“ I AM SIMPLE YET ELEGANT. I MAY BE COMMON, ORDINARY, NOT EYE CATCHING BUT IF YOU KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF ME, I AM SURE YOU WOULD BE PROUD OF ME…”

Epipremnum Aureum also called  golden pothos vines is an extremely easy to grow houseplant. It is also a plant that thrives well in most types of soil conditions and can be found everywhere in Singapore and Malaysia including the road side. Due to its abundance and easy propagation plus an ordinary looking, it  is usually not consider as the prime candidate for ornamental house plants. 

Upon counting my house plants, I have at least 4-5 pots of Golden Pothos Vines and all these plants have been with me averaging about 10 years.

Golden Pothos displays best leaf color when grown in bright diffuse light, such as in the shifting shade of a pine tree, but the plants seem to grow quickest in deeper shade. Moist, rich soil is recommended, although any well-drained soil is sufficient as long as plants are regularly watered during dry periods. The vining habit makes it unsuitable for planting in and around a shrub border since stems will grow up into the shrub. Frequent trimming (several times each year) is required along the edges of this groundcover to control growth.

Golden Pothos is easily propagated by tip cuttings, rooting and growing quickly, even in water. Stem cuttings can also be rooted in moist peat and vermiculite or soil.

Source: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp194

Common cultivars of golden pothos vines are:

MARBLE QUEEN SPECIES	TRICOLOR SPECIES	WILCOXII SPECIES	NEON SPECIES
White to creamy leaves, blotched with green and greyish green	Green leaves marbled with deep yellow, cream and pale green	sharply-defined variegations of green and white leaves with ivory white stem.	solid yellow-green leaves with no variegation

Interesting points to note:

• The plant is listed as “toxic to cats, toxic to dogs” by the ASPCA, because of the presence of insoluble raphides. Care should be taken to ensure the plant is not consumed by house pets or children. Symptoms may include oral irritation, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epipremnum_aureum)

• Most plants that are sold as household plants are considered as juveniles and usually have a different growth habit, leaf shape and than fully growth adult plants. Plants allow to climb a pole or tree in good light and humidity will eventually develop monstera-like perforations and splits in leaves though this often won’t happen until a good amount of height has been attained first, and isn’t easy to achieve indoors. Mature leaves can be as big as 30 inches (75 cm) across. Only adult plants flower, and not very often, though it can be done in cultivation. (Source: http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.sg/2007/11/john-q-public-epipremnum-aureum.html)

Adult leaves with perorations
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Epipremnum%20aureum%20pc.html

• According to the NASA/ALCA study on the use of common indoor plants for indoor air purification, Golden Pothos is one of the top 3 plants besides Philodendron and Spider Plant that has been labeled the most effective in removing formaldehyde. It has been found effective in removing benzene and carbon monoxide too. (Source: http://www.jaycjayc.com/epipremnum-aureum-pothos/)

MY GOLDEN POTHOS VINES

As mentioned above I have encountered golden pothos vines averaging for about 10 years. If I don’t remember wrongly, I just pluck a stem the road side, starting from planting in water and transfer to a pot when becomes big. When I need some more house plant, I just get some cuttings from the mother plants.

It is the plant that I have not really taken care of. I seldom watered it or only watered with grey water; I used the worst soil that I have  for the plant. I never wanted to use fertilizer on this plant for fear that it will grow too big and become invasive. That is how I restrict the growth of the plant and ensure that the vines will not stretch across to other pots. However, they are still stretching but unsure how long it is. I just periodically bundled it into my desired shape and they are really flexible. Apparently they are happy with this arrangement and growth healthily.

4 years ago, my neighbor gave me one golden pothos that have a pole in the middle of the pot to support its growth. The leaves are very big and the roots are coarse and hard. It made my apartment look like a “forest”. I periodically trimmed of the large leaves as I found that the size of the leaves did not fit the overall image of the plants and my house décor in general. It is still very healthy but at any time I still prefer the juvenile version. 

Hanging in the balcony. This pot is propagated from its mother plant on the left. I put some small white, red and yellow artificial flowers around the plant to negate its ordinary looks.	A super big pot in front of my house. I think it comprises only one of two plants but every time when new plant sprout out, I just shaped them around the pot.	Pot given by neighbors hiding in one of the corners. I don’t really like it because the leave is too big..

It is my humble opinion that all plants are beautiful in their very own ways. You need to understand and take good care of them before you can be proud of them. You can transform an ordinary non eye catching plants into one that looks noble and untouchable…