How to Grow Money Plant at Home: Cuttings, Water and Soil
How to grow money plant at home takes one line: cut a piece of vine just below a leaf joint, stand it in a glass of water in bright, indirect light, and pot it up once the roots are a few centimetres long. Golden pothos is about as close to foolproof as houseplants get. The part nobody mentions is that it almost never flowers, anywhere, so you can stop waiting for it.
Quick facts
- Plant: golden pothos, Epipremnum aureum, sold in Pakistan and India as money plant
- Best method: stem cuttings in water or soil
- Best months (plains): March to September, fastest in the monsoon
- Pot: 2 to 6 litres (6 to 8 inches) at first, larger as it grows
- Light: bright indirect light; no harsh direct sun
- Roots in water: often within two to three weeks in warm weather
Prefer to listen? This post as a 3 min video · Watch the video
How do you grow money plant from a cutting?
The Royal Horticultural Society describes pothos stems rooting readily from their leaf joints, and recommends trimming just below a joint and standing the cutting in water in a bright spot. That is all it needs.
- Choose a healthy vine and count back from the tip. Cut a 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inch) piece with at least two or three leaf joints (the bumps where leaves meet the stem, often with a small brown root nub).
- Remove the leaf nearest the cut end so no leaf sits under water.
- Stand it in a clean glass bottle of water with one or two joints submerged.
- Place it in bright, indirect light. Change the water every week, or sooner if it clouds.
- When roots are 3 to 5 cm long, pot the cutting into damp mix. Water roots grown too long adapt to soil less easily.
Want a bushier pot sooner? Root five or six cuttings and plant them together.
Rooting straight into soil
Push the cut end, with a joint buried, into damp mix of half compost and half cocopeat. Keep it in bright shade and lightly moist. It is slower to show progress, but the roots are soil-ready from day one.
Which pot and potting mix work best?
Pothos hates sitting wet. Use a pot with a drainage hole, starting small and moving up one size each spring. A good mix is 1 part garden soil, 1 part cocopeat and 1 part compost, with a handful of sand or perlite; our potting mix ratio guide explains why. Feed lightly from March to September: a little compost on the surface every couple of months, or a weak balanced liquid fertiliser once a month. Too much fertiliser burns leaf edges.
How often should you water money plant?
| Season | In soil | In water |
|---|---|---|
| April to June heat | When the top 2 to 3 cm is dry; often every 3 to 5 days | Top up daily; change weekly |
| Monsoon | Every week or so; check first | Change weekly; watch for slime |
| October to November | Every week | Change weekly |
| December to February | Every 10 to 14 days | Change every 10 days; keep off cold glass |
The RHS suggests rainwater or filtered water at room temperature where tap water is hard; if your tap water leaves white crust in the kettle, a spare jug left standing overnight helps a little. More schedules are in how often to water potted plants.
Where does it grow best in your city?
Pothos likes the 18 to 30C range. Coastal Karachi is ideal, indoors or on a shaded veranda year round. In hot, dry Multan, Sukkur and Bahawalpur, keep it indoors away from 45C sun and dry air from coolers blowing straight on it. In Lahore, Faisalabad and Delhi, it grows outdoors in shade from March to October but comes in before the frost nights of December. In Islamabad and Peshawar treat it as an indoor plant through winter, and in the hills keep it indoors year round.
The trick for big leaves: let it climb
Trailing pothos makes smaller leaves the further the vine hangs. Give it a moss pole, a coir stick or a string up a wall, and tie the stems as they grow; climbing stems produce noticeably larger leaves. Keep the pole damp if you use moss. Hanging is pretty, but climbing is how a bathroom-shelf plant becomes a statement plant.
Why are money plant leaves turning yellow?
| Sign | Likely cause | First response |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow lower leaves, wet soil | Overwatering, root rot | Let it dry; trim black roots; repot |
| Yellow leaves on a water-grown plant | Old water, no nutrients | Fresh water; move to soil or add a drop of weak fertiliser |
| Brown, crispy leaf edges | Dry air, too much sun, or salt build-up | Move from sun; flush the pot with water |
| Green leaves, lost golden marbling | Too little light | Brighter indirect light |
| Long bare stems | Low light, no pruning | Cut back and root the tips in the same pot |
| White fluff in leaf joints | Mealybugs | Wipe with soapy water; neem spray |
Why is my money plant not flowering?
Because pothos essentially does not flower. A study in Scientific Reports found that golden pothos lacks activity in a key gibberellin hormone gene, and noted no reports of it flowering in the wild or in cultivation since 1962. Only a hormone spray in a research greenhouse made it bloom. Your plant is not unhealthy; it is just a pothos.
Grow it or skip it?
Grow it if you want a cheap, forgiving trailing plant for indoors or a shaded balcony. Skip it, or hang it well out of reach, if you have a crawling baby, a toddler who mouths leaves, or a cat. As for the name: it is a houseplant, and no plant brings money. Tradition says otherwise; enjoy the tradition without expecting it to work.
Money plant contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. The ASPCA lists golden pothos as toxic to cats and dogs, causing mouth burning, drooling, vomiting and difficulty swallowing, and children who chew it can get a painful, swollen mouth. Rinse the mouth, give a small drink of water and get medical or vet advice; go to emergency care at once if there is any trouble breathing or swallowing. Our poisonous plants for kids and pets guide covers what to do. Wash hands after pruning if the sap irritates your skin.
More houseplants are on the Phool aur Paudhe hub, and beginners can start with five easy first plants.
Money plant questions people ask
Can money plant grow in water forever?
It can live for a long time in water, but it grows slowly and yellows without nutrients. Changing the water weekly and adding a very weak fertiliser now and then helps.
What is the best way to propagate money plant?
Stem cuttings with two or three leaf joints, rooted in water or damp mix. A single leaf without a joint will not grow a vine.
Best time to plant money plant in Pakistan?
March to September, fastest during the warm, humid monsoon. Cuttings taken in winter root slowly.
Why are my money plant leaves turning yellow?
Usually too much water in soil, or stale water in a bottle. Fix the watering and remove the yellow leaves; they will not turn green again.
Does money plant need sunlight?
It needs bright light but not direct sun. A spot near a window with filtered light is ideal; harsh sun burns the leaves.
Why is my money plant not growing?
Low light, cold weather or a root-bound pot are the usual reasons. Growth slows naturally from December to February.
How do I make my money plant bushy?
Pinch or cut long vines just above a leaf, then root those tips back into the same pot.
Does money plant flower?
Practically never. Pothos lacks the hormone signal that triggers flowering, so indoor plants simply do not bloom.
Is money plant poisonous to cats and dogs?
Yes. Chewing it causes mouth burning, drooling and vomiting, so keep it out of reach of pets.
Is money plant safe for babies?
No. Keep it hanging high or on a shelf, because chewing the leaves causes a painful, swollen mouth.