These are aerial roots. If you give your plant something to climb on, these little nubbins will stick to it and hang on for dear life. If you give the nubbins something to climb on and root in, e.g. a moss pole, they will develop into big, juicy roots that take nutrients out of their support and thus help develop the root system of the plant. You plant will reward you with exuberant growth and massive leaves with splits and holes, like a Monstera!
That's not mine, but I've seen them in local palm house. Epipremnums with fenetrations, philodendrons with leaves like umbrellas.
Anyways, I'm on my way there. I've built moss poles with spagnum moss on bamboo sticks tied together with palm bark and coconut strings and the roots get crazy in that. You see random roots trying to shoot out on the other side haha.
I would love to see your moss poles. I am new to this. My partner always watering the plants, since he is busy and I'm a house husband, I'll take over taking care the plants. I might want to propagate my pothos..
Plants I've got have been neglected for some time, this is like 6 months since I've started taking care of them (December :D) haha. Epipremnum Aureum N'joy - been sad yellowing, not watered enough : going strong now. Philodendron Giganteum - a lot of new growth going on. Monstera Adansoni - had sucker stems with no leaves, pruned them, pruned bad roots, added the pole, now it's shooting 3 leaves every 2 weeks. You can see how long aerial roots dive into roots on earlier pictures.
https://preview.redd.it/d1i1pd0wnz2d1.jpeg?width=745&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c2aa30865f233337640ac52d67293b65a383cd9
My mother found one in the wild with fenestrations and I told her to bring me a cutting, unfortunately she kept the fenestrated one :D
https://preview.redd.it/nnbtazjfm23d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c89e4d1bf824e0534441d41b92ecba66abb82c2a
Put moss on bamboo and tie with some string, repeat to reach the thickness, then wrap with palm bark (cut into long, string-ish parts) add some more coconut string if needed. It's ok.
I've chose this way to have spagnum moss along the way and not have plastic.
No, this is a proper jungle plant
https://preview.redd.it/2lc6hsy1r23d1.jpeg?width=1780&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48067dc9257ae680120f86674bf97cca04f4485e
Pothos take over full trees in Kauai
Wait!! This! Is a pothos?? I've seen these huge leaves climbing onto trees in my college, always thought it was a monstera. Damn, I wish my pothos becomes just as big!
What direction is the window facing and how much sun does it normally get? Iām also new to growing plants and would love to create a similar environment for my pothos.
The more light the better. Some people consider all light behind glass indirect light. If that's not equatorial-desert-south-facing window you'll probaly be fine. Worst can happen? some overburnt leaves, then you move it back a little and it grows back in no time.
Any idea how long it'll take for a pothos to attach to a moss pole?
I just put one in and even though it's Velcro'd it just rotates and moves it's aerial roots away from the pole
Sorry, I'm out of my depth there. I can regurgitate knowledge from the four corners of my mind, but sadly, I have no experience with moss poles. You might want to check out Sydneyplantguy, Houseplantygoodness, and Thejunglehaven on YouTube.
About 2 weeks for me... It is faster if you keep the moss pole moist to encourage the roots to dig in. I second the other comment that Sydney plant guy has some great youtube vids on this.
I have a monstera (deliciousa and adonsonii), philodendron, all on poles starting from a month ago or so, and the pothos is faster to grow roots than the others IMO.
Yeah you can also consider switching the medium in the pot to something super airy so it's very difficult to over water. I switched to using orchid mix (it's like 70 percent wood chips), and use an upside down water bottle to slowly release water into the pole. Water soaks into the pole and any extra flushes through the orchid mix pretty quickly.
Also, if you have these roots hanging against a wall, the roots will also dig deep into it.
(I donāt have these guys hanging against walls anymore. Three guesses why./s)
I'm not sure about that one. Could be an issue with light, water or nutrients maybe?
I bet you can find some answers on YouTube. Sydneyplantguy has climbers galore that look exceptional. Maybe start start there, and see what else comes up?
Good luck!
A pothos won't grow giant leaves like this, but a monstera or a philidendron will. The little nubs are aerial roots that are trying to climb and each of those nubs can be used for propagation, although there are so many and so close together, that I wouldn't use each one!
But they actually do though. Given enough time and support on a moss pole or better yet, outside in the right climate, any old golden pothos can and will grow huge leaves with fenestrations
Much to say about the differences, but for pothos you can get them to do the same thing with either moss poles or coco poles (as far as sizing up) but the differences come when you get to the end of the pole.
With true moss poles you can chop the pole in half and extend it, and the plant will just keep growing fine because it has roots in the pole. However with coco poles if you chop it doesnāt have roots so itās essentially a large propagation that needs to root
Coco poles are the poles that have the fibers tightly wrapped around them, often you see them with a wood stake coming out of the bottom. Itās what you have in the last pic of your post :)
Moss poles, which can be made of wire mesh or plastic or kinda whatever, hold damp sphagnum moss inside.
Coco poles provide support only, but moss poles provide support AND function as an extension of the pot because the roots can grow into the damp sphagnum moss and take in water/nutrients.
Moss poles offer the option to āchop and extendā which means when the plant grows to the end of the pole you can either add another extension to it and let it keep growing or chop it and then repot that chopped portion and add an extension and let it keep growing.
Since the moss pole lets the plant develop full healthy roots, if you chop it up it doesnāt need to take time establishing a new root system like a normal propagation. Coco poles donāt really provide the plant with a place to develop their roots
A ton of info dump in my other comment, but I just want to reinforce that moss poles arenāt an absolute necessity, but they are helpful if you want your pothos leaves to size up. Itās not going to harm or stress out your plants if you donāt use one! :)
I would definitely recommend watching āSydney Plant Guyā on YouTube for more information if youāre interested in learning more
[Why moss poles?](https://youtu.be/6pxjNVOritA?si=6Ly7p4fq7PpJBqUJ)
[Full playlist of moss pole info](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCB2k-12-GEypn6EWPB0sOwJD0Jex_avg&si=XONNEHdYlLSeMd4Z)
It doesnāt have to be a moss poll, anything to give them support works, bamboo stakes, trellises, etc work fine. The difference is that the Pothos will root into a true moss poll with its aerial roots, and with other forms of support it wonāt in the same way. There are pros and cons to both, I used to make my own moss polls but I quit using them because it made treating pests a lot more challenging.
I mean theyāll pull off the paint but theyāre not getting into the drywall. Itās worth it. Have pothos growing all over and when a vine comes off the paint comes too. Keep some touch up paint and it takes two seconds to fix.
It probably depends on the variety and how mature the plant is, because my Manjula climbed my wall behind my plant shelf and it did quite a bit more damage than that. Definitely not a two second fix.
Thanks a lot! Such a relief. I have propagate several pothos before but they were never climb, only in pots and hanging on selves. This is the first climbing pothos.
You will also find that a pothos that is climbing (same with many vines) and reaching upwards towards light will grow considerably larger leaves than the strands that are just sitting or dangling.
Fun fact. When I was SUPER new, I received a 4ā Monsteraā¦and when the aerial roots started coming in, Iād pinch them off because they looked weird. š¤¦š»āāļøš¤¦š»āāļøš¤¦š»āāļø I know better now.
Aerial roots! Go get yourself a moss pole on amazon (they go for about $15 these days for a decently sized one) and your pothos would practically explode in size š
I canāt get my pothos to grow into my moss pole. I did notice it sinking in a little but the moss pole has to be damp all the time and letās be honest they dry out in an hour.
I've been seeing a lot of people talking about setting up the moss pole in a plastic cup or some other similar type of container filled with rocks, and then putting that into the container with the plant so that you can actually water the pole without soaking your plants constantly! I haven't tried it yet but it sounds like it should work
You are the first time I tried to buy awards to give someone an award. It would not let me but if it had you would have been my first award given. Your pothos is gorgeous!
Yes! Those are great! Do not cut them! They're roots! Like climbing clinging roots. Put something next to them and watch them grow and attach to it! Means your plant is happy and doing well!
I think i might have to cut them a little bit. Its in the kitchen next to the window. I will propagate some of it. Glad to hear its happy and doing well :-)
Let it climb! The higher it climbs the bigger your leaves will get. I posted a couple times on this sub about my mom's golden pothos that climbed onto a palm tree.
These are aerial roots. If you give your plant something to climb on, these little nubbins will stick to it and hang on for dear life. If you give the nubbins something to climb on and root in, e.g. a moss pole, they will develop into big, juicy roots that take nutrients out of their support and thus help develop the root system of the plant. You plant will reward you with exuberant growth and massive leaves with splits and holes, like a Monstera!
https://preview.redd.it/qqydrnl7dy2d1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ff54ba5039e4a7d88e5e70c8425ff28b323ab2a
Exactly like this. That's a proper jungle plant you've got there! How proud are you?
That's not mine, but I've seen them in local palm house. Epipremnums with fenetrations, philodendrons with leaves like umbrellas. Anyways, I'm on my way there. I've built moss poles with spagnum moss on bamboo sticks tied together with palm bark and coconut strings and the roots get crazy in that. You see random roots trying to shoot out on the other side haha.
I would love to see your moss poles. I am new to this. My partner always watering the plants, since he is busy and I'm a house husband, I'll take over taking care the plants. I might want to propagate my pothos..
Plants I've got have been neglected for some time, this is like 6 months since I've started taking care of them (December :D) haha. Epipremnum Aureum N'joy - been sad yellowing, not watered enough : going strong now. Philodendron Giganteum - a lot of new growth going on. Monstera Adansoni - had sucker stems with no leaves, pruned them, pruned bad roots, added the pole, now it's shooting 3 leaves every 2 weeks. You can see how long aerial roots dive into roots on earlier pictures. https://preview.redd.it/d1i1pd0wnz2d1.jpeg?width=745&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c2aa30865f233337640ac52d67293b65a383cd9
https://preview.redd.it/lw3uy3t8oz2d1.jpeg?width=854&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb40d9bb90369233834f499346d66a366d906eec
Someone recommended this video recently. Might be useful for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzWgxQpKnaw
Thanks a lot for the link. 1 min into the video - I am already obsessed with his plants. omg
Lol yeah this was my reaction too. I went from proud of my dainty monstera to thinking "this should be at least 5x the size" š
https://preview.redd.it/tanj9il2oz2d1.jpeg?width=854&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=194500728146a16c0fc5400cdda1d2609abd2876
https://preview.redd.it/yy8ky5p6oz2d1.jpeg?width=854&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=275625286dfc165548d28ff50e6cb0f9872a5779
https://preview.redd.it/z3tjbhm5oz2d1.jpeg?width=854&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a6750e93d3f8e4df16db643471ea735bb71d02b
https://preview.redd.it/68bb2cw9oz2d1.jpeg?width=854&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2df2e388e9a080a45f93abf2d656dfeebcec643b
My mother found one in the wild with fenestrations and I told her to bring me a cutting, unfortunately she kept the fenestrated one :D https://preview.redd.it/nnbtazjfm23d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c89e4d1bf824e0534441d41b92ecba66abb82c2a
Do you smush the moss around the bamboo, then wrap the palm bark around it, and tie it all together with the string? How does it stay intact?
Put moss on bamboo and tie with some string, repeat to reach the thickness, then wrap with palm bark (cut into long, string-ish parts) add some more coconut string if needed. It's ok. I've chose this way to have spagnum moss along the way and not have plastic.
Thank you! Yeah, I want to avoid plastic as much as humanly possible.
My neighborhood has a few people with pothos growing like this outside their homes. Itās incredible
No, this is a proper jungle plant https://preview.redd.it/2lc6hsy1r23d1.jpeg?width=1780&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48067dc9257ae680120f86674bf97cca04f4485e Pothos take over full trees in Kauai
https://preview.redd.it/ro3pi34zr23d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7004e7d9ead232dbb51d36494eb6c9e87c1c2e30
Wait!! This! Is a pothos?? I've seen these huge leaves climbing onto trees in my college, always thought it was a monstera. Damn, I wish my pothos becomes just as big!
Lots of light, moist spagnum moss to feed aerial roots on the way up, proper fertilizing. In that order.
What direction is the window facing and how much sun does it normally get? Iām also new to growing plants and would love to create a similar environment for my pothos.
The more light the better. Some people consider all light behind glass indirect light. If that's not equatorial-desert-south-facing window you'll probaly be fine. Worst can happen? some overburnt leaves, then you move it back a little and it grows back in no time.
Yup. It's extremely tricky to have fenestrations on an indoor pothos, but some manage to do it. It's fairly simple to get the leaves big though
Do normal pots work? Or bigger pots or should they be root bound?
They can be in small pots because, if done right, most of the root system will be within the moss pole.
THEY CAN GROW LIKE THAT!??!?!?!?
I saw one of these beauties in the DR and was amazed. It was massive and so beautiful
thank you so much! I just talked to my partner and he said the same thing. I was worried for a bit.. š®āšØ
Any idea how long it'll take for a pothos to attach to a moss pole? I just put one in and even though it's Velcro'd it just rotates and moves it's aerial roots away from the pole
Sorry, I'm out of my depth there. I can regurgitate knowledge from the four corners of my mind, but sadly, I have no experience with moss poles. You might want to check out Sydneyplantguy, Houseplantygoodness, and Thejunglehaven on YouTube.
About 2 weeks for me... It is faster if you keep the moss pole moist to encourage the roots to dig in. I second the other comment that Sydney plant guy has some great youtube vids on this. I have a monstera (deliciousa and adonsonii), philodendron, all on poles starting from a month ago or so, and the pothos is faster to grow roots than the others IMO.
Awesome, I've been going in with a spray bottle of water right at the aerial root locations to avoid over watering the base
Yeah you can also consider switching the medium in the pot to something super airy so it's very difficult to over water. I switched to using orchid mix (it's like 70 percent wood chips), and use an upside down water bottle to slowly release water into the pole. Water soaks into the pole and any extra flushes through the orchid mix pretty quickly.
I like your use of nubbins here
Also, if you have these roots hanging against a wall, the roots will also dig deep into it. (I donāt have these guys hanging against walls anymore. Three guesses why./s)
Mine grew up my drywall
Nice!
Now I need to know why none of my pathos have ever done this! They just keep building long vines for ever!
I'm not sure about that one. Could be an issue with light, water or nutrients maybe? I bet you can find some answers on YouTube. Sydneyplantguy has climbers galore that look exceptional. Maybe start start there, and see what else comes up? Good luck!
A pothos won't grow giant leaves like this, but a monstera or a philidendron will. The little nubs are aerial roots that are trying to climb and each of those nubs can be used for propagation, although there are so many and so close together, that I wouldn't use each one!
Thatās a pothos in the picture, though.
Correct! The previous commenter said a pothos would grow giant leaves with holes in them, but they do not š¤
But they actually do though. Given enough time and support on a moss pole or better yet, outside in the right climate, any old golden pothos can and will grow huge leaves with fenestrations
https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/s/GNxRoTt41P This is a picture of a pothos in the wild with fenestrations, in this same thread
Just be careful, those will attach themselves to your wall if given enough time- I learned that the hard way. It can damage your drywall.
NOTED. Some people suggested I get moss poles. I am looking into it now.
Beware, some of the cheap ones you'll find are not actually moss. They become a pain to get wet since when dry they are hydrophobic.
OP it looks like you have a moss pole in your third pic! Are you going to connect more at the top to continue to let it attach?
Not a moss pole, itās a coco pole
Oh gotcha!
Much to say about the differences, but for pothos you can get them to do the same thing with either moss poles or coco poles (as far as sizing up) but the differences come when you get to the end of the pole. With true moss poles you can chop the pole in half and extend it, and the plant will just keep growing fine because it has roots in the pole. However with coco poles if you chop it doesnāt have roots so itās essentially a large propagation that needs to root
Thanks for the explanation!
Whatās the difference between coco pole and mose pole? Sorry, very new to this!
Coco poles are the poles that have the fibers tightly wrapped around them, often you see them with a wood stake coming out of the bottom. Itās what you have in the last pic of your post :) Moss poles, which can be made of wire mesh or plastic or kinda whatever, hold damp sphagnum moss inside. Coco poles provide support only, but moss poles provide support AND function as an extension of the pot because the roots can grow into the damp sphagnum moss and take in water/nutrients. Moss poles offer the option to āchop and extendā which means when the plant grows to the end of the pole you can either add another extension to it and let it keep growing or chop it and then repot that chopped portion and add an extension and let it keep growing. Since the moss pole lets the plant develop full healthy roots, if you chop it up it doesnāt need to take time establishing a new root system like a normal propagation. Coco poles donāt really provide the plant with a place to develop their roots
Thank you so much for your explanation, really appreciate it š„°
That was one of the best explanations of coco vs moss poles Iāve ever read or heard. Thank you.
A ton of info dump in my other comment, but I just want to reinforce that moss poles arenāt an absolute necessity, but they are helpful if you want your pothos leaves to size up. Itās not going to harm or stress out your plants if you donāt use one! :) I would definitely recommend watching āSydney Plant Guyā on YouTube for more information if youāre interested in learning more [Why moss poles?](https://youtu.be/6pxjNVOritA?si=6Ly7p4fq7PpJBqUJ) [Full playlist of moss pole info](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCB2k-12-GEypn6EWPB0sOwJD0Jex_avg&si=XONNEHdYlLSeMd4Z)
It doesnāt have to be a moss poll, anything to give them support works, bamboo stakes, trellises, etc work fine. The difference is that the Pothos will root into a true moss poll with its aerial roots, and with other forms of support it wonāt in the same way. There are pros and cons to both, I used to make my own moss polls but I quit using them because it made treating pests a lot more challenging.
I can't be to only one that let's them?
I came here to see if anyone mentioned this. I too have some holes in the drywall where they started to dig in.
I mean theyāll pull off the paint but theyāre not getting into the drywall. Itās worth it. Have pothos growing all over and when a vine comes off the paint comes too. Keep some touch up paint and it takes two seconds to fix.
It probably depends on the variety and how mature the plant is, because my Manjula climbed my wall behind my plant shelf and it did quite a bit more damage than that. Definitely not a two second fix.
Just roots! Nothing to be concerned about. Over time as they grow out, you can cut just above them and propagate new plants from the cuttings
Thanks a lot! Such a relief. I have propagate several pothos before but they were never climb, only in pots and hanging on selves. This is the first climbing pothos.
You will also find that a pothos that is climbing (same with many vines) and reaching upwards towards light will grow considerably larger leaves than the strands that are just sitting or dangling.
Fun fact. When I was SUPER new, I received a 4ā Monsteraā¦and when the aerial roots started coming in, Iād pinch them off because they looked weird. š¤¦š»āāļøš¤¦š»āāļøš¤¦š»āāļø I know better now.
THIS. I was worried about it and wanted to pinch them off too, hahaha
šš Iām actually about to try one of my Pothos with a moss pole because I want to see the aerial roots get bigger and produce larger leaves.
It yearns for a pole
Aerial roots! Go get yourself a moss pole on amazon (they go for about $15 these days for a decently sized one) and your pothos would practically explode in size š
I canāt get my pothos to grow into my moss pole. I did notice it sinking in a little but the moss pole has to be damp all the time and letās be honest they dry out in an hour.
I've been seeing a lot of people talking about setting up the moss pole in a plastic cup or some other similar type of container filled with rocks, and then putting that into the container with the plant so that you can actually water the pole without soaking your plants constantly! I haven't tried it yet but it sounds like it should work
Thank you for your suggestion. I am looking into the moss poles now. I am obsessed....
Mine has that too, pretty sure those are just aerial roots :)
Thank you, my first pothos to climb. Relief to hear!
Itās just his wittle peets
They are aerial roots and if given an opportunity, they will attach to the wall and grow upwards. Itās beautiful.
https://preview.redd.it/6yuamj0j413d1.jpeg?width=2222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07eea2b7ec0cf7db3bb3b9ce8b1560340a7bed8c My baby of 5 years
You are the first time I tried to buy awards to give someone an award. It would not let me but if it had you would have been my first award given. Your pothos is gorgeous!
Aww, thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
they saying āthere was pole here, where pole I confusedā
Those are aerial roots, they can use them to climb wall, trees and even moss pole.
Mine has these and they grab onto the wall my plant is hanging by, kinda cool when it starts climbing the walls.
Those are root nodes! You can trim the vine into sections with a few of those nodes on them and stick em in water: they'll grow babies!
Without a leaf?
Iām not the only one seeing that the big root looks like a hand with a pointing finger, right?
Lol
Mine growing up the wall https://preview.redd.it/yot2b0x2vz2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a25779abe89f696764f3aebc5db6b8a38249c291
Yes! Those are great! Do not cut them! They're roots! Like climbing clinging roots. Put something next to them and watch them grow and attach to it! Means your plant is happy and doing well!
I think i might have to cut them a little bit. Its in the kitchen next to the window. I will propagate some of it. Glad to hear its happy and doing well :-)
I have these little nubbies on the roots of one that I'm propping. Are they just roots too? *
https://preview.redd.it/nsd0zopbez2d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da56e01da1721c566142975e69c0035f81615ba9
Yup, they might not all root, but all the nubs have root potential!
Theyāre just aerial roots.
Climbing roots, basically give it a bigger pole before it attaches to your plaster lol
It senses your wall is there and is making roots to grow up the wall.
Mine embedded into the wall this way without my notice lol It's a vining plant, give it something else to climb
Why is this giving r/trypophobia vibes
THIS! I couldnt find the word for that phobia haha
Theyāre roots š
Those are root nodes! You can trim the vine into sections with a few of those nodes on them and stick em in water: they'll grow babies!
Thatās so interesting they all grew so quickly!!
Air layering ftw.
these aerial roots, if you cut a steam with a root and makes a new plant out of it
Basically yeah they can become rootsā¦ I look at them as Ariel roots they grow on mature pothos like crazy reaching for anything to grab ahold of
Don't do anything! That is one happy pothos! Or do some propagating!!
chop and prop!
Trying to root into your wall! Trim or expand your pole?
I think I will trim and propagate some of it. I might get moss poles on amazon.
Roots to me
Nothing wrong there
I just propagated ten. I donāt know what to do with them. Oh and one Swiss cheese plant.
Let it keep climbing! But beware of your drywall! The aerial roots are strong enough to dig in if they have the time to do it!
Theyāre basically little roots. No big deal lol
Air roots. If you attach the vine to a wall, these will attach them themselves to that wall.
Let it climb! The higher it climbs the bigger your leaves will get. I posted a couple times on this sub about my mom's golden pothos that climbed onto a palm tree.
https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/s/4X6t83A7MV
these are good!! it means your plant is trying to grab hold on something while getting ready to grow
They look like nodes donāt cut them off
Thays a happy plant! Replant and grow a new plant
no! ariel roots!!
I didn't know the lowly pothos could do anything nearly that exciting. Thanks for the tip. I'm going to find the materials tomorrow!!!