Baltic Blue Pothos: Vital Care Tips
The elegant, semi-rare, semi-blue Baltic Blue pothos makes for an attractive addition to any indoor garden, but it takes proper care for the plant to thrive. This guide will review this plant’s most pertinent care tips.
What are some vital care tips for the Baltic Blue pothos? The Baltic Blue pothos requires water when two inches of soil dry out, well-draining soil, medium to bright indirect light, temperatures at 65-85°F, humidity between 50 and 60%, and fertilizer twice a year.
Ahead, I’ll expound even further on the care details above so you can treat your Baltic Blue pothos to a luxurious life of optimal care. After all, this beautiful plant deserves it!
10 Vital Care Tips for the Baltic Blue Pothos
1. Water the Baltic Blue Pothos When Its Soil Dries Out (But Not Too Much)
Let’s begin by discussing the Baltic Blue’s watering preferences.
The Baltic Blue pothos likes moisture in its soil but not soggy, wet dirt. Toeing the line between the two means watering only when about two inches of the plant’s soil dry out.
Ascertaining how dry (or wet) the soil is requires you to get your hands dirty. Well, a finger or two of one hand.
The fingertip test is a much more accurate gauge of the Baltic Blue’s hydration needs, which can change throughout the year by season or region.
Since the Baltic Blue gets especially stressed when it’s overwatered, it helps to get its watering requirements down pat as soon as you bring the plant home.
If the soil feels wet and the plant’s texture has gone mushy, and if you also notice discoloration and drooping, stop watering the plant for a few days. It’s getting too waterlogged.
Oppositely, it’s too dry if the Baltic Blue feels crispy to the touch with brown leaf tips and edges. Water the plant immediately.
2. Provide Well-Draining Soil for the Baltic Blue
A standard houseplant potting mix works just fine for this pothos variety, but what matters primarily is that the soil drains well.
Ideally, the soil should have some moisture-retentive properties too so you don’t have to water the Baltic Blue very often.
If you’re not already using soil amendments, why not? They make a big difference in the soil conditions of your indoor plants.
For the Baltic Blue, I’d recommend coco coir and perlite.
Coco coir is a byproduct of the coconut and comes in different forms such as fibrous chunks, chips, or tightly-packed bricks. Some forms of coco coir retain a lot of moisture, probably too much for the Baltic Blue, so avoid coco pith.
Perlite is a popcorn-like volcanic glass that retains large amounts of water. It’s also a good soil aerator like coco coir.
You don’t need too much of either soil amendment, maybe just a handful.
I’d use more coco coir than perlite since the former has a more acidic pH (a range of 5.7 to 6.5 for coco coir versus 7.0 to 7.5 for perlite) and the Baltic Blue pothos prefers slightly more acidic soil.
3. Use a Glazed Ceramic, Clay, or Terracotta Pot When Growing the Baltic Blue Pothos
Selecting a houseplant’s soil is only half the battle. Your plant also needs a suitable pot to maintain those soil conditions you worked so hard to achieve.
Nonporous pot materials let water linger too long in the pot, while porous pot materials can leave the Baltic Blue parched as its soil becomes bone-dry.
You need a happy medium such as a glazed terracotta or clay pot. Applying a glaze layer to these highly porous materials reduces their absorbency.
The Baltic Blue will have moderately moist soil like it prefers, but the water won’t stay so long that the plant risks conditions becoming waterlogged.
The water also won’t drain too quickly, creating a vicious overwatering cycle.
If you want to retain more water, you may insert a plastic liner in the pot, but be careful. Pothos doesn’t like soaking conditions, and the plastic liner can create just those conditions.
4. Give the Baltic Blue Pothos Medium or Bright, Indirect Light
Pothos species thrive in various lighting conditions; technically, so could the Baltic Blue. However, to maintain its bright colors, you want to keep its lighting brighter than dimmer.
The dimmest I would go is medium light. With medium light, something more substantial than a curtain blocks some of the light between the window and your houseplant.
For example, dappled light is medium light, as a larger tree or plant absorbs the brunt of the light while the smaller plant underneath receives only portions of that light.
If not medium light, then bright, indirect light suits the Baltic blue just fine. Bright, indirect light requires you to affix a curtain to the window.
The best windows for a Baltic Blue pothos to receive bright, indirect light include north or east-facing windows.
A west-facing window could work if the window has a good curtain and you move your plant three or four feet away. This position mitigates the harshness of the light coming from a window facing in that direction.
That said, in the summer, you should reposition the Baltic Blue so its window positioning is more northward or eastward than westward.
A healthy Baltic Blue pothos will retain its coloration, leaf texture, and leaf health in its current lighting. If the leaves become dry and brittle with dark discoloration, you need to move the plant immediately, as its light source is too strong.
Should you notice leggy growth–which is extended stems with few if any leaves–and paler colors, your Baltic Blue needs more sunlight.
By the way, if you live in a region where the sun has long absences, you can use artificial light to the same effect. Plants use light the same whether it’s natural or not!
5. Set Temperatures Between 65 and 85 Degrees Fahrenheit for the Baltic Blue Pothos
One area where you can relax a bit is the Baltic Blue’s temperature requirements.
Why? This pothos likes temps between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s well within the room temperature range and even a little over.
Whether you like to keep your home a bit chilly, like in the mid-60s, or you like it warmer, like the high 70s or even low 80s, you won’t upset the Baltic Blue.
Since it’s so easy to care for regarding its temperature, you should pay special attention to ensure you don’t expose the Baltic Blue to temperature fluctuations.
Most temperature fluctuations start in the home. For instance, if you have a drafty old window and your Baltic Blue is four feet from it, it’s exposed to whatever outdoor temperatures leak in.
Radiators, refrigerators, drafty doors, and air conditioning/heating vents are other culprits to stay vigilant of.
You can give your houseplant some time outdoors, but I would only do that in the spring, summer, and autumn, not the winter. On a hot summer day or a cold autumn day, watch the temperatures and know when to bring your Baltic Blue back inside.
The Baltic Blue cannot handle temperatures below 50 degrees, and it could die.
Most pothos plants can survive in temperatures up to 90 degrees, but your Baltic Blue will be worse for wear. It can develop sunscalding, which is like the plant version of a sunburn.
First, the dark green/blue leaves turn white and then brown as they die.
6. Maintain Moist, Humid Conditions for the Baltic Blue Pothos
The Baltic Blue grows natively in Australia and Asia, so replicating moist conditions will put this plant right at home.
The level of humidity the plant likes is between 50 and 60 percent.
I always recommend indoor gardeners invest in a hygrometer. You’ll use this tool all the time to gauge how humid your home or office is so you can keep your moisture-loving plants happy.
More than likely, when growing the Baltic Blue indoors, you’ll have to manually increase its humidity. Your office or home has humidity, but between 30 and 50 percent on average.
The Baltic Blue’s humidity requirements start at 50 percent, so relative average indoor humidity won’t fly.
I know the standard solution for moistening a plant is to mist it, but I don’t suggest that. You’d have to spend a lot of time misting the plant, more than I’m sure you have in an average day.
A humidifier will mist your Baltic Blue without you having to do anything but turn it on and off and adjust the dial for the right amount of humidity. You’ll also enjoy breathing easier at home or at work.
If you keep houseplants at home, consider storing the Baltic Blue in a bathroom with a shower. The heat blasts from the shower will satisfy its moderate humidity requirements.
I only recommend this option if your bathroom also has a window that provides the right amount of lighting for the pothos.
7. Fertilize the Baltic Blue Pothos Twice Per Year
To sustain the Baltic Blue, fertilize it with a standard houseplant fertilizer. You should only fertilize this plant twice a year with six-month increments in between.
While you could maybe fertilize this plant three times a year, it’s always best to take a lighter approach with fertilizer than a heavier-handed one.
Why’s that? All houseplants can suffer from fertilizer burn, where the fertilizer sucks up moisture from the plant’s root system and leaves the roots dry and deprived.
Salts in the soil don’t disappear entirely even if you continue watering the plant regularly, so you’d have to flush the soil to ensure they’re all gone. Either way or you can always replace the soil with fresh dirt.
When fertilizing the Baltic Blue, follow all product instructions. If you have to dilute the fertilizer to half-strength with water, then do so.
8. Treat Baltic Blue Pothos Pests at the Source
Unfortunately, you’re not the only one who loves your Baltic Blue pothos. I’m talking about pests as well, which will wreak havoc and can even kill your plant if they invade it in large enough numbers.
So how do you fight them off? First, you have to know what you’re dealing with.
Thrips, scale insects, mealybugs, and spider mites will congregate on the Baltic Blue. If you need help identifying them, allow me to assist you.
Thrips are long, skinny, winged insects that may appear dark brown or black but could be neon green. They’ll blend in with lighter-colored plants easily but not so much the Baltic Blue.
Scale insects are practically microscopic and come in many varieties and colors due to all the species. Most have a layer of armor for protection.
Mealybugs are a type of scale insect but unarmored. They leave a cottony, mold-like residue on plant leaves that makes them hard to miss.
Spider mites are microscopic arachnids that weave white fluffy webs underneath a plant’s leaves.
Try mixing water and dish soap in a spray bottle to treat these pests. You can always swap out the dish soap for 70 percent isopropyl alcohol.
Manual removal works for some insects, although not winged ones like thrips. I’m referring more to scale insects.
You can also treat an infestation with insecticide or neem oil, but I’d try dish soap or isopropyl alcohol first before graduating to heavier-duty treatments.
9. Stay Cognizant of Baltic Blue Pothos Diseases
The Baltic Blue can also fall victim to a series of diseases, including fungal root rot, bacterial wilt disease, aerial blight, Phytophthora root rot, and southern blight. Here’s an overview of each and which treatment methods you can try.
- Fungal root rot: The fungal disease root rot affects any houseplant species, not only the Baltic Blue pothos. Caused by compacted soil but usually overwatering, fungal root rot chokes the root system of oxygen and kills the roots. Later, the plant dies. To treat root rot, prune the dead roots. If the plant has enough healthy roots to sustain itself, it will survive.
- Bacterial wilt disease: Bacterial wilt disease makes pothos wilt, as the name implies. The stems and leaves will eventually blacken, and any stems you cut might have bacterial ooze seep out. Segregating and treating with a bactericide may work.
- Aerial blight: The Rhizoctonia fungus causes aerial blight, which makes necrotic areas appear across the Baltic Blue’s foliage. Fungicides can be an effective treatment for this disease.
- Southern blight: Warm environments can lead to the onset of southern blight. The Baltic Blue pothos may have white fungal strands across its soil and stems. The fungus releases oxalic acid, which can break down the plant cell walls. Use fungicide to treat this condition.
10. Prune the Baltic Blue Pothos When It Grows Long
Eventually, you’ll notice your Baltic Blue growing a little too full and perhaps even a touch leggy.
It helps first to check the plant’s lighting to ensure the pothos is receiving optimal light. Then you can take some clean pruning shears and trim it back.
It’s not only leggy stems you should strive to remove but discolored bits of the plant and dying or dead parts.
Plan to prune as the growing season gets underway. When trimming, only remove brown, black, or yellow bits, nothing green. The exception is for leggy stems, as they’re just dead weight on your pothos.
Retain leaf nodes where you can, as the nodes indicate areas of new growth. Snip at a 45-degree angle, especially if you’re interested in propagating the Baltic Blue from cuttings.
That angle increases the surface area of the cut stem so it can readily take in water and nutrients.
You should only prune 25 percent of the plant at a time. My recommendation is to trim, take a few steps back after several minutes, trim, take another step back, and so on until you’re finished.
Disinfect your gardening tools using 70 percent isopropyl alcohol or bleach and then you’re done!
