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elizabethcatharine

Pothos Has Brown Growths on Stems

My office received a golden pothos plant as a gift when we moved and I was assigned the task of keeping it alive. I notoriously don't have a green thumb, but as I've read that pothos have pretty easy care, I wasn't too alarmed until lately.

I discovered about a week ago, however, that my plant is growing some strange, brown bumps on the stems, just the thicker, mature stems. It kind of looks like new plant growth as I snapped one off and it seemed attached to the plant, but they look really disgusting and there is a lot of them. I tried to figure out what it might be by googling it, and now my head is full of gnats and fungus and rot.... Please tell me that it's something normal, and if it is some sort of weird disease, how do I get rid of it?

Thank you very much! :)

Comments (41)

  • pirate_girl
    9 years ago

    Could you share a picture pls. so we can see what you're talking about?

    It sounds like aerial roots, normal growth & behavior for this plant, so nothing to be alarmed about, am GUESSING.

  • ElizabethCatharine
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here's a picture for you. As you can see, there are growths ranging in size from very small to rather large (near the bottom of the photo).

    Appreciate your help! :)

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    9 years ago

    Aerial roots. Nothing is wrong with it.

  • ElizabethCatharine
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks so much! I'm relieved!

  • ElizabethCatharine
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    What a splendid idea! Thank you! :)

  • Tabitha Bowling
    8 years ago

    Mine looks EXACTLY like this photo, but I was more worried about the brown on the edges of where it appears the stem split (see above the aerial root, below the leaves). Is this normal?

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    8 years ago

    Yes, Tabitha, perfectly normal. :+)

  • Molly Vance
    6 years ago

    What about this?

  • Karen S. (7b, NYC)
    6 years ago

    Not enough pic to say Molly? Pls show the entire plant so we can see. Is it even a Pothos (am thinking not).

  • HU-9536323446491754
    5 years ago

    Wow! Thank you so much . . . what a help! My plant stems are so very thick and now these brown stumps. So I was concerned. The leaves are getting bigger and bigger. I had to get a tomato tower to try and control it. On another note please tell me how to get rid of gnats. Thanks

  • HU-95726642
    4 years ago


    would someone know what this is on my plant or why it looks like this?

  • Karen S. (7b, NYC)
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    This is not a Pothos, are you posting on this thread because of the brown stumps?

    It's a Syngonium, badly neglected (sorry). I'd cut the top off & start it over. Other, better pix would help, can't tell if the brown are old leaf scars or root nodes. Those bent stems can be removed. Can you pls show the whole set up so I can see the whole pot, what the other plants are & the soil? even better if you start a new, separate thread for it pls.

  • Smarika Shrestha
    4 years ago

    i just got a new pothos plant from my cousins house a week ago and transferred it in soil.

    it was being propagated in a glass jar for few months.i brought the one with two small leaves and there was a new stem.growth which has black tip..i am confused about what this might be.can anyone help me??is this plant even going to grow?


  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    4 years ago

    The black tip is where a stem has been cut off. There is nothing unusual happening there. Whether it grows or not is down to your care for it. Did the cutting have roots? Even if it didn't it could root in the medium.

  • Smarika Shrestha
    4 years ago

    yes the cutting had developed so.many long roots..hope it will grow..i am taking as much as care i

  • HU-170957282
    4 years ago

    The stem(s) look water logged. Maybe send it to plant heaven and start over.

  • Karen S. (7b, NYC)
    4 years ago

    HU-170957282

    Don't wish to be rude, but there are 3 different plants on this thread, which are you referring to? In 20 yrs of doing this here I've never seen or heard of a waterlogged stem, don't know what you mean ??? None of these plants appear that to me.

    Pls don't give advice here as you don't seem to know your plants, certainly not to toss it, none of these plants are ailing.

    Smarika,

    That pot is wayyyyyy too big for that itty bitty cutting. If it's still alive, you risk rotting it in that HUGE pot. Pls repot in small, 3 or 4 inch pot (7-10 cm), at most if you want it to survive. Don't water it often either.


  • Jacquie Cooper
    4 years ago

    Does anyone know what is wrong with my pothos ‘Njoy’? Please refer to pics below. There is brown/black growing on the stems and also spots on the leaves. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  • Sara Jane
    4 years ago



    Hello! I was having the same issue as the women above with what I believe is a pothos plant (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). It almost looks as if it is trying to sprout but there are this brown crustiness that cover the top of them. Should I be cutting it? Have I been watering him too much?

  • Sara Jane
    4 years ago




  • Adrian janae
    3 years ago

    I got this as a gift and then this started growing... Is it normal?

  • KarenS, NYC
    3 years ago

    No it's not normal, looks from here (pretty far) like a tiny cocoon of some insect maybe? I'd put the plant outside & try to wash, rub or scrape that off.

  • las84clr
    3 years ago

    I just got a golden Pothos and it is just beautiful but as I was looking at the plant I noticed a few stem like things coming out....is this normal??



  • Martina Martonza
    3 years ago


    Hi, I bought an ivy and this part of the stem is like that- I haven’t noticed until I got home - should I cut the heathy part of the plant off and start all over?

    Thank you

  • Martina Martonza
    3 years ago



  • Iryn
    3 years ago

    Hope someone could help me :( my golden pothos got sunburnt the other day and the new tiny bud that's about to grow seems burnt too. Will it still be able to grow? If not, will this stop my pothos from growing? Help :(


  • Iryn
    3 years ago



  • HU-675725253
    3 years ago

    I have same problem. What is this n what should I do?

  • Rachel Viccaji
    3 years ago



    Hey everyone. 😊 Hoping someone can tell me why some of the leaves have brown/beige parts. The Pothos seems healthy otherwise. Had cut off some of the more browned leaves, but these less affected leaves remain. It’s not like overwatering/too much sun, looks more like lesions of some kind.

  • Rachel Viccaji
    3 years ago

    Not sure why the photos didn’t upload



  • HU-958813299
    3 years ago



    I have had my marble Pothos for a while latley the growth had stunted it still looks beautiful but i have had to cut off a lot of stems do To burn stop I have tried everything repotted moved to a different stop it had new buds growing but one of the new buds tips are burnt already also there is a gnat flying around it what do I do

  • HU-958813299
    3 years ago



  • HU-640604702
    3 years ago


    What is this on my golden potho!?

  • Elena Marin
    2 years ago

    Hi, i have a potho and trying to roots it but has those

    brown knotts and doesn't want to root. Ive never had this problem, what could i do you make it root?

  • Irma Valle
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Hi I was wondering if anyone can help me figure out what these little brown things are on my pothos. They are only growing on the side where the sun light (Not directly) hits it most. If you could please give me advice on what I can do that would be appreciated! Thank you!


  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    After a long and confusing thread with many people tagging on and asking about many plants we’ve returned to the same question that started this all off. And the answer is the same. Those are aerial roots. Go back to the beginning of this thread and you’ll see the same phenomenon.

  • Chandana N
    2 years ago

    Can somebody help me what the brown spot on stem mean by?I just got pothos cutting two weeks back. It has grown roots.I am worried about brown spots .

  • Chandana N
    2 years ago

    I have propagated in water

  • Taylor Nixon
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago


    Im concerned about the brown areas and not sure if that indicated the plant is dying

  • HU-318933383
    last year
    last modified: last year


    What do you recommend for this pathos? brown spots on leaves / rough edges to leaves / weird brown flakes on stems

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