Pothos are beautiful houseplants. They look fabulous with green leaves and silver markings. But the sad part is sometimes due to our negligence. The leaves of pothos start curling and turning yellow. Satin pothos leaves curling is a common problem.
Today you will learn why your satin pothos leaves are curling and what you can do to cure the problem.
The first step in this journey is identifying the main cause. There are many factors that trigger this problem. Read the below causes and identify what is the possible cause of leaf curl in your case.
Then follow the solutions that I suggested in this post and your plant will revive its health in a few days. Do not forget that this is a common problem and is easy to fix.
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Why is my Pothos Leaves Curling and turning Yellow?
Less watering, Overwatering, Temperature Stress, Root Disease, Pest attacks, Plant diseases, etc are responsible for curling leaves in pothos. Identify the cause in your case and follow the solution.
Less Watering
Satin pothos plants store water in their leaves. When you give less water to your plant. It starts using the stored water and the leaves start shrinking due to the loss of water.
If you did not notice pothos continuously suffers from dehydration. Then after 24 hours, the leaves start curling and die.
They fall off from the plant and destroy the beautiful looks of your pothos.
To prevent this condition, you have to keep eye on the potting soil. Immediately check the soil conditions and if it is dry. Then water it the right way to save your plant. If it has enough moisture then there is another cause behind it.
Pothos needs a decent amount of water, especially on summer days. You can use a soil moisture meter to check the soil condition before watering it.
Incorrect use of Fertilizers
Overuse of fertilizers causes curling leaves in pothos. A high amount of nutrients gets collected at the base of the plant and block the root functions.
The plant becomes dehydrated and the slats in the nutrients disturb the pH of the soil and roots.
This triggers the curling leaves in satin pothos. Curled leaf tips, dark green color, and less variegation are some of the first signs of overfed satin pothos plants.
To fix this condition, there is only one best solution and that is, changing the potting soil. Fill the pot with fresh soil and plant your pothos again in it.
If you do not have new fresh soil then you can flush the salts out of the existing soil.
To do so, take the plant out of its pot and turn ON the tap over the pot. You will see the salts draining out through the bottom hole. Once the water gets clear turn off the tap and lets the soil dry.
Lift the pot and empty it over the newspaper. Let the soil dry then plant satin pothos back in it.
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Temperature Changes
The best temperature range for the Satin pothos is between 60 to 80 degrees F. But when the temperature of the grow room exceeds 80 Degrees F.
The plant starts losing moisture and the leaves start curling inwards.
To fix this problem place the plant pot where it cannot get direct sunlight. Because indoors, only the sunlight and heating systems can increase the room temperature.
The best way is to install a temperature monitoring device in the grow room. It is an inexpensive device but it helps a lot in maintaining the correct room temperature.
Root Disease
When you give excessive water to your satin pothos the leaves start curling. Due to extra water in the plant pot, the soil becomes waterlogged and heavy.
This puts extra pressure on the plant roots. Also, increase the chances of root rot (root fungus disease).
Once the pothos roots get infected by fungus they become unable to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. The lack of water results in Satin pothos leaves curling and the lack of nutrients results in yellow pothos leaves.
To identify this cause unpot your plant and check the roots. Cut the brown and damaged parts of the roots. Also, inspect the soil if you see fungus in the soil you have to change it.
After trimming the roots, plant it back in the same pot (change the infected soil). No need to use any kind of medication or cinnamon powder.
This will only cause harm to the roots.
Note: There should be a draining hole in the pot to avoid root-related problems due to overwatering.
Impure Water
When you see your satin pothos leaves curling, stop giving it tap water. Because tap water contains Chloride, Sodium, and other minerals. We called it hard water and such water is not for plants.
Your lawn grass can absorb this water but the plants like pothos face problems.
The salts in the water settle down in the base of the plant and reduce the absorption power of roots. This results in Satin Pothos Leaves Curling and turning yellow.
The simple fix is, use pure or filtered water for watering pothos. I use filtered water to water all my houseplants. They are happy and I have never faced water quality-related problems.
Note: Tap water contains all these hard minerals because the water authorities add them to kill harmful bacteria.
Exposure to the sharp light
Place the plant in indirect bright light. It does not need direct sunlight to grow. The indirect light is enough for it to thrive like crazy.
But when you expose it to the direct sun rays the sharp rays strike on the leaves and the water gets evaporated.
This increases the chances of plant dehydration and also increases the plant temperature. This way the plant uses the stored water in less time than normal.
This pushes the plant to curl up its leaves to save its life. This is the natural defense mechanism of pothos plants.
To fix it, place the plant pot away from direct falling sun rays. If it shows leggy growth and needs immediate light.
Then you can expose it to the morning sunlight only from 7 am to 9 am.
Pest Attacks
There are some Sap Sucking common houseplant pests that can attack pothos plants. They suck the sap of the plant and your plant becomes unable to produce enough amount of glucose.
This turns the leaves yellow and leaves curl their tips to save them from pests.
To identify this problem, inspect your plant and look closely at both sides of the leaves. You will surely see tiny insects.
They are harmful to plants, to get rid of them use rubbing alcohol and wipes. Clean the leaves with your hands.
If there are colonies of pests then you need to use insecticidal soap. Rinse your plant with filtered water using this soap.
Never ever uses commercial pesticides on soft plants like satin pothos.
Change in humidity levels
As I mentioned above, pothos needs a good amount of moisture in the soil. They also need a high amount of humidity. Humidity above 60% is good for their health.
To maintain this level, you can group the plants on low humid days. This will make a humidity balloon around the group of plants.
The water vapors released by plants help in increasing the overall humidity.
If you do not have many plants then put a pebble tray under the pothos pot. The water in the tray help to maintain the humidity.
For a quick solution buy a plant humidifier and install it in the grow room. Place it next to the plant and it will make the room paradise for the plants.
How you can prevent Satin Pothos Curling Leaves?
Correct the Temperature & Humidity
Keep the room temperature between 60 to 80 degrees F with room humidity above 60%. Place your plant away from direct sunlight, and also protect it from the cold winds and direct flow of heating vents in the winter season.
Use a hygrometer to keep eye on the room humidity and use a plant humidifier to maintain it.
Improve Your Watering Technique
You should know the correct watering technique to avoid curling leaves in Satin pothos. It needs a good amount of moisture. But also gets infected by root rot in overwatering conditions.
Therefore, let the soil of the pot dry to the top 2 inches before watering the plant.
For watering it, base watering is the best option. Place the plant in the water tub and let the roots absorb the required amount of water. After 10 minutes take out the pot and let it drain the extra water.
It will take 20 to 30 minutes to drain every single drop of extra water. Then put it back in its final place and give it regular care.
Do not forget that tap water is not recommended for houseplants.
Keep Area Clean
To prevent plant disease and pests keep the growing area clean and also the plant pot. Plants shred their leaves. Do not let them collect at the base of the plant.
Keep the base of the plant and the pot clean and hygienic to prevent pest infestations.
Cut the brown and yellow leaves along with infected leaves.
Limit the Light exposure
Do not put your plant in direct sunlight. Let it absorb the indirect sunlight and stay happy. If your plant needs direct light at some stage of its life.
Expose it only to the morning light. Because in the morning the sun emits soft and warm rays instead of hot rays.
This will also heal the leaf fungus and other fungus diseases.
Choose the right pot size and potting soil
The pot size and potting material directly impact the health of your plants. In smaller pots, the roots get compacted and they lose their absorption power.
With the wrong kind of potting soil. The soil becomes soggy when watered and infected the roots. Again, the plant becomes weak and you are facing another problem.
Conclusion
There are many factors that result in Satin pothos leaves curling and turning yellow. Most of them are easy to fix.
Overwatering, low humidity, and direct exposure to sunlight are the main causes.
