Should I Trim My Pothos? 7 Pruning Tips

Pothos are one of the easiest and most rewarding plants to grow indoors. They feature free-rooting stems that grow aerial roots along walls, poles, and trellises. Place the bare stems in the dirt and they’ll grow new plants! 

Tolerating low light, infrequent water, and drafty conditions, this tropical vine is the perfect houseplant for beginners and experts alike. You may have started many years ago with a small pothos plant, and it now has dozens of lengthy vines that ramble and drape. Or, you’re new to growing houseplants and wondering if your pothos plant needs a trim.

No matter your growing needs, this guide offers easy caretaking tips to encourage your pothos to develop how you’d like. Gather your sterilized trimmers, a glass of water, and a trash can for cut leaves and stems. Let’s get trimming!

7 Pothos Pruning Tips

These seven pothos trimming tips help you turn leggy, sparse vines into bushy, dense ones. If you prefer a leggy look with rambling vines, we’ll discuss how to preserve the lengthy shape while encouraging new growth. 

Trim Healthy Specimens

The best pothos vines to trim are healthy ones. Weak, poorly growing plants aren’t good candidates for pruning, as they may not recover well from the shock. Making many cuts to the vines encourages dense growth but also creates wounds the plant must heal.

Healthy specimens heal these wounds well with few issues. They’ll sprout new shoots after a few days or weeks, with some cut vines sprouting two or three new shoots! Make clean, even cuts to promote quick healing.

If your plant performs poorly indoors, it may have water, light, or temperature issues. These vines like water once their soil surface dries, and they thrive best in warm, bright indirect sunlight indoors. Get them happy and healthy first before pruning them. 

Lengthy or Bushy?

Whether or not to trim your pothos depends on the plant style you’re looking for! Some indoor growers prefer lengthy, traveling vines that drape and swoop throughout the home. Others like short, bushy plants with dozens of leaves. You may like a structure in between these two that’s both leggy and dense at the same time.

No matter your preferences, some simple trimming methods help you achieve the plant shape of your dreams. Create a bushy plant by frequently trimming the stems and placing them back in the container to root. Keep the soil moist, not soggy, and the cut vines will grow into new plants.

Lengthier plants are easier to achieve. It’s best to mix a range of short and long stems so there are leaves near the pot and draping over its sides. These vines tend to grow leaves near their ends, and they lose their old leaves over time. 

You may place cut stems in the same container to achieve a leggy shape; simply choose longer stems to plant. This look is best for pothos in hanging baskets or shelves where the vines can fall below, creating a jungle-like look.

Wrap the Stems Instead

This method feels like cheating! Instead of cutting the stems, you wrap them around the pot so they’re touching the soil. This encourages new roots, shoots, and stems to grow while avoiding unnecessary pruning wounds. 

Wrapping the stems works best if they’re long and leafless. Mature plants in low-light settings often lose the leaves after they sprout, with leafy sections remaining near the growing tips. You can wrap leafy stems if you’d like to; simply trim the leaves off first before laying the stems down on the soil.

Sprinkle some soil on top of the stems for good measure. This is beneficial but unnecessary, and you can skip it if your container is already full of dirt. The extra soil helps keep the stems moist while they form roots.

Consider the Seasons

When to prune is as important of a question as why to prune. Ample light and warmth in spring and summer provide the perfect conditions for regrowth, meaning they’re also the best seasons to trim your pothos. 

Avoid making cuts in late fall or winter, as the plants may need weeks to recover fully. There’s a chance they won’t heal properly and you’ll have a cut, leafless mess. Let them grow slowly throughout the cool months, then decide whether you want to prune in spring or summer.

You may also move your plant outdoors during spring and summer to soak in the sunshine! Grant outdoor specimens partial shade or dappled light, with less than six hours of direct sunlight daily, and transition them slowly. They’ll heal quickly from pruning wounds and grow better than indoor specimens. Remember to bring them back inside before the cold weather returns!

Make the Right Cut

Pothos appreciate cuts in the right spots, where they will recover quickly and sprout new growth. Their stems feature nodes with stem and leaf-growing cells. They’ll sprout new growth from these knobby sections when they sense they’ve lost a portion of their stem.

The nodes will likely have short roots growing on them, making them easy to see. You’ll want to cut a few centimeters below these knobs, leaving some of the stems attached for the new ones to grow out of. Cut too close to the knobs, and new growth may sprout further down the stem. 

Nodes don’t require cuts to sprout new growth, as is evident by the wrapping method. Letting them touch soil or water encourages roots and shoots as long as the plant receives sufficient lighting indoors. 

After making a series of cuts on the vines, you’ll have dozens of cut pothos stems! What better way to put them to use than by encouraging them to grow into new plants? Start by gathering all the cuttings with their cut ends angled downwards. This helps you plant them right side up.

Pothos vines propagate easily in both water and soil. Use whichever method works best for you and your indoor setup. Water propagation is simple—fill jars with water, place the cut stems in them, and situate the jars under bright indirect sunlight. 

Soil propagation is easy enough with the right materials. Place potting soil in small containers, then stick the cut pothos vines into them. Water them well, then place them near bright light. Ensure their soil stays moist throughout the rooting period so they grow their best. 

Monitor for Pests and Diseases

Pothos are disease and pest-resistant and they infrequently have growing issues. They’re extremely adaptable! Sometimes, when they’re wounded or weak, they may have pest infestations or pathogen infections. 

Watch your plant closely after pruning it to ensure it stays healthy while it heals its wounds. Provide bright filtered light, warm temperatures, and regular water when the soil surface dries. These conditions will keep a pothos plant happy throughout the healing period.

Cut stem propagules are more sensitive to pests and diseases than any other form of pothos. Without roots, these specimens lack the resilience they need to survive infections. Use sterilized tools, provide cuttings with bright light, and avoid putting them under cold temperatures—these tricks discourage pests and diseases.