing on the leaves)
- Mealybugs (white spots)
- Scale insects (small brown bumps)
- Fungus gnats (more annoying than harmful, but still)
Check your plants regularly. I do a quick inspection every time I water now. It doesn’t have to be anything major, just look under leaves, along the stems and at any new growth. Catching pests early makes all the difference.
For more help see our guide to getting rid of bugs on pothos plants.
11. Root Bound and Nutrient Depleted
This is related to pot size but it’s worth giving its own section because the solution is different. A plant can be appropriately pot bound (which pothos actually like) or so root bound that it’s killing it off.
When the roots have filled the pot then they will start to circle around and around with nowhere to go. When this happens they can’t take up water and nutrients properly anymore.
The plant survives but not well. And when plants aren’t thriving they get leggy.
I check for this by taking the plant out of its pot (if possible) or looking at the drainage holes to see if the roots are growing out of them. If the root ball is just one big mass with no soil that you can see then it’s time to repot. Even if you use the same size pot fresh soil and loosening the roots will makes a big difference.
12. Genetic Variety Differences
Some varieties of pothos are just naturally more compact whereas others are born to vine. Golden pothos, for example, are usually more vigorous and vine-y when compared to something like a Pearls and Jade pothos, which grows a lot more slowly and compactly.
I have a Neon pothos that’s just naturally more spread out in the way it grows way you compare it to the something like a Marble Queen, which stays relatively compact even in the same conditions. Same care, different genetics, different results.
Again, you don’t need to “fix” this – just understand what you’re working with. If you want a super bushy plant then it’s probably best not to choose a Golden pothos.
13. Seasonal Changes
Pothos grow differently throughout the year and I’ve noticed mine definitely get leggier in winter. There’s a lot less light, drier air and plant’s natural slowdown anyway. This all means you get weaker growth during the colder months.
The growth that does happen in winter tends to be more stretched out and sparse. It’s not necessarily a problem – it’s just seasonal. But if you’re comparing your plant’s winter growth to its summer growth and getting worried, that might be why.
I’ve learned to just accept that winter growth won’t be as strong. I prune less, fertilize less and basically just maintain my plants rather than expecting to get lots of growth. Come spring the plant bounces back anyway.
14. Water Quality Issues
This is something I didn’t think about for the longest time. Its silly that I missed it but water quality can affect plants health in some subtle ways.
Chlorine, chloramines, fluoride and dissolved salts in tap water can build up in soil over time and make the roots less healthy.
I’m not saying you need to use distilled water or anything extreme (I don’t) but being aware of the water quality helps. I fill my watering can and let it sit out overnight before using it which lets the chlorine evaporate. And occasionally I’ll flush the soil with a good amount of water to wash out any buildup.
In areas with particularly hard water the mineral buildup can be significant. You’ll see it as white crust on the surface of the soil or around the rim of the pot. This affects how the nutrients are taken up and contribute to the plant being stressed, which shows up as leggy growth.
15. Lack of Support for Climbing
Pothos grow differently when they’re allowed to climb versus when they trail. When they climb they grow bigger leaves and more compact growth. When trailing they tend toward smaller leaves and longer spaces between them.
It’s called juvenility versus maturity in plant terms. A climbing pothos is maturing while a trailing one stays in its juvenile form. The juvenile form is naturally more leggy.
I added a moss pole to one of my trailing pothos a few months ago and the difference is huge. The new growth climbing the pole has leaves twice the size of the trailing portions and the spaces between the leaves are much shorter. It’s like a different plant.
If you want a bushier pothos try giving it something to climb. A moss pole, a trellis, even just training it up a wall with hooks. It triggers different growth hormones and you get more better more mature growth.
For more help see our tips to get a pothos to climb or creative and ways pothos climbing ideas.
The Best Solution: A Combination
Your leggy pothos probably isn’t suffering from just one of these issues. It’s usually a combination of a few.
Maybe it’s in medium to low light, hasn’t been pruned ever and the soil is old. Or it’s in decent light but you’re overwatering it and there’s some root damage.
I’ve found the best way to make it work is to look through all these factors and make adjustments across the board. Move it to brighter light, prune it, refresh the soil and generally care for it better.
You won’t see any results overnight as plants don’t work that way. But over a few months the new growth should be noticeably better.
But sometimes you just need to accept that the leggy parts are going to stay leggy. You can’t reverse etiolation in stems that have already grown.
But you can propagate those stems, start fresh and do better the next time. I’ve completely restarted plants this way and its kind of satisfying when it works.
You just want to try and catch it early and make the changes before your beautiful pothos becomes sparse and sad looking.
If it happens though then just trim it back, change up what you’re doing and keep going.