Gardener's Yards All About Gardening 
The pothos plant is one of the many beautifying houseplants that are easy to propagate.
They can otherwise be called the devil’s ivy.
Also, the vines have leaves with unique variegating colors of green and cream shades.
Mostly, pothos thrives when planted with good soil and placed in bright light.
Additionally, the cuttings can also be grown in water.
Moreover, where you decide to grow your cuttings depends on you.
This houseplant will flourish, whether they are rooted in water or soil.
However, propagating correctly is not enough to make the cuttings grow.
Hence, listed below are eight reasons you might not have considered as the cause of the stunted growth of your pothos cutting.
8 Reasons Your Pothos Cutting Is Not Growing
1. The Pothos Vine Was Wrongly Cut
Before growing the pothos plant, in water, you have to use a healthy vine that was cut below a node.
If you don’t do that, the cutting will not root in the first place.
Additionally, without the roots, pothos cutting cannot survive.
Moreover, failure to remove the leaves beneath the node before keeping them in the jar of water could prevent the new roots from growing.
2. You Haven’t Mastered The Right Way To Water
Even though it seems you have done everything to make your pothos cutting thrive, your cuttings will not grow if you are waterlogging the soil.
Confused? of course, it is good to water your houseplants.
However, pothos does not thrive when the soil is waterlogged.
Overwatering the soil causes the roots to rot.
Hence, the cutting will die instead of thriving.
The yellowing of the leaves is a sign that you are waterlogging the soil.
The irony is, if you are not watering with enough water, your plant will die too.
Your plant’s soil should ideally be consistently moist.
In this manner, the plant can get moisture whenever it wants.
Dry, shriveled-up leaves, compacted and hydrophobic soil, leaf loss, curling leaves, and wilting are additional signs of water loss.
Depriving, the devil’s ivy of water causes the leaves to become brown and fall off after.
A common cause of stagnant growth in houseplants is underwatering.
Therefore, you need to master the right way to water the devil’s ivy so the cuttings can grow.
3. The Plant Is Placed In The Wrong Room Temperature
Pothos thrive at any room temperature above 50F.
As a result, when you keep them below that temperature, the pothos cutting will die.
That means, if you exposed the plant to a cold temperature below 50F, it is probably dying.
The cold kills the leaves and the stems of the plant.
4. Late Transfer Into The Soil
Most people like to root the cuttings in water before planting them in the soil.
Usually, pothos cutting thrives when transferred from water to the soil.
Nevertheless, the late transfer of the cuttings can slow down the growth of the plant.
Why? Think about it: it’s challenging for even human beings to adjust to a change in their environment.
The same thing goes for plants. For the pothos cuttings, it will take a while to adapt to being rooted in the soil.
The change in environment may stunt their growth for a while.
5. The Cutting Was Planted In Unhealthy Soil
If you plant the cuttings in unhealthy soil, your pothos will not grow.
Additionally, planting the cuttings in unhealthy soil will deprive the plant of oxygen, water, and protection against harsh temperatures.
6. You Added Too Much Fertilizer
Pothos plants usually thrive on their own when planted in healthy soil.
Although you may add little fertilizer to make them grow faster, however, don’t add too much fertilizer.
Adding too much fertilizer can attract mealybugs because these insects like to feed on houseplants with high nitrogen levels.
7. Too Much Sunlight
The most important information to know before propagating pothos cutting is that they don’t like direct sunlight.
Naturally, this houseplant grows in bright but indirect habitats usually under shades of other trees and plants.
If the leaves on the cuttings begin to turn to a pale green color, you need to take them away from direct sunlight as soon as possible.
8. Pest Invasion
Does the devil’s ivy cutting have mealybug feeding on it?
If that is the case, your pothos cutting is not growing because mealybugs are feeding on it.
Suppose mealybugs are bugs with white or grey waxy body that likes to feed on the leaves of houseplants.
Most times, they look like mildew or fungus when feeding on the plants.
You will know they are insects when they begin to fly or creep around.
They are sap-sucking insects, and an increase in their population could damage plant tissue, causing the yellowing of leaves.
After rooting the cuttings in soil, you need to protect them from mealybugs.
What Should You Do When Your Pothos Cuttings Is Not Growing?
1. Water Only After The Soil Is Dry
Always allow the soil to drain before the next watering.
Pay attention to the top layer of the soil and make sure it is moist.
Water the flowering plants only after the top layers are dry.
2. Be Patient With Transferred Cuttings And Keep Away From Direct Sunlight
If you transferred the plant from water to soil, give the roots some time to adjust to the soil.
During this period, add some phosphorus fertilizer to the soil to help with healthy rooting.
Also, you should place the plant away from direct sunlight, preferably somewhere indoors beside a window.
3. Grow In Healthy Soil
It’s also important to think about the soil and container with drainage holes in the bottom that you use for your plant.
This significantly lowers the likelihood of overwatering and root rot because the holes allow extra water to escape the pot and prevent the soil from getting too wet.
Remove the cuttings and replant them in well-drained soil at a 6.5 pH level.
On the other hand, if you already planted in well-drained soil, add some fertilizer to the soil to enhance the growth.
Be sure the problem is with the soil before applying fertilizers because healthy soil does not need fertilizers.
To be on the safe side, you can use organic fertilizers to aid growth.
4. Destroy Mealybugs Found On The Plant
Rub some alcohol on the bugs to kill them.
Also, you can spray the insects with neem oil and horticultural oil to destroy them.
Spray with neem oil weekly until all the bugs stop appearing.
Additionally, insecticidal soap is effective in destroying the outer bodies, which will eventually kill them.
So don’t freak out if you discover a pest on your Pothos!
Your plant will resume growing beautifully and lushly as soon as the pest has been effectively treated.
5. Avoid Placing Them In Cold Temperature
Keep at a 65oF to 75of room temperature and prune the dead leaves.
Also, in order to prevent your houseplant from becoming stressed and ceasing to grow, avoid temperatures below 50F (10C) and above 90F (33C).
Furthermore, you can add some liquid fertilizer to the soil so the plant can revive quickly.
Conclusion
In summary, you should never neglect your pothos cutting after propagating them.
Pay close attention to the plant, keep them indoors under bright light, and protect them from mealy bugs.
Moreover, you can set up a schedule or reminder to water them occasionally.
That way, your pothos cutting will grow.
Furthermore, make sure always to check the pot to see whether the roots have outgrown it.
Transfer the plant to a bigger container as soon as the roots begin to outgrow the pot.
