Neon pothos is the best office desk plant. You can grow Neon plants in containers and in hanging baskets. To keep them in good shape and size you have to rim them regularly. Otherwise, their vines can grow up to 10 feet. Neon pothos care is simple and anyone grows neon pothos quite easily with little plant knowledge.
For the best growth, shape, size, and color of neon leaves follow our below neon pothos care guide and growing tips.
Every plant is unique and required different care. Pothos are easy to care and all their varieties need almost the same care routine and maintenance.
In this post, you’ll also learn what are the common neon pothos disease and pests? And How to save your plant and what are preventive methods.?
Quick Care Guide
| Common Names | Neon pothos, neon plants |
| Size | Up to 10 feet |
| Light | Low light |
| Soil | Fertile potting soil |
| Water | Once per week in summer |
| Temperature | Tolerate normal home temperature |
| Humidity | Normal indoor humidity |
| Pests and Diseases | Mealybugs, a Plant fungus |
About the plant
The neon plant is native to Asia and Australia. There it grows on the jungle floor in between large size trees. This clears that its light needs are limited.
The plant has beautiful bright neon color leaves. This is why it is called the neon pothos plant.
Epipremnum aureum is its botanical name. Like other pothos, it needs a dark and cool place to flourish. Slowly it becomes a vine plant. You can control its growth by trimming on time.
Well-draining soil is the key factor that directly affects the successful gardening of neon pothos.
Best neon pothos plant care guide
Light
A low-light environment is perfect for growing and caring for neon pothos plants. The best place for this plant is near the window. Where it can get indirect sunlight.
High intense sun rays can kill the plant in a single day. Once direct light damages the plant you cannot revive it.
Therefore, choose the place for the plant very carefully. Too much light will burn the plant. Too low light reduces the size and number of leaves. Yellow leaves are also related to a very low light environment.
The good news is this plant can easily grow under fluorescent light. No need to buy artificial grow lights
Note: Direct sun rays increase the potting soil temperature and plant temperature. This is not a good condition for the growing plants.
You May Also Like: Snow Queen Pothos Care Guide
Water
Neon pothos needs less water but continuous moist soil. They have delicate root system. Excess water in the root area can damage the roots in 3 to 5 days. Therefore, you need to learn the best watering technique for watering neon pothos plants.
The amount and frequency of watering plants depend on the type of soil, size of the pot, and indoor environment. If you have a warm environment inside then you need to give it frequent water.
I water my neon pothos once a week on summer days and once in 10 days in the winter season.
For extra protection use a plant pot that has a bottom hole.
Always water the pothos until the water comes out through the draining hole. Then let the soil drain the extra water. After that lift the pot to cleans the place and puts it back.
In this technique, you have to wait for the soil to get dry before the next watering session.
Do not worry about the little bit of dryness. Your neon pothos can tolerate 2 to 3 days of dryness. Dry soil for few days is not a problem and will not cause any health issues to Neon plants. Whereas overwatering can surely kill the healthy growing plants.
Neon Pothos care and Soil
If you are growing it in your outdoor garden. Then your garden soil has to be fertile and well-draining. Neon pothos cannot tolerate the extremely cold winds. Therefore, you have to propagate them indoor. So that in the next growing season you can grow them in an outdoor garden.
For indoor growing neon pothos arrange the soil that is fertile and well-draining. The pH of the soil should be between 6 to 6.5 pH. Below or above this is not good for neon plant health.
Some people like to grow plants in water. Neon plants growing in water show slower growth speed. Soil is the best growing medium for indoor neon pothos plants.
Go to your near garden store and ask them for the best houseplant soil. you can this type of soil to grow almost any type of pothos plants and tropical plants.
Temperature
The ideal temperature range for Neon pothos care is 60 to 90 Degrees F. The temperature of the plant location has to be in this range. Temperature is a high concern when you grow container plants in open weather.
Then you need to move the pots inside when the temperature rises or drops.
For indoor growing neon pothos plants. The temperature of your house is perfect. Plants can survive at the normal temperature of your house.
If the environment of your house is comfortable for you then it is the same for the plants.
Garden neon pothos cannot tolerate frost and hot days of summer. At first, their leaves start turning yellow, and slowly the plants just die.
Humidity
For best Neon pothos care, grow them in a high humid place. Low humidity can cause brown leaf tips. There are many methods available to increase the humidity of the indoor place. But trust me you will not need to do anything in this case.
I have my friends in the desert area. They have lots of healthy neon pothos there. They are growing them without using humidifiers and pebble tray techniques.
If the humidity is good for you then it is good for the plants too.
But if you feel that you don’t want brown tips of your plants leaves (for short time). Then you have to put them in the bathroom on hot dry days of summer. In the bathroom, we have the highest humidity than other parts of the homes.
Fertilizers
Fertilize your indoor growing neon pothos once every 2 months only in the growing season. Do not fertilize them on winter days.
Any normal houseplant fertilizer is best for neon plants.
But before that, you need to do a soil test. If you want to grow them for commercial purposes. Then you have to get your garden soil tested by Agricultural Lab.
For growing them to add to your personal collection. You need to buy a soil testing kit from the garden store.
Test the soil of the pots or your garden where you want your Neon pothos to grow. If everything is good then grow them today. But for any nutrient deficiency in the soil. You need to fix that first.
Outdoor garden soil can be fixed at a low cost with organic compost. Buy it and amend your garden soil 7 days before planting the neon pothos.
Whereas synthetic liquid fertilizers are an excellent choice for indoor growing plants. Organic nutrients are good for outdoor garden soil. They produce a false smell. Whereas synthetic nutrients do not release bad smells and are best for plants. They boost the plant’s health in few days.
Moreover, they are designed in a way that plant roots can easily absorb them without wasting.
Repotting & Pruning
Repotting is only necessary if the soil in the pot gets contaminated or the pot becomes smaller for the plant roots.
You can easily identify the plants conditions and guess whether it needs repotting or not.
If it needs, then use 2 inches wide and 2 inches deep pot than the current pot. Extra wider pots are a problem for the growers and for the plants.
Pruning is necessary to keep the pothos plants under control. Unmanaged plants grow extra large in size. Normal houseplants are small to medium in size. You need to keep the plant sweet and short for good looks.
For pruning neon pothos you can use sharp knife or garden shears. Just cut the part that is overly grown. Also cut and remove the yellow and infected parts of plants. At the time of pruning look for the yellow and dead leaves. Remove them too otherwise they will infect the other parts of the plant.
Propagation
- Stem cutting is a highly successful method of plant propagation.
- Look for the healthy vines and cut them into small pieces (4 to 6 inches long).
- Then remove the bottom leaf and visible the node.
- Now take the glass of clean water and put the cutting in it
- The node has to be sat under the water all the time
- Within few days you will see roots are coming out of the nodes.
- Once the roots are 1 to 2 inches long, take out the plant from the glass and transfer it into the plant pot.
Toxicity
Neon pothos is toxic for pets. Keep the plants out of the reach of your pets. If in any condition your pet shows signs of toxicity. Like vomiting, sore throat, abdomen pain, etc contact the local Vet right away.
For more information on plant toxicity always check the ASPCA website.
Neon pothos toxicity complete guide
Neon pothos care and common problems
Mealybugs
These are pink insects coated in the white cotton like material. They attack the plant leaves. Lay their eggs and make the mealybug colony.
The best way to treat them is to wash the plant with neem oil or insecticidal soap.
Prevention is better than cure. To prevent them check the plant leaves once in 4 days. Inspect closely on both sides of leaves and the surface of potting soil.
If you see them at stage one, spray neem oil or wipe the leaves with rubbing alcohol.
Plant fungus
Fungus disease is common in neon pothos plants. The fungus appears because growers do not follow the proper neon pothos care guidelines. This fungus can infect the plant leaves and root balls. Mostly it affects the plant root ball.
In this condition, you have to remove the infected roots from healthy roots.
Overwater is the main cause of root fungus. Whereas misting excess water on plant leaves cause leaf fungus. Spray neem oil on plant leaves to kill the fungus and save your plants.
