Rooting pothos cuttings in water

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) may be the easiest plant to learn propagation on. It roots readily in a plain jar of water, and one long plant gives you enough cuttings to fill out its pot or give some away.

What you'll need

• Clean, sharp scissors or pruners
• A glass jar or tumbler
• Tap water at room temperature
• A spot with plenty of bright, indirect light

1. Find the nodes

A node is the point on the stem where a leaf grows, often with a small brown bump: the start of an aerial root. That's where new roots come from. A piece of stem without a node won't root, however long it sits in water.

2. Take the cutting

Cut a piece 10 to 15 cm long, with two or three leaves, just below a node. If the vine is long, you can divide it into several pieces, as long as each one has at least one node and one leaf.

3. Put it in water

Remove the leaf at the lowest node so it doesn't rot in the water. Stand the cutting in the jar with the node under water and the leaves above it.

4. Light and care

• Keep the jar somewhere bright but out of direct sun, which heats the water and fills the jar with algae.
• Change the water every week, or sooner if it turns cloudy.
• The first roots usually appear in one to two weeks: faster in summer, slower in winter.

5. When to pot it up

Once the roots are 3 to 5 cm long, usually after three to six weeks, plant the cutting in a small pot with drainage holes and free-draining potting mix. Keep the soil lightly moist for the first week or two while the water-grown roots get used to soil. For a fuller plant, pot three or four cuttings together.

Pothos is toxic to cats and dogs if chewed, so keep the cuttings out of pets' reach too.

Got cuttings to spare?

A rooted cutting makes a lovely gift. List it on RootSwap as free or for a swap, and add the plant's name so people looking for it can find it. For getting it there, see how to prepare a plant for its new home.

Plenty of other climbers root the same way, such as the heartleaf philodendron.