Are you a financially savvy plant parent who prefers to propagate rather than buy new? Is your beloved pothos balding, leaving few leaves in the pot and many more on the vine? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, this simple hack can help you grow denser, bushier houseplants.
What Causes Plant Balding?
According to plant shop owner and TikTok creator @TannerThePlanter, the oldest leaves on a vining plant are located closest to the soil. As these leaves naturally die, the plant continues to grow downward, sprouting new leaves. This results in long, bare vines toward the top of the plant, and denser foliage near the bottom.
This phenomenon is commonly seen in varieties of vining houseplants, such as pothos, philodendron, scindapsus, and monstera. Unfortunately, you can’t just apply a few drops of minoxidil to the soil and call it a day. But there’s an inexpensive way to make your houseplant look fuller and encourage future growth.
How To Properly Pin Your Houseplants
The only thing you’ll need for this hack is a handful of bobby pins or plant pins. (These U-shaped bobby pins are particularly useful, but whatever you have on hand will do.) Stretch out the bobby pins so they’re looser and don’t snap back together when you release one end. Identify the nodes along the barren vines — the little knobs where new leaves, stems, and aerial roots eventually grow from the main stem.
Wind one or more vines around the top of the pot, laying them in the soil. Use a few stretched-out bobby pins or plant pins to pin the nodes into the soil. You want to make sure the bobby pins aren’t squeezing the stems too tightly. This hack will instantly make your houseplant appear fuller, and the nodes will eventually root in and produce new leaves.
