What to Do With Pothos Plants in March – for Lush Vines That Thrive All Year Long

Pothos is one of the easiest houseplants to grow – and it’s effortlessly beautiful as well. No wonder it is so popular among both first-time plant parents and established gardeners. But as easy as this houseplant is to grow, it still requires some special care in spring as the active growing season begins.

To grow pothos plants that are lush and long-lasting, you have to provide them with the proper conditions and care. Luckily, this isn’t hard to do. These low-maintenance houseplants don’t mind low light or a bit of neglect, so they’re practically foolproof.

But if you want your pothos to thrive and not just survive, add these 6 tasks to your to-do list this month. Here’s what your pothos plant needs in March to set it up for a fabulous rest of the year.

1. Give Them a Good Soak

One of the features of the pothos plant that make it low-maintenance is its drought tolerance. During the fall and winter when plants are dormant, they don’t require as much water. But as your pothos wakes up in spring and starts actively growing again, it’s important to give it a good drink.

As spring temperatures rise in March, deeply soak your pothos plants to refresh them and flush out any salt or mineral buildup in the soil. Do this in the sink or a bathtub or even outdoors, if the weather is warm enough.

Do not overwater plants, though. They don’t need a big soak every time they dry out. But one deep watering session in March can help hydrate them well for the warmer months ahead.

2. Freshen Up Their Soil

Spring is the best time to repot houseplants. As they enter the growing season, they need a good potting medium to support strong root growth. You don’t need to repot pothos plants every March – they actually like to be a bit rootbound.

But if it’s been a few years or if you see roots peeking through the drainage holes in the bottom of your pothos’ pot, that’s a sure sign it’s time to repot. If you want to keep your plant in the same pot, you can prune the roots with a sharp, clean pair of pruners. These ones from Fiskars work perfectly.

Then dump the old potting soil into your compost pile or outdoor garden beds – as long as your pothos is pest and disease-free – and refill with a fresh indoor potting mix, like this one from Miracle-Gro.

3. Feed Your Plants

Now is the ideal time to fertilize pothos plants. They don’t have huge feeding needs, but giving them a dose of extra nutrients in spring sets them up for a strong growing season in summer. Use an all-purpose indoor plant food, like this one from Miracle-Gro.

Be careful not to overfertilize your plants, though. Too much nitrogen can cause leggy pothos vines or even fertilizer burn that hurts plants and sets back growth.

If you repotted or refreshed your pothos soil, you don’t need to feed them now. Most high-quality potting mixes include some type of fertilizer, so adding more is overkill.

4. Check for Pests

Plants aren’t the only ones who wake up and start growing again in spring. Pests do, too. This month check your pothos for common houseplant pests like mealybugs, scale, and spider mites. Look on the underside of leaves where many pests like to hide.

If you find any pests on your plants, take them outside and spray them with insecticidal soap, which you can get on Amazon. It’s also a good idea to quarantine pest-infested plants for a while before introducing them back into your houseplant collection. Keep them in a different room for a few weeks, until all signs of pests are gone.

Wiping down plants with neem oil, which is also available on Amazon, is an organic way to prevent pests before they strike. It also gives plants a nice, natural glossy shine.

5. Trim for Bushy Growth

If your pothos is looking scraggly, now is the time to give it a refresh. Pruning pothos plants in spring encourages fuller, bushier plants.

Cut long, leggy stems just above a node at a 45° angle with a pair of sharp, clean scissors. These petite and precise pruning shears from Fiskars are ideal for this purpose.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, cutting back pothos promotes a flush of new growth. And because your plant is just now entering the active growing season, the new vines will be sturdier and lusher than the old growth from last fall and winter.

6. Propagate More Plants for Free

Save those cuttings you just took from your plant – you can use them to propagate more pothos plants for free. Pothos is one of the easiest houseplants to propagate because it sprouts new roots fast with minimal effort.

Take a cutting that’s about 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm) long and remove the bottom couple of leaves to expose a few nodes. Place cuttings in a glass of water, making sure to submerge two or three nodes. That’s where new roots will sprout. Wait a month or two for roots to develop, making sure to refresh the water every few days.

After about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of roots appear, transplant cuttings to a pot filled with indoor potting mix. Alternatively, you can plant cuttings directly into potting mix to root. Dip them in a rooting hormone powder, like this one from Amazon, to help them form roots faster. Then care for them like a regular pothos plant.

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