This golden pothos grows massive leaves—and no, it’s not about light or nutrients
You’re probably familiar with the golden pothos, but did you know it can grow leaves well over half a meter long if grown properly? Juha shares how he cares for the golden pothos pictured here, while botanist Visa Lipponen explains why a pothos grown in a hanging pot can never reach the same dimensions. “I’m still quite new to this,” Juha says.
Juha, your golden pothos is really large—what are the plant’s dimensions?
My golden pothos stands about 160 centimeters tall. It’s about 110 centimeters wide, and at its thickest point, the stem is nearly four centimeters thick.
I started growing this golden pothos from a cutting, and the leaves were very small at first, but their size increased dramatically once the stem attached its roots to the moss pole and began climbing on its own. The largest leaves measure 54 × 34 centimeters. The leaves have small holes, though I’m not sure of their purpose.
The largest leaves measure 54 × 34 centimeters.
Golden pothos is a popular houseplant in Finland. If Juha’s plant doesn’t look familiar, it’s no wonder—a plant that trails from a hanging pot usually has much smaller leaves, as shown in the photo below.
Were you surprised by the size of the leaves?
I knew that the golden pothos can grow enormous and climb trees in nature, but I never expected leaves anywhere near this large indoors.
When and where did you get your golden pothos?
I bought two cuttings from a houseplant group in winter 2022 and divided them into smaller sections, but I lost almost all of them in failed rooting attempts. Only this one survived, and barely at that. It wasn’t until summer 2023 it really started growing. Many others would likely have had better success with rooting, but I’m still quite new to this.
In what type of pot and light conditions does your golden pothos grow?
I have it in a 20 × 20 centimeter clay pot. A smaller pot would suffice, but the bigger one helps keep the whole setup stable. The plant has a moss pole for support, and it grows its roots into the pole. For most of the time, it’s been growing by a south-facing window among other plants. In winter, I have a grow light on it for 12 hours daily.
How do you water and fertilize your pothos?
I only water the pot when the soil is completely dry; otherwise, I just mist the pole. I also use a bottle with a small hole in its cap, filling it halfway with water and letting it drip from the top of the pole on its own. I add fertilizer to the bottle about once a week. I've mainly used Kekkilä’s water-soluble fertilizer, and I've also used chicken manure, burying it deep in the pot so I don’t have to worry about the smell.
How can a golden pothos produce such large leaves, botanist Visa Lipponen?
“Like most aroids, golden pothos has distinct juvenile and mature phases. In the juvenile phase, leaves are typically under 15 centimeters long and lack lobes, but in the mature phase, they can reach nearly the size of a monstera leaf and develop lobes in a somewhat similar manner.
In practice, nearly all golden pothos sold in Finland are in their juvenile phase, and they stay that way if grown in hanging planters. They only reach the mature phase if they can climb a support where the aerial roots that appear along the stem can continue to grow rather than remain tiny stubs.
In practice, nearly all golden pothos sold in Finland are in their juvenile phase, and they stay that way if grown in hanging planters.
You supported your cutting with a moss pole from the start, which is the right approach if you want a beautiful, upright plant. If you take a golden pothos that has been trailing in a hanging pot and attach it to a stake, the top sides of the leaves will face downward, and the older leaves won’t flip over later on either. However, any new leaves on such a plant will grow in the normal orientation, with the top side facing upward again.
It’s rare for a golden pothos to transition from the juvenile to the mature phase in typical home conditions.
In typical home conditions, it’s rare for a golden pothos to transition from the juvenile to the mature phase. It’s still too early to say if that’s happening with your plant. Personally, I suspect that your golden pothos might be the ‘Hawaiian’ variety, which grows bigger leaves than the standard pothos when provided upright support. Your excellent care has likely encouraged its leaves to grow quickly. I can’t be certain, however, because the leaf coloration in that variety doesn't differ from a regular golden pothos.
Today, there are several golden pothos species available. The traditional golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum) and its many varieties are unfortunately often mis-labeled as Epipremnun pinnatum. The true Epipremnun pinnatum is fairly common, but it still doesn’t have a Finnish name. Unlike the traditional golden pothos, it easily produces lobed leaves when grown upright with support, and these can exceed 30 centimeters in size. Even in a hanging pot, it often develops leaves with small ‘perforation holes.’ Its care is the same as that of an ordinary golden pothos.”
