A pothos (Epipremnum aureum) usually curls its leaves when it's losing water faster than its roots can replace it. The edges roll in toward the midrib, which cuts down how much leaf surface is exposed to the air. Most of the time the reason is simple: the pot has gone dry, and the plant is fine again a day or two after a proper soak.
A few other problems cause the same curl, and one of them, rotting roots, gets worse if you respond by watering. So check the soil before you do anything else.
For light, feeding and pruning beyond this one symptom, see the pothos care guide.
First, make sure it isn't just a new leaf
New pothos leaves come out rolled up, unfurling from the leaf before them, and they start out a lighter green than the rest of the plant. A leaf that's still opening at the end of a vine is normal and will flatten out on its own.
The curl to worry about shows up on leaves that were flat and fully open and have since rolled their edges inward.
Then check the soil
Push a finger an inch or two (2.5–5 cm) into the potting mix. Then lift the pot. Once you know what it weighs just after watering, a light pot tells you more about the middle of the root ball than your finger can.
| What you find | Most likely cause | First move |
|---|---|---|
| Dry well below the surface, pot light | Underwatering | Water thoroughly, give it a day or two |
| Dry even right after watering, water runs straight out | Dried-out mix, or root bound | Soak from below. If roots circle the pot, repot one size up in spring |
| Damp or soggy, and has been for days | Roots failing from too much water | Leave the watering can alone, look at the roots |
| Damp, drying at its normal rate, plant in strong sun | Heat or direct sun | Move it back from the window |
| Damp, normal, with speckling or webbing on the leaves | Pests | Check the undersides and stems |
| Damp, normal, after a cold night or near a drafty window | Cold damage | Move it somewhere warmer |
If the finger and weight tests don't settle it, overwatered or underwatered? goes through more ways to tell the two apart.
The most common cause: the pot dried out
Pothos is forgiving about water, and most care guides say it's better kept too dry than too wet, up to a point. When the whole root ball dries out, the roots can't supply the leaves, and the leaves wilt and roll up to hold on to what water they have. Leave it like that for long and the older leaves start to yellow and drop.
Sources differ on how dry to let it get. The RHS and some extension services say to wait until the top layer of the mix has dried out, and others say to let the mix dry through between waterings. All of them agree that drier beats wetter. A good middle ground is to water once the top inch or two (2.5–5 cm) is dry, and not to leave the pot bone dry for days after that.
To fix it:
- Water slowly until water runs out of the drainage holes, then empty the saucer or outer pot.
- If the mix has shrunk away from the sides of the pot and water runs straight down the gap, stand the pot in a couple of inches (5 cm) of water for 20–30 minutes so it soaks up from below, then let it drain.
- Give it a day or two. A thirsty pothos usually firms up and opens out in that time. If it hasn't by then, and the soil is still wet, look at the roots.
- From then on, check the soil every few days instead of watering on a fixed day. A pothos in a warm, bright room in summer dries out far faster than the same plant in winter.
Soil is damp but the leaves are limp: check the roots
This is the case that trips people up. Roots that have sat in wet soil for too long run out of air and die, and rot sets in. Dead roots can't take up water, so the leaves wilt and go limp as though the pot were dry. More water only feeds the rot.
Look for other signs. Rot often yellows the leaves, and on pothos the leaf tips or edges may blacken. A stem that's gone brown or black right at the soil line points the same way. Check whether water collects in the saucer or decorative pot, since that alone keeps the mix wet.
If the soil has stayed soggy, slide the plant out and look. Healthy roots are firm and pale. Rotted roots are brown or black, soft, and fall apart when you pull them. Cut the rotted ones back to firm tissue with clean scissors, then repot into fresh, well-draining mix in a pot only just big enough for the roots that are left. Water it in, let it drain, and hold off on fertilizer for a month while new roots grow.
If most of the roots are gone, take cuttings from the healthy vines as a backup. Pothos roots easily from stem cuttings, so you can restart the plant even if the original doesn't make it.
Too much sun or heat
Pothos wants bright, indirect light. Direct sun through a window, especially hot afternoon sun, heats the leaves and makes them lose water faster than the roots can supply, so they curl, fade or bleach. On variegated types like golden pothos, the damage often shows up first as burned, dead patches on the pale, variegated parts of the leaf. Those patches won't heal.
Move the plant a few feet back from the glass or behind a sheer curtain. An east-facing window, or a bright spot out of the direct beam of a south or west window, suits it. Keep it away from radiators and heating vents too. Pothos is comfortable at typical room temperatures of about 65–85 °F (18–29 °C).
Pests
Pothos doesn't get many pests, but a few are worth checking for, especially if the soil is fine and the curl won't go away.
- Spider mites. Tiny and hard to see. They leave fine pale speckling on the leaves, sometimes a bronze tint, and silky webbing where the leaf meets the stem. They do best in warm, dry air.
- Mealybugs. White, cottony clumps in leaf joints and along stems, with sticky honeydew on the leaves below. Heavy infestations stunt and distort new growth.
- Scale. Small brown bumps on stems and along leaf veins, often with sticky residue.
- Thrips. Silvery flecks or scars on the leaves. Some thrips cause bronzed, curled or stunted leaves.
Move an infested plant away from your others first. Dab mealybugs and scale with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, keeping the alcohol off the leaves themselves. For spider mites and thrips, rinse the leaves in the shower, then spray with insecticidal soap, covering the undersides. Whichever pest it is, repeat the treatment every week for a month, because eggs keep hatching after you've killed the adults. The calathea article covers spider mites on a plant that gets them much more often.
Less common causes
- Root bound. A pothos that has filled its pot with roots can't hold enough water. Water runs straight through, the center of the root ball stays dry, and the plant shows the same curl as an underwatered one, even when you water often. Soak it from below first to rule out dried-out mix. If roots are circling the pot or coming out of the drainage holes, repot in spring into a pot one size bigger.
- Cold. Pothos is a tropical plant, and most tropical foliage plants are damaged below about 50 °F (10 °C). A few hours at 33–40 °F (1–4 °C), which can happen against winter window glass or in a cold car, leaves scattered brown patches in the middle of the leaf. Cold-damaged leaves may also wilt quickly and look water-soaked before turning brown. Keep the plant away from cold glass, outside doors, and air conditioning vents.
- Dry air. Pothos grows best in humid air, but it handles normal home humidity well, and dry air alone rarely makes it curl. Very dry air can brown the leaf tips, and it makes a thirsty plant dry out faster, especially in winter with the heating on. Unlike a calathea, pothos doesn't need a humidifier.
- Too much fertilizer. Salts from heavy feeding build up in the pot and damage the root tips. The usual signs are brown leaf tips and edges, a white crust on the soil or pot rim, and wilting. Flush the pot by running plain water through it several times, at least three times the pot's volume in all, and cut back on feeding. Advice on how often to feed ranges from every two weeks to every other month in spring and summer. For a pothos, the less frequent end is plenty.
The quick checklist
- Only the newest leaf at the tip of a vine is rolled → normal, it will open on its own.
- Soil dry well down, pot light → water thoroughly and give it a day or two.
- Water runs straight through and the pot is dry again quickly → soak it from below. If roots are circling the pot, it's root bound: repot one size up in spring.
- Soil damp or soggy, leaves still limp → check the roots for rot before watering again.
- Curled, faded or scorched leaves in a sunny window → move it out of direct sun.
- Speckling, webbing, cottony clumps or sticky leaves → pests. Isolate and treat weekly for a month.
- Brown patches in the middle of the leaf after a cold night → cold damage. Move it somewhere warmer.
- Brown tips and a white crust on the soil → flush the pot and feed less.
Common questions
Will curled pothos leaves flatten out again?
Usually, if the curl came from a dry pot and the leaf is still green and pliable. Water it thoroughly and it should firm up and open out within a day or two, though a leaf that stayed rolled for a long time may never go fully flat. Tissue that has already scorched brown or gone crisp stays that way, and sunburned patches on the pale parts of the leaf won't recover either. Trim those leaves off if they bother you, and judge the plant by the new growth.
Is a rolled-up new leaf a problem?
No. New pothos leaves emerge rolled up from the base of the leaf before them, then unfurl, and they start out a lighter green than the older leaves. A new leaf that's still opening is normal. It's only worth a look if the new leaf stays twisted, stunted or mottled after it has fully opened, since that points to pests.
Is pothos toxic to cats and dogs?
Yes. The ASPCA lists golden pothos as toxic to both, because the plant contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. A chewed leaf causes burning and irritation in the mouth, drooling, vomiting and trouble swallowing. If your pet has eaten some, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a consultation fee applies). The pet safety page on this site compares it with other common houseplants.
How often does a pothos need repotting?
Most pothos need repotting every one to three years, in spring. Check for roots circling the inside of the pot or poking out of the drainage holes. Water that runs straight through without soaking in can mean the same thing, but give the pot a soak from below first, since dried-out mix does that too. Go up one pot size, into a mix that drains freely.
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This article was researched and written with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor before publishing. How we use AI