How To Care For And Grow Your Golden Pothos (Money Plant)
Native to: Polynesia
Watering needs: Medium (once a week)
Lighting needs: Low – tolerates most light conditions (just not total darkness!)
Difficulty: Near-unkillable
Great for: Beginners, anyone with low light
Pet-Safe: No
1.0 Choosing Your Golden Pothos
2.0 Picking The Right Spot (Lighting, Air Conditioning, Temperature)
3.0 Caring For Your Golden Pothos (Watering, Dusting, Re-potting)
1.0 Choosing your Golden Pothos
Looks aren't everything, but a Golden Pothos's looks can tell you a lot.
It’s Alright If You See:
Lots of Stems
The more stems you have growing out of the pot, the fuller and bushier your Golden Pothos will look as it grows. But if you want a thinner looking plant, then fewer starters is the way to go.
Extensive Root System
An extensive root system generally indicates a healthy plant, but with Golden Pothoses it's not that big of a red flag if your plant does not.
Slits on Leaves
This is a sign of the plant healing itself after suffering physical damage. While not always aesthetically pleasing, it does not dictate the health of the plant and those leaves can always be snipped off.
Not Standing Upright
Standing Golden Pothoses actually have a metal rod inside them. Consult your grower if you’d like the metal rod already, or if you’d prefer to get something else for your plant to climb – because it will climb! Golden Pothoses are climber plants after all!
No Flowers
Flowers on a Golden Pothos are quite rare, even if the plant is incredibly healthy.
But, Watch Out For:
Brown Spots or Leaf-edges
Browning is how you can tell something is wrong with your Golden Pothos. In this case, it could be a case of root-rot, too much sunlight, or underwatering.
Mushy Yellow Leaves
Not to be confused with partly yellow leaves which a characteristic of a healthy Golden Pothos (hence the name Golden Pothos), but if any species of your Golden Pothos has soft and mushy yellow leaves, then there's a bigger issue at play.
2.0 Picking The Right Spot (Lighting, Air Conditioning, Temperature)
Half of plant parenthood is choosing the perfect spot.
Lighting
The more light it gets, the taller and faster your Golden Pothos will grow. So, how do you provide your Golden Pothos with as much light as you can, without overdoing it?
While your Golden Pothos can tolerate low light, it won't grow as full and will grow smaller leaves without its characteristic golden coloring.
To keep your Golden Pothos as happy as possible, you need to provide it with as much bright indirect sunlight as possible, whilst ensuring it doesn’t get more than 2 hours of direct sunlight.
Air Conditioning
Golden Pothoses can tolerate dry AC air better than most other plants, but they will still be happiest placed as far away from vents as possible.
Temperature
Like most houseplants, Golden Pothoses are happiest between 18 °C – 30 °C.
3.0 Caring For Your Golden Pothos (Watering, Dusting, Re-potting)
How to keep your plant alive (and also show your love).
Watering
Water if the soil is partly dry
Plants like the Golden Pothos are picky and want to be watered when their soil has dried up 30-50% of the way. Not more, not less.
To do this, take a quick look at your planter and identify how far down is 30-50%. Then, insert your finger to check for moisture level. If you don’t feel any moisture or the soil doesn’t stick to your finger, then it’s time to water.
When it comes to taller plants with huge planters where inserting your finger 30% of the way isn’t possible, then we recommend watering based on its weight. Pick up your plant and start to get an idea of its weight when it’s 100% watered. Over time, you’ll get used to it and develop an idea of water level without having to check the soil at all.
Pro-tip: When checking your soil for moisture, make sure to test different parts of the soil, in case you come across a wet pocket. To be extra sure, you can also stick your finger through the bottom of the drainage holes underneath its nursery pot, to feel for moisture.
Rule of thumb: Expect to water your Golden Pothos every 1–2 weeks, and more often with more light. Having said that, soil moisture should be your primary indicator for when you should water your plant.
Dusting
Once a month, gently wipe away any dust on your plant.
Wiping your Golden Pothos free of dust with a damp rag once a month will help it soak in light and breathe through the little pores on its leaves (stomata), and help regulate your plant regulate its temperature.
Re-potting
Leave it in its nursery pot
Golden Pothoses are fast growers that like being root-bound, so you can leave your plant in the same pot for up to 2 years!
Time to re-pot
Golden Pothoses don't require any special soil to be re-potted. Just make sure the soil mixture you choose has good drainage, maybe add some pumice or perlite yourself.
Remember, always go for a pot with drainage holes.
When in doubt, reach out to our team at hello@plntd.ae, and we’ll help you identify whether the soil bag you’re considering will work for your Golden Pothos.
4.0 Beginner questions
Ask away, grasshopper.
Can I use UAE tap water to water my Golden Pothos?
Golden Pothos plants are one of the few indoor plants that casually shrug off the tap water found in the UAE, despite the high chlorine and calcium content; you can water yours straight from the tap and it will stay perfectly happy. Just make sure the water is room temperature to avoid shocking your plant's roots.
Can I use UAE tap water to water my Golden Pothos?
Golden Pothos plants are one of the few indoor plants that casually shrug off the tap water found in the UAE, despite the high chlorine and calcium content; you can water yours straight from the tap and it will stay perfectly happy. Just make sure the water is room temperature to avoid shocking your plant's roots.
Will AC harm my Golden Pothos? What temperature should I set it to?
Golden Pothos plants are built to survive in a wide range of temperatures and humidity levels, so you don't have to worry about your AC harming it!
Do I have to re-pot my Golden Pothos as soon as I receive it?
In short, no.
Once you receive your plant, place it in the spot you plan to keep it in (whilst still in its nursery pot) and allow it at least 6 months (ideally 12) to acclimate to your home's temperature and light levels.
Once acclimated, you can choose to either re-pot your plant or leave it in its nursing pot.
5.0 Some Common Problems
Don't let this list scare you — trust us, Golden Pothoses are easy to care for.
Brown leaf-edges
Cause: Underwatering
Suggestion: Maintain the same amount of water but increase your watering frequency.
Burn marks or brown spots
Cause: Too much sunlight
Suggestion: Move it away from a window and bring it closer indoors
Climbing on to your wall
Golden Pothoses are naturally inclined to climb, so to avoid your plant climbing onto something you don’t want, we suggest getting it something specifically to climb.
Drooping leaves
Cause 1: Underwatering
Suggestion: Time for a drink!
Cause 2: Too hot
Suggestion: Move your plant to a cooler spot
Cause 3: Root-rot if accompanied with soft brown spots, cause by water not draining away completely
Suggestion: Dry out your plant completely before watering, and make sure it’s not standing in water in the future
Droplets on leaf-tips
This is not a problem. It just means your Golden Pothos is regulating its temperature.
Leaves dropping off from healthy plant
Cause: Too rootbound
Suggestion: Time to re-pot!
Leaves losing their gold color, leaves are further apart
Cause: Not enough sunlight
Your plant is still healthy and will continue to grow, so if you prefer green leaves over gold, or distance between leaves, then go for it and keep you plant in its current location. Otherwise, move it closer to a window so it receives more sunlight.
Newer leaves are smaller
Cause: Not enough light
Suggestion: While your plant will continue to grow, this leaf size will be its new normal unless you move it to a spot with more sunlight.
Soft brown spots
Cause: Root-rot, may be due to standing water or water not draining away
Suggestion: Let your plant dry out completely before watering, and make sure it’s not standing in water again
Yellow leaves
Cause: Overwatering
Suggestion: Allow soil time to dry out completely, then slowly re-water.
6.0 Buying Golden Pothoses Online
When shopping for a plant online, look out for the following:
Height
If you're looking for a table-top plant, then go for one that's 40cm tall. A 60cm tall plant would work well on a low side-table. Plants about 1 meter or taller would work well as statement floor plants.
Note: Stated heights will always include the height of the plant AND planter.
Pot style
This is all about the vibe you're looking for, and you'll typically have a choice amongst different colors and shapes.
If you're looking for subtlety, we suggest a circular pot in white. To make more of a statement, look for contrasting shapes and colors!
Delivery
It goes without saying that your plant supplier should meticulously package all plants.
When you personally buy a plant from a store, you're able to rush it home, ensuring it stays outside for as little time as possible. But when you order online, your plant will ride-share with a lot of other plants all on their way to their new homes.
Depending on where you live, weather can play a big part in your plant's health along the way.
If possible, ask your plant shop what precautions they take to ensure your plants stay as safe as possible en route to you.
Reviews
Reading customer reviews is a good way to get an idea of the customer experience provided by the seller (here's ours, by the way), but you need to practice caution there.
Don't expect to be able to tell a fake review right away, some reviewers can be great con artists, and some negative reviews can be fake to harm the seller.
Your best bet is to zoom out and look at multiple comments from multiple categories to get a good overview of whether you can trust this company and/or their review section.
For example, look at how recent the reviews are, and how spread apart. Was there a sudden spike of comments in a short amount of time? Do they sound like they're all written by someone rehashing the same template? Do they all sound too positive to be real?
Yes, going all detective on reviews can be a chore, but Future You will thank you for it.
Returns and refund policies
Things can go wrong.
Sometimes it's no one's fault, and sometimes there's nothing anyone can do.
So the best practice is to offer (and honor) a no-questions asked return/refund policy. Check out the seller's policy before you make a purchase, so you know you're insured in case things don't work out.
You can check out our return/refund policy here.
Ready to adopt a Golden Pothos?
Your Golden Pothos can't wait to meet you — just choose a height and pot and let's introduce you two!
Another one of our favorite near-unkillable plants, the trailing vines of this Golden Pothos can be either draped down furniture, like the sides of shelves, tall cupboards, or even fridges!
