A botanist at the Portland nursery said my pothos was drowning, not thirsty, and I stopped watering on a schedule

Emma Wells · 2026-10-02T21:10:03.727801+00:00

I used to water my pothos every Sunday like clockwork, and for 8 months it kept dropping yellow leaves while I figured it needed more water. Then a botanist at a nursery in Portland pulled the pot out of its cover and showed me the roots were brown and mushy, not dry. She said the number one houseplant killer is a fixed watering schedule because soil in a shaded corner dries way slower than soil near a window. Now I stick my finger 2 inches down and only water when it feels dry, and my pothos pushed out 6 new leaves in 3 weeks. Does anyone else water by schedule, or do you all check the soil first?

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A botanist at the Portland nursery said my pothos was drowning, not thirsty, and I stopped watering on a schedule | Botany Lovers - Vivisector