Pothos Light Needs: What Your Plant Needs to Grow in Your Garden

Hey folks! Welcome back!

I hope you are doing great in your gardening field. You might have grown pothos in your home garden. Pothos are one of the easy-to-handle plants that will grow in various climatic conditions. One of the main growing conditions required by the plant is appropriate sunlight to grow healthy. It will make your plant’s growth healthy and beautiful. 

So, do you know what your plant needs to grow in your garden? Sunlight is one of the best elements required by the plant to survive well. Do you know about the Pothos light needs? Pothos will grow best in the bright but indirect sunlight like around 10,000 to 20,000 lux. Though they will even grow in the low sunlight it will not thrive well in this condition as it will turn its growth leggy and slow growth too. 

So, you should know how much light a pothos needs. It is important to know about the pothos light needs at its best so that you see a healthy plant in your area. The ideal range of light for your plant is that you have to provide an east east-facing window to the plant. In this guide, you will come to know about the pothos light needs in detail. 

Common Name	Pothos, Golden Pothos, Devil’s Vine, Devil’s Ivy
Botanical Name	Epipremnum aureum
Family	Araceae
Plant Type	Vine
Mature Size	20–40 ft. long, 3–6 ft. wide
Sun Exposure	Full sun, partial shade
Soil Type	Moist but well-drained
Soil pH	Neutral to slightly acidic
Bloom Time	Rarely flowers
Flower Color	Gold/Yellow, Purple/Lavender
Hardiness Zones	10–12 (USDA)
Native Areas	Asia
Toxicity	Toxic to dogs and cats

The Importance Of Light For Pothos

Before proceeding, you should know the importance of light for your pothos. As you know they are one of the tropical plants that are native to the forests area of Southeast Asia, and there these plants will receive the filtered sunlight through the canopy of the big trees. 

However, they can adapt to low sunlight conditions which makes them good plants as a houseplants. If you are growing them indoors, then you have to provide them with sufficient sunlight so that there is a process of photosynthesis. 

If you are not providing sufficient sunlight to the plant, then folks you will observe that there is legginess in the plant. Another thing is that the plant will slow its growth. 

With the supply of direct sunlight, then the leaves of the plant will be burnt. Last but not least, maintain the balance between the low sunlight and the high sunlight. 

Pothos Light Needs: How Much Light Does a Pothos Need?

Pothos is one of the plants that will grow best in bright but indirect sunlight. You need to look after the requirements of your plant. The plant should receive bright sunlight but not the process light. 

You have to provide the morning sunlight to the plant for about 3 to 4 hours a day. But it should not be that intense so you have to cover it with the curtain. Also, except this, you can provide the plants with about 12 to 14 hours of indirect sunlight. 

There will be legginess in the plant if the plant does not receive an appropriate amount of sunlight. You should know that there are different varieties of pothos in your home garden. 

Some of the variegated varieties will grow best in the bright but indirect sunlight to maintain their color. But if the plant does not receive a sufficient amount of sunlight, then it will not attain its green color. 

Direct sunlight 

Direct sunlight is that light that attacks the plant directly and its leaves will be scorched by its effect. It does not suit various plants as it tends to ruin the growth of the leaves of the plant. 

It causes discoloration in the plant as well. It will suit those plants that like to grow in sunny locations such as succulents. 

Indirect sunlight 

Indirect sunlight is the type of light that will not attack the plant directly. The plant will receive sunlight through the window. It is not as harsh as the direct light. It is special for some of the best houseplants. 

Every plant requires different sunlight for growth so depending on the orientation plants require indirect bright sunlight for growth, so place them near the windows. 

How to Check How Much Light My Pothos Is Getting?

It is not difficult to check how much light your plant is getting. Estimation of sunlight is important, it is because your plant comes to know if it is receiving appropriate, sunlight or not. You cannot rely on your results. So, follow the below-mentioned method to check how much light your plant is getting. They are as follows: 

The Hand Shadow Test

It is one of the methods that is economical to use. You can easily come to know the intensity of light that Your plant is receiving. Keep in mind that you have to make use of sensible objects. Below are the steps that you have to follow to test it:

• First, prepare the spot where you will keep your pothos and keep a sheet of white paper on it.
• Then, hold your hand about one foot above the paper.
• If you want to see the best results, then you can do this in the time of afternoon.
• After that, check if the fingers are widely spread or not.
• Then, check the shadow that the plant is receiving on the paper by hand. 

If the shadow is more by the hand, it will show that the sunlight is more received by the plant. 

Bright sunlight- If you observe proper shadow on the sheet, it indicates that the plant receiving bright light. Direct sunlight will not make your plant happy, whereas indirect light will make the plant cheerful. 

Medium sunlight – The second thing that you will observe is the blurred shadow as it shows that the plant is not receiving appropriate and it is receiving medium sunlight.

Low sunlight- Last, but not least, you will observe no shadow on the sheet which indicates that the plant is not receiving appropriate light.

So you have to plant your plant in a location where it receives sufficient light for its growth. 

2 Signs Your Pothos Isn’t Receiving Enough Light

Leggy Growth

One of the signs that your pothos are not receiving enough light is the legginess in the plant. It will cause thin stems in the plant if the plant is not receiving sufficient sunlight. 

An insufficient supply of sunlight will stretch out the leaves of the plant, which shows that the plant is not getting the appropriate amount of sunlight. 

Small Leaves & Slow Growth

Another sign that you will observe is that the small leaves will be caused in the plant. Also, the growth of the plant will be slow. The plant will not be able to produce proper foliage in the plant. You will see that the leaves will be shrunk. 

Wrapping up the context

In this guide, you come to know that Pothos is one of the easy-to-handle plants that will grow in various climatic conditions. One of the main growing conditions required by the plant is appropriate sunlight to grow healthy. It will make your plant’s growth healthy and beautiful. 

So, do you know what your plant needs to grow in your garden? Sunlight is one of the best elements required by the plant to survive well. Pothos will grow best in the bright but indirect sunlight like around 10,000 to 20,000 lux. Though they will even grow in the low sunlight it will not thrive well in this condition as it will turn its growth leggy and slow growth too. I hope you are clear with the guide. 

Thanks for reading! Happy Gardening! 

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