Why are my pothos leaves turning yellow?
A yellow leaf on a pothos is rarely serious, and it almost always has a simple explanation. The hard part is working out which, because the same yellow can mean too much water, thirst or just an old leaf.
On a pothos, several yellow leaves at once, with soil that has stayed damp for days, almost always mean too much water: the roots are suffocating. A single old leaf low down turning yellow now and then is just age. If the yellow arrives with dry leaves and hard soil, the plant is thirsty. Either way, check with a finger in the soil.
Why do pothos leaves turn yellow?
A pothos (Epipremnum aureum), sometimes sold as devil’s ivy, writes its problems on the leaf itself. The two causes named most often are too much water and too few nutrients. Before you change anything, take a calm look:
- One lower leaf, now and then, while the plant grows well. Age. Nothing to do.
- Several leaves yellowing together, soil damp for days. Too much water, the usual culprit.
- Leaves that droop and curl, then yellow and dry out, with hard soil. Too little water.
- Small new leaves, fading markings and leggy stems. Not enough light.
- Tiny yellow dots or fine webbing on the underside. Pests, such as spider mites.
- Straight after a move, a new spot or a new pot. Stress. Give it time.
Is the yellow from overwatering?
Pothos roots can’t stand waterlogged soil. Starved of air, they rot, and the leaves show it. The yellow often starts on the lower leaves and works upwards.
How to confirm. A few days after the last watering, press a finger into the soil: if it’s still wet deep down, in the middle of the pot, the plant is drinking less than you’re giving it. Other clues are a pot that stays heavy, a musty smell, gnats hovering over the soil and soft, dark stems at soil level.
What to do.
- Hold off watering until the top few centimetres have dried.
- Empty the saucer or the cache pot.
- Check that water can actually leave the pot.
- If a few weeks pass with no improvement, or it smells bad, slide the plant out. Healthy roots are firm and pale; rotten ones are dark and soft. Snip the rotten ones with clean scissors and repot in airy, fresh soil, in a pot with a hole.
After that, water less often, particularly in dim spots. Here is how long the soil takes to dry in each place:
| Where it lives | In July | In January |
|---|---|---|
| South- or west-facing window | 4 days | 7 days |
| East-facing window | 4 days | 7 days |
| North-facing window | 7 days | 12 days |
| Hallway or corner with no window | 10 days | 17 days |
For the gap in each spot and the finger test, read how often to water a pothos.
Could the yellow be thirst?
A truly thirsty pothos has hard soil pulling away from the pot. It makes thirst obvious, because the leaves droop and curl first; the yellowing and leaf drop only follow if the dryness drags on. Water thoroughly, until it drains from the bottom; if the water slips down the sides without sinking in, stand the pot in a basin until the soil is evenly damp.
Can too little light turn a pothos yellow?
It can. A pothos tolerates low light, but in real gloom the new leaves come out smaller and the stems tend to stretch towards brightness. Variegated types such as ‘Marble Queen’ lose their markings and go plain green. Move the plant nearer a window with indirect light, or, if your home is dark, browse plants that accept low light.
The reverse yellows too: midday sun scorches, and the leaf turns yellow and then brown on the side facing the glass.
Could it be pests?
Spider mites tend to turn up in warm, dry air and leave yellow flecks and later fine webbing. Mealybugs look like tiny cotton tufts. Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth and, if they persist, use insecticidal soap, keeping the plant apart from its neighbours.
What if the plant is hungry?
A pothos that has sat in one pot for years and never been fed turns pale first in its oldest, lowest leaves, a sign of missing nutrients (nitrogen or iron, for instance). In spring and summer, a weak dose of liquid feed for green plants, every other month, is usually enough. Not in winter.
Should I cut off the yellow leaves?
A leaf that’s wholly yellow won’t go green again. Snip it off at the stem with clean scissors. A pothos tends to branch after a cut and ends up bushier.
Summary: which yellow is this?
| What you see | Most likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Several leaves, damp soil | Too much water | Stop watering, check the pot |
| Dry leaves, hard soil | Thirst | Water well, until it drains |
| One old lower leaf | Ageing | Nothing |
| Pale, stretched | Low light | Move closer to a window |
| Dots and webbing | Pests | Wipe, isolate the plant |
Quick questions
Will the yellow leaves turn green again? No. Cut them off and the plant puts out new growth from the nodes.
Can a very yellow pothos be saved? Usually, as long as some roots are firm. Fix the cause and give it a few weeks.
When the yellow won’t explain itself
If the signs overlap, your history is the tiebreaker: how often you’ve watered, where the plant sits, how much light it gets. When you describe what you see, Verdejar weighs it against the waterings you’ve logged, plus the pot and the light. For the full picture, see how to care for a pothos.
Sources: Royal Horticultural Society · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · Missouri Botanical Garden · UF/IFAS Extension · Clemson Home & Garden Information Center · Penn State Extension · University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension · South Dakota State University Extension · NC State Extension · University of Maryland Extension. The days between waterings come from the Verdejar watering engine.