I recently propagated a new pothos plant from stems cut from an older plant. I put the stem cuttings in water for about two weeks until roots came out. I've done this several times, always successfully. This time around, the plant looks unhappy. The leaves are limp and curled. It has been about three weeks since I've potted it and no improvement. I've followed the same process as previous occasions - similar soil, same pot, same watering schedule. I wonder if the issue could be that I'm repotting in fall, when perhaps spring would have been better. From the picture, does it look like I'm over-watering? Under-watering?

My theory would be, the roots cannot absorb fast enough, I would slow down the demand by looseley tenting in plastic.

I know you say you've done this before but maybe this time the water roots just weren't strong enough. Water roots and soil roots are not equal. Epipremnum aureum is to put it bluntly a pest plant in places like Florida, if pieces fall on the ground they will root with no assistance and start growing. I know its not that way for others. My point is its not a plant you have to 'go the extra mile for' to root. You might try an experiment next time of skipping the water rooting and just stick them into soil mix. Believe it or not, it works

Gina1960 said: I know you say you've done this before but maybe this time the water roots just weren't strong enough. Water roots and soil roots are not equal. Epipremnum aureum is to put it bluntly a pest plant in places like Florida, if pieces fall on the ground they will root with no assistance and start growing. I know its not that way for others. My point is its not a plant you have to 'go the extra mile for' to root. You might try an experiment next time of skipping the water rooting and just stick them into soil mix. Believe it or not, it works

That's very interesting! I didn't know that. Next time I will try just putting the cutting directly into soil. Thank you very much!

Hey:)
I've had pothos root happily both with water roots and just root nodes.
Some take off and others linger for months before producing new growth.
I'd second the water roots aren't developed enough yet to support new growth.
Tenting seems to work great, or a covered greenhouse tray.
You'll probably lose those leaves regardless but not before you develop good soil roots that support new growth.
Good luck:)