Temperature
60–85°F
Keep away from winter window glass and heating vents.
Pothos
Epipremnum aureum
Pothos wants bright indirect light and water every 7 to 14 days, once top 1-2 inches dry. Toxic to cats, dogs, and humans.
Light
Bright indirect
LowMediumBright indirectDirect
Tolerates low light, but golden variegation fades toward plain green. Buy the solid green form for dark rooms.
Water
Every 7–14 days
Baseline for a 6-inch pot indoors. Check first: water when top 1-2 inches dry, not on a schedule.
Humidity
40% and up
Fine in normal household air. Prefers 60%.
Difficulty
Easy
Scores 1 of 5: Droops visibly when thirsty and recovers within hours. Tells you what it needs.
Habit
Trailing
Grows to 72–240 inches. No support needed.
Toxic to cats, dogs, and humans — poison severity medium
Contains insoluble calcium oxalates. Reported signs include oral irritation, intense burning of mouth and tongue, excessive drooling.
If a pet has chewed a leaf, rinse the mouth with water and call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.
Severity graded Medium by the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, which is their published rating and not ours.
Classification per the ASPCA.
DISPLAY — in-content responsive
Light
Bright indirect light. Tolerates low light, but golden variegation fades toward plain green. Buy the solid green form for dark rooms.
Water
Every 7 to 14 days in a 6-inch pot, when top 1-2 inches dry.
Treat the interval as a starting point and the test as the actual instruction. Pot size, light level and season all move the number.
| Method | top-water until draining |
|---|---|
| Test before watering | top 1-2 inches dry |
Soil and potting
Standard potting mix with one part perlite added.
Repot roughly every 2 years, or when roots come through the drainage holes and water runs straight through without absorbing.
Common problems
Ranked by how often each turns out to be the cause for this species.
Propagation
Node cutting in water or soil. Roots in 10 to 21 days.
A cutting without a node will not root. It may stay green in water for months and never produce a single root, because it has no growth point.
| Preferred method | node cutting |
|---|---|
| Medium | water, soil |
| Time to root | 10–21 days |
| Node required | Yes |
| Best season | Any time of year |
Sources
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control, Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List — Epipremnum aureum
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Plant Finder — Epipremnum aureum
- Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online
- Wikidata entity Q161809
Compiled and edited by Tony Valcarcel · 2026-09-02
Tony Valcarcel is the editor and publisher of this database, not a horticulturist
or a veterinarian. Every fact above is drawn from the sources listed, and
toxicity severity is reported only where one of them stated it.
How this is sourced.
Last updated 2026-09-02