Need some advice re: my inherited pothos / philodendron

[jmason42]

Hi all,

Looking for some insight on one of my inherited phothos / philodendron plants (I'm not 100% sure which of the two it is). A couple days ago, a couple of the leaves closer to the base of the 'vine' started to go quite yellow, relatively quickly (couple days). The soil seems quite dry, although there's no drainage at the bottom of the pot so I haven't yet ruled out root rot from potential over-watering. Otherwise it has been living in a medium-light setting for the last few months with no prior signs of concern. Any insight from some folks more knowledgeable than I would be great!

Some pictures below for reference (first two are dark - taken at night; third is taken mid-morning in the light).

Thanks in advance!

 

[Marck]

The plant pictured is a Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) The exact cultivar is equivocal, being transitional between the most common 'Golden' form and the entirely green 'Jade' form.

Overall your plant looks quite healthy, and all plants will occasionally drop some older leaves.
Still do be careful about keeping a plant in a container without drainage holes. Golden Pothos is a very durable plant and some do manage to keep it alive in an undrained pot, but there is always the risk of anaerobic conditions, root rot or the build-up of mineral salts. If there is a problem, it is harder to diagnose it if the subsoil conditions are not visible.

A plant pot without drainage holes can be used as a cache pot, with a smaller plastic pot with drainage holes inside.
When the plant is irrigated the smaller container is lifted out of the cache pot and watered in a sink before being returned to the cache pot.

 

[Harriet]

Hi all,

Looking for some insight on one of my inherited phothos / philodendron plants (I'm not 100% sure which of the two it is). A couple days ago, a couple of the leaves closer to the base of the 'vine' started to go quite yellow, relatively quickly (couple days). The soil seems quite dry, although there's no drainage at the bottom of the pot so I haven't yet ruled out root rot from potential over-watering. Otherwise it has been living in a medium-light setting for the last few months with no prior signs of concern. Any insight from some folks more knowledgeable than I would be great!

Some pictures below for reference (first two are dark - taken at night; third is taken mid-morning in the light).

Thanks in advance!

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The problem is probably the lack of drainage. The roots can rot. I think if you replant in a pot with drainage, your plant will be okay.

 

[jmason42]

Thanks all! Definitely plan on re-potting a number of plants into those with drainage shortly!