Question
Pothos
Hi, I got this plant roughly a month ago that I suspect
being a pothos after a bit of Internet research. I
initially received a few stems, some with one leaf, some
with none, from a friend who had a large overhanging plant.
I was told to place the stems in water before planting them
in a pot. Initially, the plants grew, some gaining a few
leaves and three gaining a small root, but as of a week
now, the new shoots that usually formed leaves ended up
becoming brown, or ended up black, as if it was burned. I
use tap water and replace the water in the cups when the
water is about half full. I do not know if the water here
is chlorinated, but I do know that it must be hard since
there is white residue accumulating around my sink. I live
in Kingston, Canada. The are next to a window that faces
east, ie. it receives direct sunlight only in late
afternoon-sunset. I planted one of the stems in dirt to
see if it would far better than the other ones. Also, one
of my friends who also owns many plants diluted some blue
crystals I believe to be fertilizers for the plant in the
dirt. Any help to fix the burning of the stems? And when
should I plant the stems in water, since they have been so
for roughly 3-4 weeks.
AnswerHi Felix, ideally you should put your cuttings in a moist Vermiculite/Perlite mixture; (water forms weaker roots) keep the mixture moist and cover the cutting with a baggy that has holes punched in it, finally, keep it out of the direct sun, until roots form. The cuttings that turned brown probably will not form roots at that stage (I don't know why this happened, not having been there to see the process..), but as long as the crown is still green, wait and see. The ones in water , should be moved to the mixture I mentioned, and when you water, water with purified water from your grocery store, for the chorine in your tap water is not good at all for this purpose. Nick
