How To Make Pothos Fuller? [ Here Are 5 Important Ways ]

If you are a pothos lover, you’d know how difficult it is to digest the fact that your pothos is leggy or is transforming to one from its previous bushy and fuller appearance.

Is this the case with you too? Pothos is a popular houseplant that comes in multiple sizes, say, small, medium, large, etc.

Now, when you visit any nursery, you’ll most likely come across such sizes; however, you won’t be informed in most cases how to maintain the plant that way.

As a result, after a few weeks or months, the plant will start to leg or lose its bushy appearance and get less fuller.

To overcome this, below are some tried and tested ways to make your leggy pothos plant fuller and bushy like before without much effort So, let’s start.

How to make pothos fuller?

The following are some result-oriented ways to make pothos fuller and bushy again.

1. Check whether the pot size is correct or not.

Before assuming other things, check whether the pot size is suitable enough for the plant to grow sufficiently or not.

In most cases, the wrong pot size is the prime reason behind the incredible growth of the pothos. As plants like pothos grow at a decent rate, you need to repot them every few months or years.

If you haven’t done this for long now, higher are the chances of it outgrowing its pots. Due to this, its roots will tangle up and hinder its further growth.

To inspect, examine the condition of the roots, and repot the plant to a bigger pot. You can even separate the roots manually if they are tangling.

Remember more the gap between the roots, the higher the oxygen transfer through the soil, and the better the growth.

2. Mind the soil’s pH

For any plant, the soil’s composition and pH are vital to its growth and life. In the case of pothos, the soil you’re using ought to have a pH of around 6.1 to 6.5.

It means that slightly acidic soil is favorable for plants like pothos as it’s more draining. Suppose the soil is too alkaline or close to being alkaline.

In that case, you need to acidify it by adding a fixed quantity of either sphagnum peat, aluminum or iron sulfate, or elemental sulfur. You can also consider adding a layer of mulch (organic) over the soil’s top layer up to a few inches.

3. Prune the pothos effectively

Well, if you haven’t pruned your pothos plant since bringing it home, you’re responsible for its leggy appearance.

The plants, especially house plants like pothos, tend to thin down with scant leaves, giving them a leggy appearance.

It calls for their regular pruning as and when they seem in such a shape. To prune your pothos plant, below are its steps.

• Mark the vines you wish to cut and allow the new ones to grow there instead.
• Cut the vines around ¼” above the leaves for the new vines to grow.
• If you encounter any leafless vine, chop it off entirely as it won’t grow again.
• Repeat the above steps for other vines.

Note that the pothos plant can undergo and withstand heavy pruning, unlike the other plants. Hence, if you feel like pruning it every time to help it grow fuller and bushier, don’t hesitate to do so.

Using the correct tools and techniques can help your pothos grow like never before with bigger leaves and stiff stems.

4. If needed, stake your plant.

Staking a plant means providing it with support like bamboo, trellis, moss pole, or something else to grow around.

If the plant has a decent growing tendency, it’ll need solid support for the same.

It is the case with pothos too. If well-fed, your pothos can thrive with more enormous and heavy leaves, which will start making the plant top-heavy—resulting in a need for solid support to facilitate this growth.

5. Provide sufficient light

Sunlight deficiency is another common reason behind the crooked growth of pothos.

Although pothos doesn’t require much direct sunlight, you can’t deny the fact that a certain amount of natural sunlight (indirectly) for a small duration is a must! By indirectly, I mean never expose the plant to sunlight as it makes the leaves curl or turn yellow.

You can close the window and place the plant near it to let it get some natural sunlight. Or you can even resort to covering the plant with thin material to protect it from harmful sun rays.

What about growing multiple plants together?

Yes, this is another simplest way to achieve a fuller pothos plant. Since pothos has a small root system that doesn’t spread like other plants, you can look forward to combining multiple plants for a better spread.

Pot multiple pothos plants in a bigger pot and let them grow as one when looked at from the sides or top. Guess what?

You can even pot different types of pothos together like golden pothos, neon, or satin pothos. It will result in a mix of multiple colored leaves in a single pot.

Why is my pothos plant leggy?

There are many reasons why your pothos is leggy instead of being fuller or bushier. To list out a few, here are they.

• Your pothos’ roots are not able to grow at their pace and in insufficient space. It can happen because you have either potted the plant in a smaller pot or have roots that are already bound.
• Another reason is inadequate light and water. Pothos needs ample sunlight indirectly to prosper along with proper watering. If any of these is insufficient quantities, you will see your pothos having stunted growth.
• In some cases, even the usage of poor-quality fertilizer is the main culprit. Hence, use a proper fertilizer that caters to your pothos needs.
• The soil you are using for the pothos ought to have a pH of around 6.1-6.5. Alkaline soil is less draining and incapable of supporting plant growth. In contrast, acidic soil is more draining and ensures that the soil becomes sufficiently dry before the next water spell.
• If you haven’t pruned your pothos plant, it will continue to experience poor growth and a leggy appearance. It’s advisable to prune the plant as and when you feel it’s the right time to do so as pothos can withstand heavy pruning.

So, these are the most common and visible reasons behind a leggy pothos plant.

Fertilizer for pothos

Although fertilizers are not necessary for pothos plants, you may need to use some of them if there’s any lack of nutrients affecting the plant in any sense.

However, you can’t randomly pick any fertilizer and use it. For reference, remember that you’ll hardly require a balanced fertilizer and more of a specific chemical boosted one for a particular issue the plant is encountering.

For example, for pothos lacking their vibrant dark green leaves, a nitrogen-boosted fertilizer is ideal. For a plant with a leggy appearance, a fertilizer rich in phosphorus is a good pick.

If the plant has issues in water retention or absorption, potassium-based fertilizer is what you will need. In a nutshell, fertilizers are available in different categories, and you need to find one that’s appropriate for your plant.

Conclusion

So, a plant-like pothos looks best when it’s bushier and fuller. However, if you are a novice in the business, you may find it challenging to maintain the pothos like it should have been.

Don’t worry! You can utilize the above ways to get back the old bushier and fuller look of your pothos besides helping it grow as it’d in a nursery under expert supervision.

Lastly, I’d also listed the common reasons that contribute towards this and what alternate measures you can deploy to counter them.