Why Are My Pothos Stems Turning Brown?

Why are my pothos stems turning brown? Stem browning is a common issue in pothos, but it is easily remedied, read on…

See also our other pothos plant care guides: Jessenia Pothos, Hawaiian Pothos, Glacier Pothos, Giant Pothos, Pothos Plant Care, Neon Pothos Care. Hawaiian Pothos.

Why Are My Pothos Stems Turning Brown?

There are two main reasons a pothos has brown stems: overwatering and underwatering

Overwatering

If the stem is brown, soft and mushy then it has been overwatered, we’ll go into how to fix this below.

Underwatering

You can sometimes get dry brown lines on the back of pothos stems, and these come from underwatering, the older and drier plats of the plant dry out and it turns brown when the plants lack moisture, you can see in the images below my pothos plants that have turned brown in the summer. The plants recovered, but the brown parts of the stem remain.

How To Fix Brown Stems on a Pothos

If you see brown mushy parts of your stems you can take cuttings of the healthier parts just in case the rest of the plant dies. It is a good idea to let the soil dry out totally. If the soil is soaking wet you can take plant out of it’s soil for a few hours then put it back in to dry soil, as it can die from root rot if you are not careful.

If you have brown lines up the side of the stems as in the pictures of mine, you should make sure you are not underwatering the plant, especially in hot weather. Give it water if the soil is dry.