How to Grow Pothos Plants on a Moss Pole

The Epipremnum aureum, or Pothos, is a very easy-to-grow vining plant. They are often grown as hanging plants but they can also be trained to climb up a moss pole.

Growing it on a moss stick or coco coir climbing pole mimics the way the plant would grow in nature. It is a fantastic way to enhance the beauty of this houseplant and encourage its lush, climbing growth.

Read the Pothos care article if you are looking for general Epipremnum care information.

Grow your Pothos on a Moss Pole

Pothos plants are so-called epiphytes. In their natural habitat, these types of plants use long aerial roots to climb up trees and branches of other plants around them. This way they grow upwards towards the light above the canopy of the trees.

Moss or coco coir poles give your pothos something to climb onto indoors. They hold moisture so the aerial roots can secure themselves for support.

Further reading: Learn more about the benefits of using a moss pole for your indoor climbing plants.

How to Insert the Moss Pole

Before you start, soak the moss pole thoroughly until saturated with water.

Insert the pole at the back or center of the plant, depending on how you want the end result to look. When adding a moss pole to your plants’ pot, do it very gently. Be careful to damage the roots as little as possible.

Repotting is a great time to add a moss stick. This minimizes the damage the pole would do to the roots if stuck in the pot straight through the root ball.

When your plant is already growing on a moss pole and needs repotting, you don’t need to remove the moss pole. Simply keep the plant attached to the pole and replant it like that in the new pot.

How to Attach your Pothos to a Moss Pole

It is easiest to train your plant to climb a moss pole when it is still young and small. But you can still add a moss pole to a larger, more mature plant.

Begin with the longest vine. Gently wrap the vine up and around the moss pole. Don’t force the stems to bend in ways they don’t naturally want to. Secure the vines to the moss pole with velcro strips, twine, plant wire, or any other string type.

Do not tighten more than necessary. You don’t want to damage the plant. The aerial roots will grow and attach themselves to the moss pole, just like they do in the wild holding on to the plants around them.

Repeat this step with each vine.

Guide existing aerial roots around the pole, and try to position root nodes in such a way that they are touching the moss pole or facing towards it. New aerial roots will grow from these nodes, grabbing onto the stake. Mist frequently so the roots can attach themselves more easily.

Once the roots have secured themselves onto the moss pole, you can remove the wire or string if you want to.

Before and After

Attaching a vining pothos to a moss pole is such a transformation. These before and after photos show this well. This is my Epipremnum pothos with a moss pole vs. without one.

This pothos plant had already grown long vines of leaves. So far, it had been growing as a hanging plant. It looked pretty, but the plant was getting too big for the wall basket and was due a repot.

I gathered all the materials, a bigger pot, fresh soil, plant wire, and of course, the climbing stick. About 30 minutes later this is the pothos after getting its own pole to climb on.

Keep Pole Moist

Keep the pole moist once your plant is growing around it. Mist the moss pole regularly, about 2-3 times a week. Moist moss or coco coir will make it easier for the aerial roots to secure themselves for support.

You can also pour water directly onto the pole. This is especially helpful if the humidity is very low in your home, or the moss pole is very dry. 

You will still have to water your pothos normally even if it is on a moist moss pole!

What to do When the Plant Outgrows the Moss Pole

When your pothos outgrows the climbing pole, you don’t need to remove or replace the pole.

You can keep it at the same height by guiding the vines back down the pole, or cut them back and propagate the cuttings. Grow the cuttings into new plants or put them back in the original pot, making the parent plant fuller.