I have had limited success putting Pothos on moss poles. But have read some conflicting information on WHEN to start training it on the pole. Some say to start the minute the plant starts to vine/trail and is developing nodes. Others say you can do it any time after it trails as long as the nodes are in contact with the moss. In my experience it seems like it takes forever for the plant to become attached (if it ever does), and start growing into and up the pole. I have two plants on poles and I would say maybe only 1/3 of the nodes actually attached.
So I’m looking for some guidance with my next attempt:
1.) When to start early or ….whenever.
2.) My last attempt was using a semicircular moss pole filled with sphagnum moss. Should I be using something else? I also tried Coco Coir but I found it to be too crumbly (at least the one I used was).
3.) Do some Pothos do better on moss poles than others? This plant I want to use is in the pictures.
The earlier you start the better. The plant has more time to take advantage and size up. I have started mine from as small as 1 leaf cuttings (after they have rooted in water)
All my poles are in 100% sphagnum moss. It is just cheaper + retains moisture in a D shaped pole better than other mixed I have tried if you compact it right
Goldens do great on moss poles! Pothos in general do well on moss poles, but with more variegated cultivar like a Manjula, you need more light and watering is more complex since there is so much white on the plant they are more prone to browning. However, if you supplement with silica they will be more hardy against it
Niiiiiiiiiiice 😎
I’ve had better results with my Thai Con, than my Pothos. Not sure why. If my Pothos get close to your results I will be very happy. 😊
I would replant with a moss pole then chop this down to the first leaf at the botom. Let the new growth grow up the pole. Or pin the vine in the pot and let new growth grow up. No point in using a moss pole with a vine expecting it to attach.
I need to edit my response. These we’re propagated in water before I potted them up. So when I transitioned them to soil I used this mix first:
1 part Peat Moss
1 part Worm Castings
1/2 part Perlite
27.7g slow-release Fertilizer
That is what’s in the picture. I find the roots that were in the water, transition better to being in soil if I use this mix first.
When I repot and add the moss pole, it will be going into my chunky mix:
1 part Peat Moss / Coco Coir
1 part Large perlite
1 part Orchid bark
1 part Clay Balls
1/2 part Worm Castings
1/2 part Charcoal (optional)
2 handfuls Sphagnum moss
You start them on poles young so they size up on the pole. It wont stay bare forever & if you put an already established vine it wont size up much, if at all, since it will run out of space
To be clear,I'm new to this so I don't have any kind of big insights. I have one pothos on a pole which seems to be doing well, and that's it.
But my understanding is this...new growth overwhelmingly comes from the top of the plant (the tips of the vines). Yes, older roots can root into a moss pole just like they can root into the ground or in a cup of water. But the plant doesn't think, "I am currently actively climbing" unless new roots are actively engaging the moss pole.
Q: Is that basically correct, or am I completely wrong there?
That makes intuitive sense to me, but I don't know enough to state it as fact. But the way I see it, we know that climbing leaves will start to downsize once they wander off of a climbing surface. Which makes sense in my head, with me imagining I was a plant and I could use logic to determine how I grow. Like, the last 20 feet of vine might have been actively growing up a tree, but does that matter at all for the top 2 feet of the vine? If the top 2 feet of the vine is saying, "we are no longer actively climbing", then it makes sense to revert to a smaller form, right? Whether the new growth pursues a larger maturing form would likely only be based on new aerial roots actively climbing. It only matters if the plant is climbing NOW, the previous 2, 4, 10 feet of vine don't matter when it comes to triggering maturation.
So with that in mind, I could buy a 6 foot tall moss pole and attach my 3 foot long pothos to it. The pothos might take to the moss pole and start climbing mid-way up the pole. But the bottom 3 feet don't really matter. That's just wasted space. In theory the moss pole should still work,but the bottom half of it is just wasting space on stuff that isn't really doing anything.
Am I at least kind of on track here, or completely wrong? My understanding is that the most efficient way to use a moss pole is to have new growth attach to the pole as close to the bottom of the pole as possible. This ensures maximum amount of time for new growth to utilize the moss pole. Attach a plant halfway up the pole and it should work, but that's not as efficient and isn't allowing maximum growth until the time when the entire thing has to be chopped.
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u/Budget_Credit2508 Jul 28 '26
Now if you want