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Plantgasm - I love plants too much. By Derek Powazek.

Pothos Whirring

In Timelapse Videos on 4 December 2011 tagged ,

I’ve had this Pothos (aka Epipremnum aureum “Marble Queen”) so long, I don’t remember where I got it. I think I picked it up from an abandoned corner when I was in college. I’ve had it for at least 20 years.

Every time I move, I hack it back to the soil and it comes right back. It’s an amazing plant – it can survive in the worst neglect, terrible light, intermittent watering, and will just keep going. It’ll root in a damp corner. I love a fighter.

One of its tendrils has grown from the pot, up a wall, over three windows, across another wall, down to the floor, and is now making its way across the room. I haven’t had the heart to end its run.

I was curious how fast it was growing, so I set the timelapse camera on it. Here’s what it looked like. One photo per minute for a week.

The costar of this video is my dog, Bug, who’s bed happened to be behind the action. He’s not that restless when viewed at normal speed. The music is “Whirring” by The Joy Formidable, used with admiration if not permission.

UPDATE: By popular request, I added more to the ending to show the entire length of the vine.

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6 Responses

Thanks! You’ve solved a little mystery of a gift houseplant I received lately. I’m an herb grower and know nothing about tropical houseplants.

Posted by Chris on 4 December 2011 @ 9pm

Lovely! Bug, too. So… what did you use to guide your pothos up the wall? I just (finally) found the epipremnum aureum “‘N’ Joy'” of my dreams and would like to have it grow up and around a window, but don’t want to add an obvious structure (trellis, funky moss pole). Little hooks and twine, mebbe?

Posted by rosenatti on 5 December 2011 @ 12am

rosenatti: I didn’t guide it up the wall as much as, the vine just got long enough for me to manually bring it up to the top of the window, where I could attach it with a nail. The rest it did on its own.

Posted by Derek on 5 December 2011 @ 1am

That was pretty darn nifty, gotta say. :) I LOVE the durability of this plant. I have one in LOW light (we have one window and it faces north, on the ground floor, on a northern-exposure hillside, and the plant is set back fifteen feet from the window). The Pothos has survived seven months on a single watering before I realized I’d been skipping it! Can’t go wrong with that, and it’s a supreme air purifier among plants.

Posted by boZannical Zann on 5 December 2011 @ 7am

About “trellising” a plant… Those clear push-pin thumbtacks work remarkably well as temporary footholds until a plant reaches the curtain rod/handrail/whatever. And they can be moved where/as needed or left in place!

Posted by boZannical Zann on 5 December 2011 @ 7am

My favorite plant is the pothos, so seeing a video of one stretching it’s way across the floor is simply amazing. How many feet is your pothos? After 40 feet, they will flower.

Posted by McKii on 5 December 2011 @ 3pm


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Plantgasm is where Derek Powazek chronicles his botanical antics and misadventures. More.

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