My City Plants
Plant Care

How To Trim Pothos Plant ✂️

Juliette, co-founder of My City Plants, smiling in front of a yellow backgroundJuliette·Co-founder·Apr 2025
On this page
  1. 01Step 1: Gather Your Tools 🛠️
  2. 02Step 2: Inspect Your Pothos Plant 👀
  3. 03Step 3: Remove Dead Leaves ✂️
  4. 04Step 4: Trim Leaves With Brown Or Yellow Tips 🍃
  5. 05Step 5: Move To Different Varieties 🌱
  6. 06Step 6: Final Touches 🌟
  7. 07FAQs About Trimming Pothos Plants ❓
  8. 08Keep Your Pothos Healthy 🌿

Do you want to learn the proper ways to cut or prune your Pothos plants?

Trimming is one of the suggested practices regularly performed by plant lovers to ensure that their plants are healthy and beautiful. With this short guide, I will describe you the steps to use in cutting your Pothos plants for them to grow better and have a lovely appearance.

Step 1: Gather Your Tools 🛠️

Before you begin, it’s important to have the necessary tools ready for trimming. The required tools are:

  • Sharp Scissors or Shears: Ensure they’re clean and sharp to make precise cuts.
  • Rubbing Alcohol: For sanitizing your tools to prevent any infections.

It is essential to always spray your tools with rubbing alcohol to keep them clean by this step. Through this, you can prevent any plant diseases from being transferred.

Step 2: Inspect Your Pothos Plant 👀

Start examining your Pothos for any yellowing, brown, or damaged leaves. These leaves are not only unattractive but also take away energy from the plant. Look out for these signs:

  • Completely Dead Leaves: These can often be removed by hand.
  • Leaves with Brown or Yellow Tips: These need careful trimming.

Step 3: Remove Dead Leaves ✂️

To begin with, you need to remove all the dead leaves. For completely dead ones, you can just pull them out. If you have some leaves that are partly brown, trim them off as close to the main stem as you can. This not only promotes new growth but also helps the plant maintain its fresh look.

Keep in mind that the primary aim is to assist your plant in directing its energies to fresh and healthy leaf growth.

Step 4: Trim Leaves With Brown Or Yellow Tips 🍃

When cutting leaves that have brown or yellow tips, you should proceed with the following steps:

  1. Identify the shape of the leaf and avoid cutting in a straight line.
  2. Instead, follow the natural curve of the leaf to maintain its aesthetic appeal.
  3. Cut slowly and carefully to achieve a natural look.

A plant that has a straight cut can look like an abstract piece of art that just lacks an eye. You can look at it in the wrong way. Whatever the case and the issues heading your way, always be a pianist.

Step 5: Move To Different Varieties 🌱

If you have different types of Pothos, such as the Spurlin Jade or Cebu Blue, you can go ahead and do it for each one of them. Each type can have different demands, so you should be wary of the specific matters:

  • For Spurlin Jade, look for yellow or brown spots and trim those leaves carefully.
  • Cebu Blue may need just minor trimming for brown tips.

Step 6: Final Touches 🌟

Once you are done with the trimming process, take a moment to step away and look at your Pothos plants. They must be looking rejuvenated and neatly done. If you catch sight of any other leaves that need care, just go ahead and trim them too!

FAQs About Trimming Pothos Plants ❓

How often should I trim my Pothos plant?

It is beneficial to make it a habit of regularly checking your Pothos and to trim as required, preferably every few months or when you notice broken leaves.

What if I cut too much off?

Did you trim too much by accident? No worries! Pothos are such hardy plants, and with the right care, they will definitely recover.

Can I propagate my Pothos cuttings?

Very much so! This is a possible way to propagate pothos by putting cuttings in a glass of water until they grow roots and then shifting them to soil.

Keep Your Pothos Healthy 🌿

Pruning your Pothos is essential for its health and vitality. Follow these steps to keep your plant looking lush and thriving.

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Juliette, co-founder of My City Plants, smiling in front of a yellow background
Juliette
Co-founder

Juliette Vassilkioti is a New York–based expert in indoor plant maintenance and office plant design, and the co-founder of My City Plants (in the field since 2011). Educated at Parsons (Floral Design) and the New York Botanical Garden (Landscape Design), she shares her expertise on a YouTube channel with 7M+ views and has been featured by The New York Times, Women’s Health, and Architectural Digest.

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