Plant care guide
Pothos Brown Tips: Dry Air, Drafts, Thirst or Salts?
Updated
Why does my Pothos have brown tips?
Brown tips on pothos are leaf edges drying out. The usual causes are dry air or drafts from vents, a mix that dries out too far, intense light, or fertilizer salts building up in the pot.
What to do first
Check the mix at depth and look for a white crust on the soil or pot. Move the plant away from vents and direct sun, raise the humidity, flush salty mix with clear water, and trim the dead tips.
Brown tips on a pothos are frustrating, but they rarely mean the plant is in danger. The tip is the part of the leaf farthest from the roots. It is the first to dry when the leaf loses water faster than it gets it, or when salts build up. Find which of these is happening before you trim.
Four Causes to Check
Dry air and drafts. Clemson Extension lists leaf scorch and tip dieback on pothos, often from low humidity or intense light. It advises keeping pothos away from air-conditioning vents in summer, and from windowsills and heating vents in winter. Hot and cold air can dry the leaves out (Clemson HGIC 1568). Clemson gives a preferred humidity of 50 to 70%, against a typical home range of 30 to 60%. Pothos tolerates the lower range.
Mix drying out too far. Virginia Cooperative Extension lists brown tips or edges among signs of underwatering. Other signs are dry, brittle leaves, mix shrinking from the container wall, and a very light pot.
Fertilizer salts. University of Maryland Extension names browning or dieback of leaf tips and margins as the typical sign of excess fertilizer salts (UMD). A white crust may form on the mix surface or the outside of the pot. UF/IFAS also links high salt levels in pothos mix to leaf damage.
Overwatering. Wisconsin Extension notes that blackened leaf tips or margins on pothos can come from overwatering, too little water, or excess fertilizer (Wisconsin). If the tips are dark and the mix stays wet, check the roots first. See our pothos root rot guide.
Narrow It Down
| What you find | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Crisp tan tips, plant near a vent, heater or AC | Dry air or drafts |
| Crisp tips, light pot, mix pulled from the wall | Mix drying out too far |
| White crust on mix or pot, regular feeding | Fertilizer salts |
| Dark tips, mix wet for days, yellowing | Overwatering or root damage |
Brown spots in the middle of the leaf are a different problem. See our pothos brown spots guide.
What to Do
- Move the plant. Keep it a few steps away from vents, heaters and air conditioners, and out of direct sun. NC State recommends bright, indirect light.
- Raise the humidity. NC State suggests a humidifier or a tray of wet pebbles under the pot (NC State). Keep the pot base above the water line.
- Water thoroughly when dry. Virginia Tech advises soaking the whole root zone, then letting it dry before watering again. Very dry mix may need several slow waterings to wet it through.
- Flush out salts. UMD advises running clear water through the pot until it drains from the bottom. Repeat several times, using at least the pot’s volume each time. Replace the mix in a small pot instead.
- Feed less. UMD advises using the correct fertilizer rate and frequency. NC State feeds pothos every other month, except in winter.
- Trim the tips. Brown tissue will not turn green. Cut it off with clean scissors, following the leaf’s shape. Remove a leaf at the stem if most of it is brown.
Watch the Next Leaves
Existing brown tips stay brown, so judge the fix by new growth. If new leaves come in with green tips, the cause is solved. If they brown soon after opening, check again for a nearby vent, a mix that dries out completely, or a crust of salts.
Leaf sprays can cause tip burn too. UF/IFAS notes that some fungicides bleach and burn pothos leaf tips (UF/IFAS PP340). If tips browned soon after a spray, that product is the likely cause.
For a pothos that is also wilting, see our drooping pothos guide.
References
- Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC 1568: How to Grow Pothos Indoors
- Virginia Cooperative Extension SPES-804: Properly Watering Container Houseplants
- University of Maryland Extension: Fertilizer Toxicity or High Soluble Salts on Indoor Plants
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension: Pothos, Epipremnum aureum
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Epipremnum aureum
- UF/IFAS Extension EP151: Cultural Guidelines for Commercial Production of Interiorscape Epipremnum
- UF/IFAS Extension PP340: Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) Diseases
How this guide was put together: Clemson Cooperative Extension, Virginia Cooperative Extension, University of Maryland Extension, University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension, NC State Extension and UF/IFAS Extension guidance.