Your pothos may end up overwatered for several reasons: you are giving it more water than it needs, you are watering it more often than it needs, the pot it is in has no drainage holes, the soil has poor drainage, or the weather has changed and you have not adjusted your watering schedule.
Signs of an overwatered pothos include brown spots on the leaves, root rot, mold, the plant becoming soft and mushy, yellow and wrinkled leaves, and wilting and curled leaves.
In this article, we will discuss what to look out for if you suspect overwatering, and how to effectively salvage an overwatered pothos.
What are the signs of an overwatered pothos?
Leaves have brown spots
The most common reason for brown spots on the leaves of your pothos is overwatering, although this can be attributed to other problems with your plant as well. Brown spots form on the leaf’s surface due to the excess water filling the plant tissue. When the cells fill with water, they swell and cause blisters to form. When these blisters eventually rupture, the brown spots will form.
Root rot
Even though roots are buried underground, they still need to be able to breathe to keep the plant alive. Oxygen passes through the soil to reach the roots. When a pothos is overwatered, the roots of the plant are constantly in soggy soil, and are thus unable to take in oxygen. Eventually, the roots will drown and die.
These dead roots will start to rot, aided by opportunistic pathogens such as fungi and bacteria that can be found in the surrounding soil. The rot can travel up the roots and into the rest of the plant, until the entire plant becomes rotten and dies.
Mold
Another sign of an overwatered pothos is the presence of a white, powdery mold on the surface of the soil surrounding the plant. Mold only grows in consistently damp conditions, so mold on your plant’s soil means that the soil is not getting enough time to dry out between waterings.
Mold does not really cause your plant any damage, but it is indicative of an overwatering problem that you need to address. You can simply scrape off the mold from the soil’s surface to get rid of it.
Soft and mushy plant
When a pothos is overwatered, it will feel soft and mushy to the touch. This is probably because the plant has begun to rot. The infection from the roots has made its way to the stems and the leaves. If the plant starts to smell of rotten vegetation, it is almost certain that it has been overwatered for some time already.
Leaves turning yellow
The more mature leaves of a pothos are at the base of the plant. If these leaves have started to turn yellow, your plant might be overwatered. The leaves closest to the base are the first to be affected, because the root rot making its way up the plant reaches those leaves first.
The rotten roots are no longer effectively transporting nutrients and water to the plant, which leads to chlorosis, or the yellowing of the plant’s leaves.
Wrinkled and wilting leaves
When the leaves on the plant have blisters on the surface and those blisters rupture, this damages the leaves and causes them to wrinkle.
Another sign that your pothos is near the end of its life is when it starts to wilt. It usually means that the damage to the roots is extensive and has reached the point of no return. The plant will no longer be able to keep itself alive due to the extent of the root damage.
Curled leaves
Not all curled pothos leaves point to overwatering, but it is definitely one of the most common causes.
Curling happens when the plant is unable to transport water to its leaves. This can be traced back to the roots’ inability to distribute water because of root rot. The plant will choose to sacrifice its leaves because of its limited resources. The surface area of the leaves allows water to transpire faster, so getting rid of them helps the plant adapt to the stress it is experiencing.
How do I save an overwatered pothos?
First, inspect the plant and assess the level of damage to the roots, stem and leaves. You can save a pothos plant if the damage is minimal, but if most of the plant has been affected, the chances of success become smaller.
Next, check whether the pot’s drainage holes are big enough and are working properly. Try poking the holes with a stick to release any stagnant water that may have pooled. Tip the pot to one side to get rid of any excess water on the surface of the soil.
Try to avoid giving the plant any water for a few days, up to one or two weeks. Place the plant in a location where it can get a good amount of light to help it dry out even faster.
You can help aerate the soil, thus hastening the drying process. Exposing the wet soil at the bottom of the pot will help it dry much faster. Turning the soil over also allows more air and oxygen to get into the spaces in the soil and help the roots breathe.
Prune off any leaves that have turned yellow or brown. You cannot save these leaves and they are not going to turn green again, no matter what measures you take. Keep all the healthy green leaves and watch to see if they respond to your attempts at preservation.
If none of the previous steps seem to have worked, you might need to repot your pothos. Remove the plant from its pot and shake off as much soil as you can. Inspect the roots for any parts that have turned brown or black. Brown or black roots are rotten and will need to be removed. Use a sterile pair of scissors to cut off the rotten roots until you expose healthy, white roots. Spray the remaining roots with fungicide.
Place the plant on a tray and cover it with a paper towel. Let the roots dry out for a few days.
When the roots are dry, you can replant the pothos in a pot that has sufficient drainage holes at the bottom. You can reuse the old pot, but make sure you wash and sterilize it first to avoid another infection. Use well-draining soil that will help facilitate the flow of excess water down to the bottom of the pot.
Lastly, know the correct way to water your pothos. There is no clear schedule that should be followed; instead, touch the top two inches of soil to check whether it is dry. If the soil is dry, water the plant; if the soil is still damp, wait one or two days and check the soil again.
Conclusion
Your pothos can become overwatered because you are giving it more water that it needs more often than it needs, the pot has no drainage holes, the soil is poorly draining, or you have not adjusted your watering schedule after a change in the weather.
The most common signs of an overwatered pothos are brown spots on the leaves, root rot, mold, the plant becoming soft and mushy, leaves turning yellow and wrinkled, and wilting and curled leaves.
Save your overwatered pothos by removing excess water, holding off watering temporarily, turning the soil over, pruning dead roots and foliage, and repotting the plant.
Image: istockphoto.com / Robi_J