How to Grow and Care for Satin Pothos

Satin Pothos Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing a satin pothos:

• Place the plant in a location with indirect bright light.
• Use well-draining potting soil and make sure the pot has large drainage holes.
• Keep the soil slightly moist but not wet.
• Fertilize once a month during the growing season with a water-soluble complete houseplant fertilizer.

Light

Satin pothos needs bright, indirect light. When exposed to full direct sun, its leaves will lose their variegation and get scorched. If you place the plant near a window with direct sunlight, it will require a curtain to protect it from direct sunlight.

Soil

Use a commercial indoor potting mix, which already contains nutrients and ensures good drainage through its combination of peat moss, pine bark, and perlite or vermiculite. The plant does poorly in wet, soggy soil. Satin pothos prefers lightly acidic soil.

Water

When watering satin pothos, the key is to avoid overwatering, which will manifest itself by yellow leaves and the vine wilting.

Water only when the top two inches of the soil feel dry to the touch. Poke your finger into the soil to check, or use a moisture meter. Water slowly and deeply with room-temperature water until you see water seeping out of the drain holes.

Temperature and Humidity

Satin pothos is a tropical plant, which means it needs warmth and humidity. The ideal growth temperature ranges from 65 and 85°F. At a lower temperature, it will suffer cold damage and die. In dry air, the leaf tips can turn brown.

Relative humidity at 40 to 50% around your plant is ideal. Increase the humidity by placing the pot on a tray filled with pebbles and water, but in a way that the roots are not sitting in the water.

Misting to increase humidity is not recommended, because the aerial roots also absorb moisture. This can result in overwatering.

Fertilizer

During the growing season, from spring to fall, fertilize the satin pothos about once a month with a complete, water-soluble houseplant fertilizer, following product label instructions.

Types of Satin Pothos 

Popular varieties include:

• S. pictus ‘Silvery Anne’ is a cultivar with light green, highly variegated heart-shaped leaves.
• S. pictus ‘Argyraeus’ has smaller, dark green leaves. The variegation has more defined, less splotchy, and evenly dispersed silvery markings. The leaves also have silvery edges.
• S. pictus ‘Exotica’ has larger, dark green, lance-shaped leaves with large silver splotches.
• S. pictus ‘Silver Hero’ has silvery, white leaves.
• S. pictus ‘Silver Splash’ has mottled splashes of silver on its leaves.
• S. pictus ‘Silver Lady’ has thicker, more defined splashes of silver.

Pruning

Snip off any damaged or dead leaves any time. Any pruning when the vines are growing too long and becoming sparse is best done in the spring when the new growing season starts. Cutting back the plant will encourage new leaf growth and make it fuller.

Propagating Satin Pothos

The easiest way to propagate satin pothos is through stem cuttings, which are best taken in spring and summer. Here are the basic steps:

1. Sever four-inch tip cuttings with one to two leaf nodes.
2. Fill a wide pot, such as a bulb pot, with damp potting mix.
3. Place the cutting on the soil and gently press the nodes into the soil.
4. Use propagation pins or a piece of wire to hold the leaf nodes down.
5. Keep the soil evenly moist, but not wet, and place the pots in the same indirect light location as the mother plant.
6. After about a month, new growth should indicate that the plant has rooted, and you can switch to a more infrequent watering schedule.

Potting and Repotting

If you see roots emerging from the drainage holes of the pot, it’s time for repotting. Depending on how fast your satin pothos grows, this might be necessary every year or two years.

Repotting should be done when the growing season starts. Select a pot about one to two inches larger than the current pot and fill it with a fresh indoor potting soil mix. Commercial mixes usually contain enough fertilizer for several months so take that into consideration when feeding the plant. Gently remove the plant from its pot and loosen the old soil from the roots. Add it to the new pot and carefully fill around the roots with fresh potting mix. Water to settle the plant in the container.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Satin pothos is mostly free of pests and diseases but might be attacked by scale insects or spider mites. If they are just a few, simply wash them off and don’t forget to also rinse the underside of the leaves.

Or, if there is a significant infestation, apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil that is labeled for use on indoor plants.

If satin pothos receives too much water, it is prone to develop root rot.

Common Problems With Satin Pothos

Curling Leaves

A common issue with satin pothos is curling leaves. This happens for various reasons—overwatering, underwatering, temperature shock, pests, excessive sunlight, or low humidity.

In most cases, curling leaves are easy to resolve. Just make sure to take prompt action when you notice curling leaves before the problem gets out of hand.

Faded Leaves

In inadequate lighting, leaves and variegation can fade. Move a plant with faded leaves into brighter light.