Question
Greetings!  I have a terrible problem.  I have about six separate Pothos folaige houseplants, one is in dirt, five are in water.  Each of the five are in about a half gallon of water.  I started each of the five by cutting off vines from the mother that is in dirt, and starting each that way.  Well, the ones that were in water were not growing, and after six months, I decided to buy miracle grow houseplant liquid food from the store.  I diluted the liquid food with water according to the directions, and replaced their current water with the new, food water.  After about a week, the leaves started to pucker, and about a week and a half, the whole plant began to droop.  I investigated and discovered that the water had a very strong ammonia smell to it.  So, I immediately dumped out the food/ammonia-smelling water, and replaced it with regular water once again.  The very next day, the whole plant was drooping much more so than ever before (it was a huge difference).  Now I am stuck and don't know what to do.  The roots that are in the water are covered with a black material of some sort, and the leaves are yellowing and falling off. I keep all these plants by a light of indirect sunlight. Please help...any suggestions you have would be very appreciated!  Thanks so much!

--April  

Answer
April,

You burned the roots with the full strength fertilizer and they are rotting. The vines in water are probably not savable. The directions on a box of Miracle Grow is meant to use that to water plants growing in soil. For cuttings growing in water you would only use about 1/4 teaspoon to a gallon of water, however pothos will not survive in water for long periods of time as you discovered. Roots need to breath carbon dioxide from the air through both their leaves and roots and cannot when they are growing in water alone. The only plants that will live in water forever are those that grow in ponds and lakes. The best way to start new potho vines from your plant in soil is to take cuttings as you did but dip them in rooting hormone such as Rootone and then insert them in a pot of fresh soil after using a pencil to create a hole in the soil. Started that way they will root in 2-4 months.
Light may also have been part of your problem. Each persons interpretation of "indirect light" is different.  Plants will not grow under a normal lamp only.  They need full spectrum light from a grow light bulb or under a flourescent light with grow lights or 1 warm white tube and 1 cool white tube. If you grow them only in natural light with no additional lights it has to be in a location where your hand will cast a good sharp shadow for at least 12 hours a day. Pothos vines will grow in front of a south facing window with the drapes and miniblinds open all day just fine.  I suggest you start over with new cutting and grown them in soil. Good luck.

                                     Darlene