Pothos is a heart-shaped houseplant that is kept in offices and washrooms due to their low-light tolerance. Also called the devil’s ivy, it is a tropical plant that prefers a warm and humid climate. Due to their high water needs, it is often suggested to mist the plant.
Does pothos like to be misted?
No, pothos doesn’t like to be misted. Misting is the process of spraying water on the plant to provide it with more humidity. However, the process of misting raises the moisture for a limited time. Thus, it is not beneficial for the pothos and can only create further problems.
Let us explore the problems and alternatives to misting your pothos –
Misting
The process of misting involves spraying the plant with fine water droplets, generally using a sprayer. It is meant to raise the humidity level of the plant. However, we can see that spraying the plant with mist only raises the humidity for a limited time and decreases very quickly.
While it is true that pothos thrives when the humidity level is above 50%, misting only provides that level of humidity for a limited time. Thus, the only thing that happens is a sudden change in humidity for a given period which has no beneficial advantage for the plant.
Problems associated with misting
While misting may not provide any advantage for your pothos, it certainly has some disadvantages. Excess misting can lead to excess humidity in the plant. It makes the plant prone to pests and fungal infections as warm and humid regions provide the ideal place for such pests to thrive.
Most fungal infections and pest infestations happen when the air around the plant is humid and misting leads to the exact situation. Once infested, these infections and infestations can cause severe damage or be fatal to your plant.
Alternatives to misting for Pothos
If you live in an area where there is constant fluctuation of the humidity level, you might need to manage it to provide your pothos with an ideal living condition. There are several ways to ensure that your pothos remains well hydrated and humid.
One of the ways is to place a tray of water underneath the pothos pot. It helps in ensuring that the roots can absorb the required amount of water as and when required. It leads to hydrated pothos that tends to grow well, irrespective of the temperature fluctuations.
Another way is to use a humidifier to ensure that atmospheric humidity is maintained. However, while using a humidifier, you need to be careful to ensure that the size of the humidifier is ideal for the size of the room in which the plant is grown.
Further, lowering the temperature of the room and placing equipment such as aquariums and water bowls in the room may help maintain the humidity of the room better.
Thus, we can see that pothos doesn’t like to be misted. So, these are a few alternative ways to ensure that the humidity is maintained and your pothos grows well.
