Pothos is also known as Devil’s ivy is the perfect plant for newbies. But can pothos grow in low light! And how much light pothos needs.
In this article, I will answer these questions plus I will tell you where to put your pothos in order to get the ideal light.
But before diving deep into the details I will put the answer for our main question as simple as this: can pothos grow in low light? Pothos can grow well in low light conditions but not in complete darkness. Some pothos varieties like jade pothos will do better in low light when compared with varieties like golden pothos.
Keep reading to know why pothos needs some amount of light. And how you can give it what it needs in your unique home or office.
Why pothos needs light
Pothos needs light in order to perform the photosynthesis process.
photosynthesis is the process of turning water and carbon dioxide into a plant’s food (sugar).
This process requires energy to be conducted. Therefore pothos uses sunlight to provide the required energy for the food-making process.
This means pothos need some amount of light in order to survive.
The secret to successful gardening is to know how your plants live in their natural habitat. Then trying to mimic their natural habitat in your place as much as you can.
Pothos is native to the rainforests. In the rainforests, pothos climbs tall trees. But it is always under rainforest tall trees shade.
The direct sunlight does not reach pothos in its native environment. Instead, it gets medium to low indirect sunlight.
This is the type of light that pothos evolved throughout thousands of years to cope with. It is the light it knows and loves.
How much light pothos needs
There are different types of pothos. Each type requires a different level of light. But all of them do not tolerate direct sunlight as direct sunlight will burn their leaves fast.
I will make it simple for you, the varieties that have variegated leaves will require medium to bright indirect sunlight, varieties like golden pothos, marble queen pothos, and pothos neon.
While the varieties that have only green leaves will thrive in low light conditions, like jade pothos.
Although the varieties that have variegated leaves will tolerate low light. But their leaves will turn green.
Can pothos take full sun?
Direct sunlight is the enemy here. All pothos will suffer in direct sunlight. Their leaves will burn and fall.
That said, pothos will tolerate very early morning sunlight ( 1 to 2 hours). Also if you live in a place that has very weak sunlight during winter then you can expose your variegated pothos varieties( pothos neon, marble queen pothos, golden pothos) to direct sunlight.
These are the only exceptions. Otherwise, keep your pothos away from direct sunlight.
Where to put my pothos in order to get the right light
If you want to grow your pothos indoors you can put your pothos anywhere as long as it is away from direct sunlight rays.
Also, the place should not be completely dark. Because pothos will suffer in complete darkness.
A north-facing window is ideal for your pothos. Because in the north-facing window there is no direct sunlight.
Also, an east-facing window is great because it has only early morning direct sunlight.
But you can put your plant anywhere except in the places that exposed to direct sunlight, especially the afternoon one.
This is what great about pothos it can tolerate being in places that most other houseplants can’t.
Avoid putting your pothos in the south or west-facing windows as those windows are the sunnier ones.
On the other hand, if you want to grow your pothos outside you can put it in a place that receives only indirect sunlight throughout all the day except for few hours of very early morning.
But make sure the temperatures do not fall below 50 F because such temperatures will kill your pothos.
You can bring your outdoor pothos indoors in winter. Just make sure to clean it with soap water in order to kill any pests before moving it indoors in order to not infect your other houseplants.
How to know it is too low light for pothos
As I mentioned earlier pothos need at least some amount of light in order to survive.
Pothos that exposed to deep low light or complete darkness will develop small leaves and they will grow very slowly.
Also, the leaves will wilt and turn yellow then fall. While those signs can be caused by inadequate watering, low temperatures, and low humidity.
But if you water your plant properly, the place has a normal humidity level, and the temperature is above 60 F, and your plant is located in a very dark place most probably such signs because of too low light.
But don’t worry pothos suffering from low light is not common. As long as you are able to see the plant that means there is light reflecting in the plant. Then your pothos will be ok in terms of lighting.
Other low light plants
The below plants are low light plants that you can grow in the same low light spot along with your pothos.
