Pothos plants are one of most popular houseplants for good reason! Their easygoing nature and lush foliage make them a favorite of beginning and experienced houseplant parents. But one of the most overlooked parts of pothos care is choosing the best fertilizer for pothos plants.
To grow lots of big, beautiful green (or variegated) leaves and long vines, you’ll want to make sure your pothos plants are getting the right amount of nutrients—and on the right schedule. Here’s more about why pothos plants need fertilizer and how to choose the best fertilizer for your pothos.
Why Pothos Plants Need Fertilizer
Pothos plants, like almost all plants, make their energy from sunlight, but they get their nutrients from soil. Like us, plants need minerals like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, etc., to support their growth and other functions.
In nature, the constant breakdown of organic material like plants and animal remains provide the soil and the plants that grow in it with a steady supply of nutrients.
But indoor plants that live in pots—like your pothos plants—only have access to the soil in their pot, and most plants will use up the nutrients in their potting mix in just a few months. So if you’ve had your pothos for more than a couple months, you may want to start giving it fertilizer to replenish the nutrients in the soil.
How to Select the Best Fertilizer for Pothos Plants
There are two main types of fertilizers to choose from: liquid fertilizer and slow-release fertilizer that comes in pellets.
They both have their advantages and disadvantages. With slow-release fertilizer, you have to fertilize less often, but we find that it’s hard to control how much fertilizer your pothos plant is actually getting. Because you can’t always control how quickly the pellets release, it’s easy to accidentally over- or under-fertilize your plants.
That’s why we prefer a liquid fertilizer, because you can use a precise amount that your plant can absorb quickly.
The only drawback to liquid fertilizers is that it’s hard to remember to fertilize on a specific schedule like most liquid fertilizers require. If you forget and don’t fertilize often enough, your pothos plants may develop nutrient deficiencies, which can lead to leaf discoloration and stunted growth. But if you fertilize too often, you can over-fertilize, which is reversible but can chemically burn the roots!
We love Pothos Plant Food because it’s gentle enough to use with each watering, so you don’t have to remember a fertilizing schedule! I created this fertilizer after accidentally losing a bunch of plant leaves because I forgot to fertilize for months at a time. Now I just mix a little Pothos Plant Food into my watering can each week!
Pothos Plant Food also contains the perfect ratio of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus (also called an NPK ratio) to help pothos plants grow lots of beautiful leaves, healthy roots, and strong stems. My pothos plants have never looked better! I actually use this on ALL my houseplants and they all love it!
Pothos plants are gorgeous and easy to care for, and Pothos Plant Food makes it even easier. You can get Pothos Plant Food on Amazon, and your pothos plants will thank you!
For more tips on growing pothos plants, check out our care guides here:
The Complete Golden Pothos Care Guide
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