This thread is painful to read. Here is a summary. Hrose asks for advice. Hrose gets some advice, shoots it down, gets other advice, shoots that down too. Is advised to check the roots, ignores it, decides that it is underwatering even though nobody suggested that (why ask for help then?) Gets advised to check the roots again, rejects that too ("i doubt i will see anything wrong with them").

(How long does it take to flip it over? Five minutes including snapping pics and cleanup, I think. I've been surprised by what I see under the ground more times than I can count.)

Anyway, I am amazed and admire you all for how patient you have been here. Your time is not wasted because OTHERS, those more receptive to learning, will get good useful practical education out of this. Thank you.

/rant_over

I'm good with it. If a thing doesn't make sense, it's really not the fault of the reader, just that nobody has phrased the info yet in a way seems relevant. As one of the must obstinate people around, I've had to have things explained multiple times/ways many times.

"if the base were getting dry and the roots were dead or dying it would show everywhere all leaves would turn colour you can not have the base/main roots die and the rest of the plant alive"

Yes, that's very possible, and can continue for however long it takes for all of the leaves to be lost. With Pothos, when the roots can't deliver sustenance to the foliage, for whatever reason, the oldest leaves will start to be lost, while the tip remains fine-looking. If its' existing roots are compromised, the tip is designed to be able to fall and continue its' quest to take over the jungle. A good experiment would be to cut a decent size piece of vine off and see how long it takes to shrivel up. It's not like a piece of Coleus that would wilt evenly, within hours.

I didn't even notice that it said "photos" instead of "pothos".

I recommend that Hrose read (if he/she hasn't already) one of Al's posts on soil and drainage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention XVII

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is everyone happy now? the roots look perfectly fine to me

teengardner i will keep the mother plant i see absolutely no reason not to

thorw away healthy roots and start over? for what? no thanks! i'll have you know i'm a young straight man not a she

I'm sure the problem is under watering NOT root rot but that's the first thing that comes to mind when a pothos plant has any problems and its the first thing mentioned in many other sites as well i'm not an ammature i wouldnt make the mistake of over watering

iv;e read als gritty mix i'm not going to go on a wild goose chase trying to find the ingredients for it i have no need soil works for me

It's unfortunate but looks from here like that mix is largely compacted ('til you watered it). I suspect that's why the larger roots are winding around the outer rootball like that, they likely can't get thru the inner part of that mix.

You didn't do it for us dude, as I recall YOU CAME ASKING FOR HELP & then declining every single thing suggested.

Good luck w/ that.

That's what I expected, a ball of suffocating, airless peat, though it looks worse than I thought. The only way for roots to get some oxygen in a mix like that is to let it dry out.

That soil is no good, the root photos tellit all, in that soil the plant looks very unhappy, the remedy(in spring is to replace all that soil. You can still take stem cuttings and keep the mother if she has healthy roots, I was personally not suggesting that you had to throw the mother away......

"teengardner i will keep the mother plant i see absolutely no reason not to

thorw away healthy roots and start over? for what? no thanks! i'll have you know i'm a young straight man not a she "

As for the gender think I am sorry for assuming gender with no reference......im not trying to enfuriate anyone....please stop playing the victim we are trying to help YOU...... you came for help and we are trying to HELP.. not annoy. If you cant accept help \suggestions than maybe this forum is not for you

*I mean these words in the upmost respect

Which is it: does soil work for you, or are the leaves turning yellow and brown?

I too have not done the legwork (which in my case would mean either mail-order or car rental) to get the ingredients for gritty mix. But that doesn't mean I think plants can thrive in peat pudding. You can get sidewalk sand and from a hardware store, put it through a colander, and use the fine part on the sidewalk. Or you can get perlite wherever peat pudding is sold. Or you can buy overpriced aquarium gravel from a pet-supply store.

My favorite potting mix is miracle grow, which may be controversal for my pothos, with the idea they dont like to be wet, but mines thrives in it, i just manage watering CAREFULLY.. some people may suggest adding additional drainage material, and i do have a bag of perlite, but i didnt take the time to do that and it is still thriving, after a few months

BUT that peat pudding the pothos are in is probally too acidic and it also get waterlogged easily. As other have said, the roots are gasping for air and are on the blink of rotting. I know im repeating what others have said but thats because it is correct :)

...........solutions are listed in previous post. Please take their advice, they are very experienced people who want to help.

Perhaps some folks here could use a reminder that one can lead a horse to water, but one can't make them drink.

Much more productive to spend time elsewhere (tho' I DO appreciate the Poster who mentioned that others more open to learning can still benefit from this).

Can't say we didn't try.

TG, these kind of problems don't usually show up in just a few months. Often right about the 1-year mark...

Let's remember though, the plant does want to have constant moisture. But oxygen must be present at the same time or rot is what usually happens. Forcing plants to dry beyond natural preference to compensate for that puts them in an unnecessarily difficult position, always under stress.

I've changed my watering schedule from once every two weeks to once every week

I will update if or if not this solves my brown yellow leaf problem

thanks everyone for your patience and advice but i will go with what i think is the best solution for my plants

thanks again

This post was edited by Hrose on Tue, Jan 7, 14 at 15:59

Any Bob Ross fans? It's your happy little plant, in your happy little world, you put it where you want it, you decide how it should be.

Hrose, sending good vibes! I'm sure everyone wishes the best for your plants and if you don't feel any confidence about something it's much less likely to go well even if that's what everybody else would do without any problem. Plants take up vibes from their people.

To introduce some air into your existing root ball, you could take a bamboo skewer and poke some holes down into the soil, a less radical-sounding tactic that you might feel more comfortable with. You might poke up through the drain holes at first, to see how it feels for you.

Another thing that could help is a slight extra effort to get rid of excess water after watering. If there's holes around the rim at the bottom (not just 1 in the middle,) you can tilt the pot toward one of the holes. I think you'll be surprised how much more water comes out.

Taking the same pic from the same angle once a week, the best way to gauge growth or progression of possible illness. A before/after is good, but progression is better. You've got a good start documenting what it's doing.

What about the suggestion to cut 1 piece of vine to see how it's done - how it can make roots and become an autonomous plant of its' own? Dip your toe in, instead of the high dive?

If you decide you'd like to think about trying some propagation, here's a visual. The two removed leaves would be submerged to allow the root nubs to turn into the new roots. Doing this in spring is when most would tackle it anyway, so you're in good and abundant company if you're just thinking about doing stuff like that at this time of year, kicking some ideas around, but not actually doing much.

purpleinopp are you trying to be funny?

I know how propagation of this plant is done I'm already doing some to stick on top where i lost some healthy leafs i will wait until roots show on the cuttings then stick them in the soil right after watering the plant

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This post was edited by Hrose on Tue, Jan 7, 14 at 17:35

Hrose. Have you got a plan as to how you are going to wean the water roots into strong growing soil roots? Why not just grow proper strong soil roots instead?

Hrose,
I hardly think Purple was trying to be funny in the manner you are asking (rude funny). If that were the case, don't you think she wouldn't have bothered showing you how to propagate your Pothos or give you pointers on aerating your soil?

Maybe you should hang around the House Plants forum some more before you take such a defensive stance to comments made. I've never seen Purple rudely respond to anyone on here (even when they probably needed a tongue lashing).

You seem to know so much about your plant, I'm not sure why you bothered asking questions to start with.

Planto

Planto -- I tried to EM you thru GW, but that's not enabled on your Member Page. Could you pls. adjust that?

Thanks,

(PG) Karen

PG,
Okay, after some finagling I got EM enabled.

Planto

Whenever someone asks if you are trying to be funny, the objectively correct answer is always no. Either an attempt failed, to which admission would be undesirable and degrading, or intent was misunderstood, obviously incorrect.

Why make the inference that the propagation suggestion would ruin your plant if you are such an old pro at doing it?

In the pics of your cuttings, the cuts seem to have been made arbitrarily. In the pic I showed with the pencil, at the left end, the cut was made so that a node is left at the end. You can see the cut ends turning brown in your pics. The lengths of stem beyond the last node can only rot. Having rot attached to cuttings is never a good idea. The look like nice-size pieces though.

I do usually start these in water, briefly as mentioned above (I think.) When the brown aerial root nubs turn white and swollen, you can see they have 'gotten the message' and are ready for soil.

Why do people haved to be so rude when other people are trying to help. We didnt know you knew how to do stem cuttings, i didnt know you were a male.....no need to snap on people, just explain how it really is politely... "saying purpleinopp are you trying to be funny?" , is a rude assumtion of one of the nicest people i know tryinng to help YOU and give YOU advice. I know that I am young, but I learned the hard way about being polite to other people on gardenweb.....no I am not picking a fight but im upset you snapped on purpleinopp

What pirate girl said about the horse think is so true in thi post.........................have a good day :)

TY, TG. I appreciate your support, I'm fine. One shouldn't believe everything they read on the internet, skepticism is healthy and good. Confirming info through experience and coinciding anecdotes is a healthy way to investigate if a change of thought or action is warranted.

If two people walk up to a cliff and one says, it's 500 ft drop so we can't go that way, don't bother going any farther, the other will probably believe, but still want to see it, to make up their own mind.

Hey Purple!

I'm back to say I learned something new here from you in this discussion. I never knew to trim the bottom of Pothos just under a node; I've always left at least a couple of inches of stem in there while water rooting. So thanks for the heads up, I'm going to try it as you suggested. I usually keep several cups of these cuttings in water in my bathroom, for some green & a flash of color. So I've got plenty of cuttings to experiment on.

Fredman,

I've done it in water for years, never had trouble transitioning them to soil. I start many Hoyas that was as well. I know they supposedly have different types of roots, water roots vs. soil roots, but I rarely have trouble w/ this. I know many people who start them this way too.

Yeah, the only trouble I've had with stuff taking root in water (that's known to do so easily) is that rotting tip sometimes, especially if I'm doing a good job of ignoring it.

I just wish the white one I got in trade (pearls'n'jade or 'njoy?) would grow as fast as the 'regular' yellow-variegated kind. Everybody's impatient, right? It's only been a few months, LOL! No wonder this kind isn't everywhere - yet. It really does seem slower, though I'm having a hard time being objective.

***UPDATE***

since i've changed my watering from once every 2 weeks to once every week i have not seen any leaves turning brown and yellow

i am certain that my problem was UNDER WATERING

theres this one leaf you can see in the picture with brown spot i was sure it would turn yellow and drop like so many others but since i changed my watering the brown stopped dead in its tracks and the rest of the leaf now remains healthy green

good thing other wise i'd be "chopping up roots" poking holes in the soil changing soil for newer fancy soil

for future google searches Golden Pohtos plants are easy to grow

1 you need basic indoor potting soil

2 don't over water don't under water drainage holes

3 plenty of indirect sunlight

This post was edited by Hrose on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 19:19

i did not want to get involved in this heated discussion... but i have smth to add, i think.
i don't repot often, and certainly NOT golden pothos. i've got plants going n-th generations from cuttings (am talking golden pothos specifically) from '96. they are doing fine. they do fine with repot ev 4-5 yrs may be. no need to exert yrselves that much, folks!
...i've had this one in n-th pot ..very shallow in 17" by 6" box going fantastically for 4-5 yrs.. until it started showing signs similar to yours, hrose. i let it decline for sev months , it got worse and worse. FINALLY i repotted. normal total bare root disturbance is BAD - i bag it for sev months until it finally recovers. and it did, eventually. it took the whole summer...
so ... in my view, do not repot, until absolutely necessary - 4yr? may be in 12" pot. with feed and good light of course.
mine was at least as big as yours. so...i think you might have to repot some time soon...may be if you see further yellowing even with good watering schedule.
just saying... keep an eye on it!

here's what another member had to say

"Posted by theficuswrangler 9/10 (marlie.graves@gmail.com) on Sat, Jan 19, 13 at 13:47
Hi DS
I've been an interior landscaper for 30 years, and I have to consider myself pretty much an expert on pothos, having cared for ten's of thousands of them in all sorts of light conditions, etc. Pothos are pretty tough little customers, so they're good for beginners to experiment with. When their roots are staying too wet for too long, the first sign you will see is browning on the edges of the leaf stems (the stems that attach the leaves to the "vines"); the next sign will be small brown tips on many leaves, newer and older both. Conversely, if its not getting enough water, the older leaves will turn yellow."

I used to water until the soil got so dry that it turned colour from black to whitish like what happens to the ground in server droughts

Now i water whenever the black soil feels dry to touch

This post was edited by Hrose on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 22:49

as plant gets larger - it'll need more water too. and as the root ball gets more compacted it might be harder to rewet it once it's bone dry. i add 1tsp of 3% peroxide to 1.5qt of water to help oxyginate the roots in 'old pots' that are compacted: not my own idea, read about it. well, i do it for all my plants :).
also it helps to water in stages: give it some, wait 20 min , add more. prevents soggy medium, since water is absorbed and not saturates the soil continuously.
i also put one of my VERY large ones on self-watering wick, it helps a lot when i am away. it is in a rather small pot too, so very densely packed - am keeping it like that for a couple years.
we've been talking about how to grow larger leaves in this thread below - might be of interest to you.
the pic of my wicked ;) plant is around may 21 2013 about half-way down. it is in a nursery 1gal pot (best surviving vines from 17"x6" box), potted last spring.

Here is a link that might be useful: epipremnum/vines thread

"please teengaradener no need to get your panties in a bunch" ??? This is not a nice thing to say, and a strange over-reaction to what was said. TG's a guy, BTW, so panties don't apply.

"mine is better looking" Besides an example of a cutting, there are no pics in this discussion belonging to anyone else. Everyone has agreed, your plant looks lovely.

You might check out 'hot topics' forum if an argument is what interests you.

I have had the problem with browning leaves on some Pothos that I bought for my daughter in Chicago, and it turned out it was caused by low temperatures in her drafty apartment. Chicago is COLD. They can take a lot of drought, but they don't like drafts. Mine here in Brooklyn are fine.

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Have to admit your pothos is gorgeous.But, aren't you glad you took cuttings just in case? I killed one with overwatering but it was outside for the summer.I'm just kind of surprised that you didn't check the roots out yourself first and post the pic way back. It's one of the first things I always do when I think a plant is
going downhill. Glad your plant made a comeback .I picked up some info. from the thread so glad you posted.

Oh gosh- just saw your in Canada and the plant is by what looks like a sliding door--- Cold??? If it continues or gets worse after watering more as you think it needs maybe that could be a factor?

I wish to avoid arguments, and do let me say that we both have now thought we were females, so guess that makes up for my false idea, im not the least offended. I will admit his pothos is one of the prettiest i have ever seen

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Not an expert on this but are the last two pics of a ZZ?

Yes, Caro, those are in fact ZZ plants, Zamioculcas zamiifolia

This post was edited by pumpkineater2 on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 22:56

yeah they look like rose finches there is a few different finches there also saw red cardinal mourning dove and another type of finch had a white belly

the bird feeder is a lunch box from the dollar store the stings with clips came with my golden pothos planter and the bird feeder wall pole which i tied to the fence with metal wire

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Esteem-60500-36-Inch-Extended/dp/B002I5NO1C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390917609&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+feeder+wall+pole

squirrels dont bother me much theres only a couple that come around once in a while eat a few sunflowers seeds and leave

Thanks for the information. My Mom has a hard time already dealing with the squirrels using her "normal" bird feeder. Sadly, as nifty of an idea as I think you've made there, the more I think about it... if I made that for my Mom, all the squirrels in the neighborhood would probably come to her house, haha! It was a good idea while it lasted (me making her one of those bird feeders). If the squirrels aren't eating her bird seed, they're digging up some of her plants (at least we think that its squirrels... might be the chipmunks!)

One of my folks' neighbors used to have an apple tree. We'd find half eaten apples in our yard sometimes and I thought what butt keeps throwing half-eaten apples in the yard? Come to find out, the squirrels were carrying them over and munching on them. *Boy*

We must have some crazy squirrels... my Dad caught one of them chewing on the metal toolbox he has on his truck. You wouldn't believe the number of places they had chewed the metal. I didn't think metal was in their diet. ;)

On a different note, I think the most interesting bird I've seen around here was a Cedar Waxwing. I saw a flock of them outside my folks' house one day. First and last time I've seen them; Red Cardinals are more common here I guess. This isn't my picture below, I found it on a website (http://henryehooper.wordpress.com/witness-post-waxwing/)

What's the most interesting bird you've seen?

Planto

This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Tue, Jan 28, 14 at 12:10

i just started bird feeding about a month ago i consider myself lucky if i see cardinal or blue jay i saw a wood pecker the other day but wasn't interested in my feeder dnt think i'll ever see fancy birds like in the picture they dont come up north

i don't have a problem with squirrels yet but these damn English/house sparrows are becoming a problem too many of them hogging the feeder damn the person that introduced this bird into non native lands i will hang fishing wire from the feeder hope it scares them off

Oh okay. I only see something "special" every once in a blue moon. Mostly finches, cardinals, the usual. I usually only get to see birds when I'm driving around haha. Yeah, sparrows can be a nuisance. My Mom used to have a bird house that housed blue birds, but they got ran out by some sparrows.

Planto

the other day i was driving i saw a snow owl i see alot of hawks around here too one day i got out of the house and there was a falcon eating a pigeon on my driveway took off once it saw me i was left to clean all the pigeon feathers

Wow, a snow owl, I haven't seen one of those before. I've seen Barn owls before, but they're such an uncommon sight around here. We have red tailed hawks... Never had one eat a pigeon and leave it for me to clean up lol.

Planto

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LOL-
Hrose- you really enjoy that plant! Are you going to do red lights and hearts for Valentine's and maybe green lights and shamrocks for St. Pats?
I've seen snowy owls twice. Years ago I showed Alaskan Malamutes and used to condition them by having them pull a sled on the trails behind my house. This one day a huge one swooped right over us and down the trail. The wing span was unbelievable. Just glad he didn't land on my head.
The other time my husband and I were taking a back road short-cut and this owl was flying erratically from tree to tree. Totally strange behavior. Reached our destination( a restaurant) and learned there had just been an earthquake. Shook the glasses right off the shelves. Guess we didn't feel it because we were in a moving vehicle. This rarely happens here. The poor owl was probably wondering why the trees wouldn't stay still.

"Hrose- you really enjoy that plant! Are you going to do red lights and hearts for Valentine's and maybe green lights and shamrocks for St. Pats? "

good ideas! will post pictures if i do

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hmmm i wonder what colour i should do next

Yellow to match the yellow in the leaves and to remind you of the sun on cloudy and cold days!

MIke

no, green for st.pats next...;)