Houseplant · Araceae
Satin Pothos
Scindapsus pictus
Offer it bright, indirect light and gentle warmth, and its satiny, silver-marked leaves will keep trailing for years.
Bright indirect
61–84°F · 16–29°C
USDA 11–12
3–10 ft · 0.9–3 m
Overview
Satin pothos is a lovely plant to grow with, and its leaves look brushed with soft silver over a deep, glowing green. It belongs to the arum family and comes from the tropics of Southeast Asia, where it climbs tree trunks toward the light. At home it is just as content to trail from a shelf or a hanging pot, so there is really no wrong way to keep it.
Here is a small surprise: despite the name, this is not a true pothos at all. It is Scindapsus pictus, a close cousin that copies the same easygoing habit and good looks. As the leaves mature they turn thick and a little puckered, and the silver markings stay their brightest when the plant sits in plenty of indirect light.
The reassuring part for a first-timer is that this plant forgives. Keep it warm, keep it out of scorching sun, and let the top of the soil dry between waterings, and it will thank you with long, healthy vines. Even if the watering gets away from you once or twice, easing off usually sets the roots right again.
Care
The short version: bright, indirect light and a cozy room that stays above 61°F (16°C). Keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy, use a peaty mix that drains well, and offer a little balanced food each month through spring and summer.
Light
Give it bright, indirect light and the silvery markings stay crisp and clear. It will happily cope with a shadier corner, though the patterns soften and growth slows, and the one thing to avoid is strong direct sun, which scorches the leaves.
Water
Aim to keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy, letting the very top dry a little before you water again. Through winter the plant slows right down, so it needs far less. If ever in doubt, a touch too dry is kinder here than soil left sitting wet, which is what troubles the roots.
Soil
A peaty, organic mix that drains freely gives the roots exactly what they like, ideally a shade acidic at a pH up to 6.0. Loose, airy soil lets water flow straight through, so nothing stays waterlogged down where the roots sit.
Temperature
Warmth keeps this plant content, and somewhere between 61°F and 84°F (16°C to 29°C) is just right. It really does not care for the cold, and the leaves suffer once the air slips below the low end of that range, so tuck it away from drafty windows and doors.
Humidity
Ordinary household humidity is plenty here, so there is no number to fret over. It does enjoy a more humid spot when one is on offer, and since dry winter air is often what tempts spider mites in, a little extra moisture in the air can only help.
Feeding
Through spring and summer, while the plant is putting on fresh growth, offer a balanced houseplant fertilizer once a month. When the darker months come around it stops feeding hungrily, so you can set the fertilizer aside and let it rest.
Pruning
A gentle pinch of the stems now and then keeps the plant tidy and coaxes it to grow fuller. As a happy bonus, every piece you trim from a long vine can become a brand new cutting.
Repotting
Move it into a slightly bigger pot every 1 to 2 years, or a touch sooner if roots start poking through the drainage holes and water rushes straight past. Fresh mix and a little more room are all it needs to keep growing steadily.
Size & spacing
Given the chance to climb or trail, the vines stretch 3 to 10 feet (90 cm to 3 m) long and fill out 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) across. Let the stems tumble down from a height or offer them something to climb, and they will settle in beautifully.
Troubleshooting
Almost every problem with satin pothos comes down to watering or a small pest that hitched a ride on a neighboring plant, and the leaves usually tell you early. Take a calm look at what has changed, match it below, and you can put things right well before they get out of hand.
Dark, mushy roots with an unpleasant smell
Root rot creeps in when the soil stays waterlogged and the roots can no longer breathe. Ease the plant out, trim away anything dark or mushy, and settle it into dry, well-draining mix. From there, water less and let the soil dry between drinks, since this one can move quickly once it takes hold.
Fix:
- Remove rotted roots
- Repot in dry well-draining mix
- Reduce watering
Soft yellow leaves sitting over wet soil
When the leaves turn soft and yellow above soggy soil, gentle overwatering is almost always behind it, and poor drainage only adds to the trouble. Let the top of the mix dry out before the next drink, and settle the plant into a pot that lets water escape freely. If the roots have taken a knock, a fresh potful and a lighter hand with the watering can will help it bounce back.
Fix:
- Reduce watering
- Improve drainage
- Repot in fresh mix
Fine webbing and a dusty, bronzed cast to the leaves
Spider mites tend to arrive when the air turns hot and dry, leaving fine webbing and a stippled bronze tint across the undersides of the leaves. Rinse the foliage firmly to wash them away, then treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil and repeat each week until they give up. A more humid spot makes the plant far less welcoming to them.
Fix:
- Rinse forcefully with water
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Repeat weekly
White cottony tufts tucked into the leaf joints
Those little white, cottony clumps in the leaf joints are mealybugs, and the sticky honeydew they leave behind gives them away. Touch each one with an alcohol-dipped swab, follow up with insecticidal soap, and snip off any part that is badly covered. Giving new plants a quick check before they join the others keeps these from ever spreading.
Fix:
- Dab with alcohol swab
- Apply insecticidal soap
- Prune infested parts
Waxy little bumps clinging to stems and leaves
Scale insects look like tiny waxy discs stuck fast to the stems and leaves, and they hardly seem to move at all. Scrape them off gently by hand, wipe the spot with an alcohol swab, and finish with insecticidal soap or oil to catch the young crawlers. A good look over any new plant keeps them from arriving in the first place.
Fix:
- Scrape off by hand
- Wipe with alcohol swab
- Apply insecticidal soap or oil
Dark spots or a soft gray mold on the leaves
Brown-black spots or a fuzzy gray mold point to fungal leaf spot or botrytis, both of which love wet leaves and still air. Pick off the affected leaves, keep water off the foliage, and let a little more air move around the plant. Watering down at the soil and giving it room to breathe usually stops it coming back.
Fix:
- Remove affected leaves
- Avoid wetting foliage
- Improve airflow
Curled, limp leaves when the soil is dry
Leaves that curl and droop over dry soil are simply thirsty, and that is one of the easiest fixes there is. Give the plant a good, thorough drink until water runs from the base, then aim for a steadier rhythm from here on. The leaves usually smooth back out once the roots have caught up, so there is no need to worry.
Fix:
- Water thoroughly
- Maintain even moisture
Silvery streaks freckled with tiny black specks
Silvery streaks dotted with tiny black specks are the signature of thrips, and they are very manageable once you spot them. Treat the plant with insecticidal soap, set out blue sticky cards to catch the adults, and rinse the leaves to clear whatever is left. Keeping anything new apart for a while stops them reaching your other plants.
Fix:
- Apply insecticidal soap
- Use blue sticky cards
- Rinse foliage
Toxicity
This is one to enjoy at a safe distance from curious mouths. Every part of it holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that sting and swell the mouth the moment an animal or child bites in. Nothing here is meant for eating, so a high shelf or a hanging spot keeps everyone comfortable and the plant happy.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
A cat that bites into a leaf meets a sharp sting from the calcium oxalate crystals. Watch for drooling, pawing at the mouth, vomiting, and a puffy muzzle soon after, and keep the plant somewhere a cat simply cannot reach.
Dogs Moderate
A dog that chews a piece feels an immediate burning in the mouth, often with drooling, retching, and visible swelling of the lips and tongue. It usually settles, but the plant is best kept well up and out of the way.
Horses Moderate
The same crystals irritate a horse's mouth and throat and bring on heavy drooling and swelling, though horses rarely bring anything back up. Keep any trailing stems where a horse cannot get to them.
Rabbits Toxic
These leaves are not safe for a rabbit to nibble, since the crystals inflame the mouth and the gut. Keep trailing stems well up and out of reach of a curious bunny.
Livestock Toxic
Grazing animals that manage a mouthful get the same oral burning and digestive upset, so the safest course is to treat the plant as off-limits to any stock.
Birds Toxic
A bird that pecks at the leaves can hurt its mouth and crop on the crystals, so it is kindest to keep the plant away from where birds perch and roam.
People Caution
No part of this plant is meant to be eaten, and a bite brings burning lips, a swollen tongue, and drooling. Wash your hands after any pruning, and keep it gently out of reach of small children.
Chewing sap causes oral irritation; wash hands after handling
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
A few named kinds bring their own leaf shapes and silver patterns to the family, and these are the ones you are most likely to meet at the garden center.
'Argyraeus'
Its small leaves come edged in silver-white and lightly dusted with soft gray blotches.
'Exotica'
Larger, heart-shaped leaves carry bold splashes of silver that really stand out.
'Silvery Ann'
Slim, lance-shaped leaves arrive washed with generous silver splotches.
Shimmering Falls Silver Splash
Dense silver mottling spreads right across its leaves from edge to edge.
How to propagate
If making more plants has ever felt daunting, this is a reassuring place to begin, because one healthy cutting is genuinely all it takes.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring or early summer · Roots in a few weeks
Take a 4-inch (10 cm) cutting in spring or early summer and stand it in a glass of water or a pot of moist mix. Roots appear within a few weeks, and before long you have a brand new plant that is identical to the one it came from.
Myths
Satin pothos is really a true pothos.
The name leads plenty of people astray. This plant is Scindapsus pictus, sitting in the genus Scindapsus, while the true pothos belongs to Epipremnum. The two look alike and grow alike, so the mix-up is easy to forgive, but they are separate plants.
Satin pothos is safe to keep around pets.
Sadly it is not. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, thanks to the insoluble calcium oxalate crystals in its tissue that burn and swell the mouth on contact. The kindest choice is to keep it well away from animals.
It is happy in deep shade or very low light.
It will put up with lower light, but it does not truly flourish there. To hold onto its bright silver markings it wants plenty of indirect light, and harsh direct sun goes too far the other way and scorches the leaves.
It can shrug off cold temperatures.
Being a tropical plant, it has little patience for chill. The foliage takes damage below about 61°F (16°C), so a warm room away from cold drafts keeps it comfortable.