When I think of houseplants, I think of pothos, the beautiful, hardy, viney plant that’s a staple in indoor gardening. Pothos are versatile and gorgeous–they come in a variety of colors and can grow just about anywhere.
But I bet you’ve never thought about fertilizing your pothos. I mean, they can grow in bathrooms with no windows, so why bother fertilizing them?
Well, there are a few good reasons that I’ll get into in this article.
I’ll also discuss how to choose the right fertilizer for your pothos and provide you with a list of my top 5 favorite fertilizers for pothos, including a budget-friendly option and one to bring your pothos back from the brink of death.
I’ve had this pothos for about 4 years, and thanks to high-quality fertilizer she’s gone from a sickly little seedling to this absolutely robust beauty!
This vine is about 5 feet long and still growing.
I’m sure you want your pothos to thrive as much as mine is, so check out my top 5 fertilizers for pothos below.
Keep scrolling to learn more of my deeper dive tips to choose and use the best fertilizer for pothos.
| Image | Product | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
My Top Pick  | My Top Pick | Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Fertilizer
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| View on Amazon |
Best Pick For Sick Pothos  | Best Pick For Sick Pothos | Houseplant Resource Center Pothos Plant Food
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| View on Amazon |
Best Budget-Friendly Pick  | Best Budget-Friendly Pick | Lush Houseplant Formula
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| View on Amazon |
Best Organic Pick  | Best Organic Pick | Joyful Dirt Organic Houseplant Formula
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| View on Amazon |
Best Pick for Getting Micronutrients  | Best Pick for Getting Micronutrients | Harris Premium Plant Food
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| View on Amazon |
My Overall Top #1 Pick: Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Fertilizer
While all of these options are wonderful for your pothos, my favorite has to be Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Fertilizer. It’s no secret that I love this brand (their monstera fertilizer is my top choice for my monstera deliciosa, too), but there’s a good reason for that!
Leaves and Soul has tons of plant food options, ranging from pothos to peace lillies, and each product is formulated specifically for the plant it’s intending to feed. This means your pothos gets fertilizer that’s all business, no-nonsense.
The 3-1-2 NPK ratio is perfect for pothos of all ages, and the higher nitrogen content promotes leafy growth, which is what pothos is known for. It’s also water-soluble, which makes it perfect for propagating your pothos. I highly recommend learning to propagate your pothos–I mean, who doesn’t love a free plant?
This fertilizer is gentle enough for fresh cuttings but hardy enough for your grizzled pothos, which is why I recommend it if you have a vast array of these beautiful plants.
Leaves and Soul is also a small business with a 100% money-back guarantee, just in case this fertilizer isn’t for you. If it doesn’t seem to be working, I first recommend checking your application–usually, it’s user error. But just in case there’s a problem, their customer service is excellent!
Overall I couldn’t recommend Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Fertilizer enough! This is a great product for pothos of all ages, and you’ll notice vines crawling all over in no time.
Top 5 Fertilizers for Pothos
In a hurry? No worries! Below are my top 5 fertilizers for your pothos!
- Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Plant Fertilizer (Best Overall Pick)
- Houseplant Resource Center Pothos Plant Food (Best Pick for Sick Pothos)
- Lush Houseplant Fertilizer (Best Budget-Friendly Pick)
- Joyful Dirt Organic Houseplant Fertilizer (Best Organic Pick)
- Harris Premium Plant Food (Best Pick for Getting Micronutrients)
Why Do You Need a High-Quality Fertilizer For Pothos?
You might be wondering why you even need a high-quality fertilizer for your pothos. It’s one of the hardiest houseplants you can get (and one of the cheapest, too), so why bother?
Well, fertilizer can help mitigate a lot of problems that can crop up for your pothos. Let’s take a look at some of the ways a high-quality fertilizer can help your pothos thrive.
Nutrient Depletion
Since most pothos are grown in pots, (and absolutely should be, since they are considered an invasive species) it’s easy for them to become nutrient deficient. They sap up all the nutrients they need in the limited amount of soil they’re in, and then they’re all out of what they need.
Fertilizing your pothos adds those depleted nutrients back in without having to repot your whole plant.
Nutrient depletion can look like wilted, yellowed leaves that sometimes even shrivel up and fall off. Pothos are beautiful and fast-growing, so we want them to have lush, healthy foliage.
Investing in a high-quality fertilizer can help you and your pothos avoid nutrient depletion, keeping them happy and gorgeous in their pots. Before long, you’ll have 5-foot vines coming off your pothos!
Root Rot
Fertilizing your pothos is very similar to taking vitamins as a human. High-quality fertilizer contains an array of nutrients that can help your pothos ward off disease and pests.
Some common diseases that pothos suffer from include root and stem rot, both of which are characterized by yellow, mushy leaves and stems. Root rot is very common, especially in plants that have been recently purchased. Here’s how to recognize it (and why it usually happens):
Don’t worry if your pothos is suffering from root rot, though! Simply repot it in new, aerated soil, and give it a small dose of high-quality fertilizer. You can also spray the roots with a mix of 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 2 parts water when repotting.
Fertilizing your pothos can help to fend off any remaining bacteria that’s causing the root rot. Think of it like antibiotics or cold medicine.
What to Consider When Choosing The Right Fertilizer For Pothos
Fertilizer Composition
Fertilizers are composed of 3 main ingredients that are vital for plant growth–nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. There are the macronutrients (the plant equivalent to carbs, protein, and fats). On any fertilizer package, you’ll see numbers representing these elements (this is called the NPK ratio).
An NPK ratio will be 3 numbers. For example, 7-9-5 would mean that the fertilizer would be 7% nitrogen, 9% phosphorus, and 5% potassium. Well, what about the other 79%?
That would be composed of small amounts of micronutrients such as magnesium, iron, calcium, sulfur, etc. These are the equivalent of vitamins in human food (like vitamin C).
Nitrogen is essential for the growth of leaves and stems, which is essential for all plants. Pothos in particular line to vine and climb, growing tons of beautiful leaves while they’re at it. This makes nitrogen super important for them!
Phosphorus promotes root growth and flowering, and even though household pothos don’t flower, this nutrient is still vital in preventing root rot, which I discussed earlier.
Lastly, potassium helps with overall plant health and disease resistance (always important, especially in a plant that can be prone to root rot).
While all plants need these nutrients, different plants will require different ratios to thrive. A pothos typically requires a balanced fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 1:1:1 or 2:1:1. This means that the fertilizer should contain equal or higher amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).
Liquid v. Granular
The debate between liquid versus granular fertilizer is age-old, so here are the basics:
Liquid fertilizer is easier to apply, and usually not as potent as granular fertilizer. You can simply dilute it in water to knock down the potency a little bit. It’s easy to flush out of the soil if your pothos doesn’t like it, and it can also be used for water-propagated pothos (more on that later).
However, liquid fertilizer can be more expensive, and it requires the additional work of diluting it.
Granular fertilizer is slower-releasing, which is good for larger plants and also lazy gardeners such as myself. It’s also typically cheaper, in my experience, and there are more varieties. Plus, granular fertilizer has a longer shelf life.
However, it can burn your pothos, and it can be tough to even find the soil of your plant since they mound and grow in a big heap.
That being said, both granular and liquid fertilizers should be applied as close to the soil as possible to prevent burning your pothos leaves.
There’s a whole guide on making liquid fertilizer from granular, so if you want a granular product in liquid form, don’t worry! I’ve got you covered.
Organic v. Inorganic
Fertilizers can either be organic (all-natural) or inorganic (synthetic). Both have some pros and cons, but I use both on my plants depending on the need of the individual.
Organic fertilizers don’t disrupt the natural ecosystem of the soil and don’t leave behind any unnatural residue once the plant absorbs what it needs. They’re also less likely to burn your plant since they’re all-natural. However, they can be more expensive.
If you don’t want to go through the process of making your own from kitchen scraps, you can simply use coffee grounds on your pothos. We’ll talk about the benefits of that in a little bit.
Inorganic fertilizers are typically cheaper and easier to find at your local gardening center. They’re also more affordable and work faster than organic products. However, it can be easier to burn your plant with an inorganic fertilizer, so use it sparingly at first.
Regardless of what type of fertilizer you use, if you use it properly, then your pothos will be happy! Over-fertilizing can burn your plant no matter what, so be sure to apply properly and follow the directions on the package. Less is more, especially with your first application.
My Reviews of the Best Fertilizers for Pothos
1. Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Plant Fertilizer (Best Overall Pick)
This water-soluble formula is my top choice for a reason! It’s easy to use, has a perfect 3-1-2 NPK ratio that’s suitable for plants of all ages, and is formulated specifically for pothos.
It’s perfect for propagated pothos, and the higher nitrogen content promotes vining and leaf growth.
Plus, this small business has a 100% money-back guarantee in case, for whatever reason, your pothos doesn’t love this product as much as mine do!
| PROS (+) | CONS (-) |
| + Good for propagated pothos + Higher nitrogen content for green leafy growth + Formulated specifically for pothos | – Small bottle means you have to purchase more if you have a large amount of pothos |
2. Houseplant Resource Center Pothos Plant Food (Best Pick for Sick Pothos)
This liquid formula for pothos is my favorite pick for a plant that’s really not feeling well.
Whether suffering from root rot, lack of light, or garden pests, this 3-3-3 NPK formula is designed to boost your plant’s health at all levels.
Plus, the sea kelp extract in this fertilizer helps your pothos bring in more nutrients, boosting its overall health.
One bottle should last your pothos 6 months to a year–talk about a deal! And if that’s not enough… your purchase comes with a free webinar on plant care.
| PROS (+) | CONS (-) |
| + Designed to strengthen your pothos at every level + Gentle enough to use every watering + Helps your pothos bring in more nutrients | – Expensive if you plan to use it on lots of plants |
3. Lush Houseplant Fertilizer (Best Budget-Friendly Pick)
This budget-friendly pick may not be the objectively cheapest on my list, but you do get the most bang for your buck.
This concentrated formula makes over 50 gallons of odor-free fertilizer (for those of you who have used stinky products, you know just how important the words ‘odor-free’ are here).
The 3-1-2 NPK ratio is also packed full of micronutrients to boost your plant’s overall health. Lastly, this woman-owned small business gets is based in the U.S. (and gets rave reviews!)
| PROS (+) | CONS (-) |
| + Odor-free formula + Makes over 50 gallons of fertilizer + Packed full of micronutrients | – Not a lot of reviews yet (still a growing company!) |
4. Joyful Dirt Organic Houseplant Fertilizer (Best Organic Pick)
Joyful Dirt has long been a favorite brand of mine and for good reason!
Their organic formulas are gentle enough for even the youngest plants, and the convenient shaker bottle is great for lazy gardeners like me.
This product is safe for pets and kids, which is great if you have a particularly nosy cat or grabby toddler. The bottle also comes with directions on how to make it a liquid-based formula in case you don’t want to use it in granular form.
| PROS (+) | CONS (-) |
| + Safe for pets and kids + USDA certified organic + Convenient shaker bottle | – Tends to clump up in the bottle |
5. Harris Premium Plant Food (Best Pick for Getting Micronutrients)
Harris Premium Plant Food is one of the more out-there fertilizers I’ve seen, with an NPK ratio of 7-2-0, but with 10% calcium.
This means your pothos won’t get any potassium to promote root growth, but it will get a ton of nitrogen for those beautiful vines that pothos are known for.
Plus, the extra calcium and micronutrients from bone meal, blood meal, and kelp meal help to compensate for the lack of potassium. However, keep in mind that this is not a vegan/vegetarian product!
| PROS (+) | CONS (-) |
| + Packed full of micronutrients + Tons of nitrogen to promote leafy growth + Treats between 32 and 64 gallons of soil | – Not a vegan/vegetarian product – The bone/blood meal can have a strong odor |
My Top Pick: Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Plant Fertilizer
I love all of these fertilizers for your pothos, but my top pick is Leaves and Soul Liquid Pothos Plant Fertilizer for its ease for propagated pothos. It has a gentle enough formula for even the freshest cuttings, but the 3-1-2 NPK ratio still promotes leafy growth.
This water-soluble product is super easy to use and formulated specifically for your pothos, so you know it’s getting all the nutrients it needs, and nothing that it doesn’t.
Plus, Leaves and Soul is an American-made small business. I don’t know about you, but I love supporting local businesses!
You really can’t go wrong with this awesome fertilizer. I hope you and your pothos enjoy it as much as I do!
Final Thoughts
No matter what fertilizer you go with from this list, rest assured, your pothos will be happy. Each one has its pros and cons–there are great organic products, water-soluble fertilizers, you name it.
In no time, you’ll notice your pothos perking up. Get the stakes and trellises ready, ‘cause your pothos will be climbing all over in no time!