7 Reasons Why Pothos Plants Are The Best Houseplants For Beginners

If you’re new to gardening, part of the head-scratching dilemma you’ll have to deal with is picking the ideal garden plant for you. You probably want a plant that fits your intended purpose and is still interesting enough to keep your excitement about plant-parenting alive.

But most of all, you want a plant that’s easy to grow considering the fact that you have limited knowledge of gardening. If there’s one plant that checks all the boxes, it has to be the Pothos plant.

Epipremnum aureum is also known as the cascading pothos or the Devil’s Ivy and is arguably the easiest houseplant to grow. With limited care requirements that guarantee stellar growth, anyone, regardless of their experience or knowledge of gardening can successfully grow this plant.

Read on to discover some of the reasons why we think the Pothos plant is your best choice as a beginner.

They’re not picky about Light

Like every plant, your pothos plant still needs light to grow. In fact, it’ll grow best in bright light. However, the plant does not have strict requirements when it comes to light exposure. It can survive even in the dark corners of your home (which is usually what most houseplants get anyways).

You should note that in the absence of sufficient light, the plant may not grow fast enough and the leaf color will most likely revert to a solid green color instead of the variegated pattern. But your plant will still thrive and grow normally as it should.

if you are worried about lighting, you can get a growlight for less than $40 on Amazon. Fluorescent lights are great, too. Pothos prefer to climb and reach up for light, so it should be positioned above the plant and keep them on for at least 8hrs per day.

Pothos grow fast

As a beginner, the last thing you want to do is start your gardening experience with a plant that takes several weeks or months to grow. Seeing your plant grow big and strong within a short time will provide some encouragement to keep you going.

Pothos gives you instant gratification which is one of the things you’ll find helpful as a beginner. With sufficient sunlight, the plant can grow as long as 10 feet and will continually sprout new leaves.

Pothos are easy to style

The pothos plant is a trailing plant which means you’ll have to invest some effort into styling the vines to make them look good. Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make that happen.

This plant will form itself into a beautiful shape without a lot of effort on your part. You can also style it over a bookshelf or pin it up any other way you want to make your indoor space even more beautiful.

You’ll know if something is wrong with your Pothos plant

The Pothos plant has earned the nickname the Devil’s ivy because of how resilient it is. It’s very unlikely that you’ll do anything terrible enough to hurt this plant even as a beginner.

However, in the unlikely event that it happens, the plant has a lot of telltale signs to watch out for. You may notice the leaves drooping heavily if the plant isn’t getting enough water. Luckily, it’ll spring back to life once the plant is watered and it’ll be back on track for growing again.

They come in different varieties

Picking a houseplant that perfectly complements your space and is still easy to grow for a beginner can be challenging. Fortunately, that’s a challenge that’s easy to navigate with the Pothos plant. It comes in different colors from golden to different shades of green. They also come in different leaf sizes and variegations. This means there are a lot of options to choose from and you may even combine them if you want.

Pothos are cheap and very easy to find

Some of the most beautiful houseplants are rare, which makes them difficult to find. That’s not the case with the Pothos plant. It is literally everywhere. You can get yours at a Home Depot or Lowe's store near you. You may also ask at the local farmer’s market or groceries stores near you.

You can find them online as well. Shipping might be a challenge with most plants but considering how resilient this plant is, you should have no trouble getting it. What’s more? The plant is so cheap. You don’t have to spend a fortune on getting a good-sized pothos plant. That’s great, especially for beginners who don’t want to make a lot of financial commitment to gardening just yet until they’re sure it’s the thing for them.

Pothos is also easy to propagate, so you can just get stem cuttings from a friend instead of buying the plant. All you need to propagate this plant is a healthy piece of stem, anywhere between 6 to 12″ in length. Plant the stem cutting in the soil in a vase or bottle. Add water to cover the bottom 2-3 nodes and water regularly for the next 3–4 weeks, you should have a new plant ready for transplant within one month of planting.

They’ll last a long time.

Because the Pothos plant is so resilient, you can be sure it’ll last for a long time. Most people who have this plant claim they live up to 10 years. There’s no reason why the plant won’t exceed this considering how resilient they are. They’re also quite adaptable so the plant will continue to thrive even if you move or change its placement in your home. If you’re looking for a plant that’ll last for a very long time, then the Pothos is a great choice to consider.

Conclusion

As a beginner, choosing the right plant is very important. You’ll feel more confident about your gardening abilities and may even consider getting more houseplants if your experience with your first plant goes well. That’s why a resilient plant that’s easy to care for like the Pothos plant is the ideal houseplant to get as you get started on your gardening journey. You’ll love the experience with this plant.