Pothos potting

Tiggrrr

New Member
I have a 5 month old veiled and do daily mistings. I buy most of my plants from a local nursery who uses organic soil and they seem to do great with all the moisture, but I have one pothos I have had for about a year and I just used normal potting soil for. I do my misting with one of those bottles you pump up before using so I get a pretty good misting on the whole cage, but I tend to go a little heavy on the pothos because it has the largest leaves of any plants in my enclosure, so I figured it’s more likely to catch drinking water for the cham. Recently though, I noticed the leaves drooping and it seems to have gotten root rot, so i took it out and threw it out. I’m planning on getting another one because I love the look and feel like they help fill out the cage, but this isn’t the first time I’ve had problems overwatering them. Over the past year I’ve had 2 others outside of my enclosure get root rot and fungus gnats, so i feel like they’re especially susceptible to overwatering. Does anyone know a soil mix I could use that would be good for a pothos in heavy watering and high humidity? Or any tips on how to avoid this in the future? I have a Boston fern, dwarf umbrella tree, Swiss cheese plant, and a wandering Jew which are all doing good so It’s not like I’m overwatering a ridiculous amount. Any help is appreciated.
 
I have a 5 month old veiled and do daily mistings. I buy most of my plants from a local nursery who uses organic soil and they seem to do great with all the moisture, but I have one pothos I have had for about a year and I just used normal potting soil for. I do my misting with one of those bottles you pump up before using so I get a pretty good misting on the whole cage, but I tend to go a little heavy on the pothos because it has the largest leaves of any plants in my enclosure, so I figured it’s more likely to catch drinking water for the cham. Recently though, I noticed the leaves drooping and it seems to have gotten root rot, so i took it out and threw it out. I’m planning on getting another one because I love the look and feel like they help fill out the cage, but this isn’t the first time I’ve had problems overwatering them. Over the past year I’ve had 2 others outside of my enclosure get root rot and fungus gnats, so i feel like they’re especially susceptible to overwatering. Does anyone know a soil mix I could use that would be good for a pothos in heavy watering and high humidity? Or any tips on how to avoid this in the future? I have a Boston fern, dwarf umbrella tree, Swiss cheese plant, and a wandering Jew which are all doing good so It’s not like I’m overwatering a ridiculous amount. Any help is appreciated.
I always add some small stones in the bottoms of all of my pots for drainage. You could also add in a little coco coir in your soil mix as that doesn’t seem to hold onto water very well.
 
I agree, I think it's more of a drainage problem than a soil problem.
What kind of pots are you using, and what are you doing for drainage?

In a chameleon enclosure, I'm finding that the plastic pots with several holes around the perimeter of the bottom provide better drainage than clay pots with one hole in the center of the bottom.
 
I always add some small stones in the bottoms of all of my pots for drainage. You could also add in a little coco coir in your soil mix as that doesn’t seem to hold onto water very well.
Yeah that’s a good idea I was thinking about doing that with the rocks or adding more perlite?
 
I agree, I think it's more of a drainage problem than a soil problem.
What kind of pots are you using, and what are you doing for drainage?

In a chameleon enclosure, I'm finding that the plastic pots with several holes around the perimeter of the bottom provide better drainage than clay pots with one hole in the center of the bottom.
I’m using one of the plastic ones with a lot of holes, but I have it kind of leaning so I suspect that water could’ve been collecting on the edge where there wasn’t any drainage
 
I’m using one of the plastic ones with a lot of holes, but I have it kind of leaning so I suspect that water could’ve been collecting on the edge where there wasn’t any drainage
Rotating 45° alleviates it, but that little bit shouldn't have been enough to cause root rot.

What do you guys think about using compost? :unsure:
Never used it indoors in potted plants. ?‍♂️
 
When I say water I mean moisten im only putting enough water in there to keep it bright and happy
 
Never used it indoors in potted plants. ?‍♂️
[/QUOTE]
Okay, It might be good because it's all made of natural ingredients.
 
Okay, [compost] might be good because it's all made of natural ingredients.
So—TMK—is PLA (a plastic made from vegetable starch), but that doesn't mean I'm going to have some for lunch. ?

IME, packaged organic fertilizer has tested nutrient & pH values, along with recommended mixing ratios for various purposes (including potting). It's also (by that time) sans bugs.

I suppose it depends on the nutrient and pH breakdown of your compost, and if you have ways of testing it (I know many organic gardeners who do)—the potential downside being incorrect nutrient and/or pH balance for the plant. If you've got that covered... ?‍♂️

I can see it more for a bioactive setup that still has crews to assist in breakdown & assimilation, and a larger volume for roots.

Others may have different experience.
 
So—TMK—is PLA (a plastic made from vegetable starch), but that doesn't mean I'm going to have some for lunch. ?

IME, packaged organic fertilizer has tested nutrient & pH values, along with recommended mixing ratios for various purposes (including potting). It's also (by that time) sans bugs.

I suppose it depends on the nutrient and pH breakdown of your compost, and if you have ways of testing it (I know many organic gardeners who do)—the potential downside being incorrect nutrient and/or pH balance for the plant. If you've got that covered... ?‍♂️

I can see it more for a bioactive setup that still has crews to assist in breakdown & assimilation, and a larger volume for roots.

Others may have different experience.
Haha! Okay, thanks! :D (y)
 
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