How to Grow and Care for Global Green Pothos
To maintain its green variegation, you must know how to grow and care for the Global Green pothos. This Global Green Pothos guide will walk you through watering, lighting, fertilizing, pests to look out for and much more!
How to grow and care for Global Green pothos:
- Water when an inch of soil dries out
- Provide bright, indirect light
- Use well-draining potting mix
- Grow in a glazed ceramic or terracotta pot
- Set temperatures to 60-80°F and humidity to 50-70%
- Apply water-soluble fertilizer
Should you have questions or need more information on the above care areas, this guide will explain the above list in thorough detail. I’ll even delve into the pests and diseases that can affect the Global Green pothos and share a handy FAQs section.
How to Care for Global Green Pothos
If you’re looking for pothos varieties, the Global Green pothos is among one of the most popular.
The Epipremnum aureum ‘Global Green’ Pothos harnesses all the shades of green you could want in an indoor garden, but it’s all in one plant. From dark greens to mid-greens and light greens too, the Global Green pothos has them in spades.
This is one indoor plant species that certainly lives up to its nickname!
The Global Green pothos is a Southeast Asian plant. Its leaves are small but together form a bundling of appealing foliage.
That makes Global Green a manageable indoor plant for offices, homes, apartments, and condos.
Pothos will never flower in an indoor environment, FYI. That goes for the Global Green as well.
Caring for Global Green Pothos
You just brought home a beautiful Global Green pothos and you’re eager to grow it so you can see its full potential. Here’s how to care for your Global Green Pothos.
Watering a Global Green Pothos
When an inch of the soil feels dry, find your watering can, it’s time to water your Global Green Pothos.
You can even allow two inches of soil to dry out between waterings, but that’s as dry as I’d let the potting soil become before watering. Waiting any longer and your poor plant may become parched.
When watering a Global Green, I always recommend using lukewarm water to prevent shocking your plant from sudden cold or hot temps. Cold water especially can be too much for this indoor plant to handle.
How you water your Global Green pothos matters too.
Avoid wetting the foliage as much as you can. If the leaves get soaked often enough, they will develop very noticeable brown areas that contrast the shades of green.
Aim your watering can at the base of this plant so the soil gets the bulk of the water.
The Global Green pothos is moderately drought-resistant. What does this mean? Well, if you forget to water it for a day or two because you were traveling or had a big work project, it’s okay. Your plant should be fine.
Just don’t stretch its waterless period for too long!
Like every plant, the Global Green requires water. If you forget for a week or more, its leaves could become brown again, this time because they’re dehydrated and crispy.
The far more detrimental mistake when it comes to watering the Global Green pothos is overdoing it. This plant has zero tolerance for standing water, which you might have guessed by its sensitivity to getting its leaves wet.
The fingertip test will be a reliable gauge that can help you prevent overwatering. When you feel around in the soil, you should only water the Global Green pothos when the soil is dry.
If you feel moisture in the soil, even a little, then don’t water your plant right now. When you do water it, the soil should never be soggy and especially not waterlogged.
Global Green Pothos Light Requirements
You have some lighting options for the Global Green pothos, but I would suggest above all else bright, indirect light.
A curtain on a window at home or the office is enough to provide bright but indirect sunlight.
Direct sunlight is not a good idea, as you could burn the beautiful foliage of your Global Green. To be safe, position your plant by a northerly-facing window.
If your Global Green needs brighter sunlight than what a northerly-facing window can provide, an easterly-facing window is usually appropriate. Put the plant three to four feet from the window.
Dim, shady conditions are sometimes okay for the Global Green pothos.
In short periods, such as on a cloudy afternoon, your Global Green is not going to start wilting because it’s not receiving indirect sun.
Even for prolonged periods, this plant is okay in dimmer conditions, but it’s not very healthy.
Plants require sunlight to grow, as sun is a critical part of photosynthesis. Fortunately, plants cannot tell the difference between real sunlight and artificial light, so it doesn’t matter the light source.
What’s most important is receiving light.
Without enough light, a plant photosynthesizes less often, so it grows less as well. Your Global Green pothos will look stunted compared to your other plants that receive more regular light.
The worse consequence, at least in my opinion, of depriving the Global Green of sunlight is that its variegation will fade.
That’s right, those natural shades of green are not a guarantee. If you don’t care for your Global Green well enough, it will lose its coloration!
Best Soil for a Global Green Pothos
Although you can grow pothos in a soilless mix, I recommend adding some soil to the equation, especially if you’re new to indoor gardening. Use a well-draining potting mix for the Global Green pothos.
The mix should contain soil amendments such as vermiculite, perlite, and peat moss in equal quantities.
Vermiculite is a natural soil aerator, as is perlite. Both soil amendments can also improve water retention.
I know that sounds scary, but you want your Global Green to retain water in its soil.
If it doesn’t, then it dries out too quickly and you’re forced to water it again. This kind of frequent watering schedule can encourage accidental overwatering.
As for peat moss or sphagnum, it prevents compacted soil and can retain nutrients.
The Global Green pothos prefers its soil more on the acidic side with an average pH range of 6.1 to 6.5. That’s acidic but closer to neutral, FYI.
When using sphagnum, be sure to avoid Canadian peat moss. Its pH is between 3.0 and 4.5, so it’s far too basic for the Global Green pothos.
Perlite and vermiculite have neutral pH ranges respectively, so limit how much you add.
Best Type of Pot for a Global Green Pothos
Which type of pot do I recommend for the Global Green pothos? A glazed ceramic, terracotta, or clay pot. Here’s why.
Untreated ceramic, clay, or terracotta are porous. This means that when water reaches the sides of the pot, it evaporates.
You could again find yourself in a situation where you’re overwatering your Global Green without really meaning to.
A layer of glaze on ceramic, clay, or terracotta material reduces the porosity of the pot. Water does not remain in the pot forever, but it certainly isn’t held inside the pot forever either.
Global Green Pothos Ideal Temperature and Humidity
The Global Green pothos is rather temperature-tolerant, preferring a range between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
That falls right into the room temperature range, so you usually do not have to touch your thermostat. That should be true at work as well as at home.
The native environment of the pothos is usually quite warm, so this plant can handle temps up to 85 degrees. Don’t push it too much beyond that, though.
The Global Green pothos is certainly not cold-tolerant. The pothos as a whole is not adjusted to cold due to inexperience in those conditions, so drastic changes can occur if the plant is left out in cold or frigid temperatures for too long.
Too cold for a Global Green is anything below 60 degrees, just so we’re clear.
A little bit of cold might leave your plant chilly. This issue is easily fixable by introducing your Global Green to warm enough indoor conditions.
Too much cold exposure can cause the cells within the Global Green pothos to freeze and possibly rupture.
In freezing conditions, your plant will almost assuredly die.
Switching gears and talking about humidity now, the Global Green prefers far higher than your average relative humidity. At the very least, it needs humidity at 50 percent, and at most, 70 percent.
This will require you to create humidity in your home or office such as through a humidifier or even placement in a warm room like a bathroom.
Should you choose a bathroom for your Global Green’s home, double-check that your plant is positioned far away from vents and drafts. The sudden cold air could cause leaf discoloration, wilting, and other unappealing side effects.
Best Fertilizer for a Global Green Pothos
The Global Green pothos doesn’t require fertilizer to the extent that other indoor plants do. That said, you still want to fertilize this pothos variety a few times per year.
Use a water-soluble plant fertilizer and dilute it with water according to the product instructions. Then reapply the fertilizer at least one other time over the growing season.
If you’d rather take a more hands-off approach to fertilizing the Global Green, then slow-release fertilizer at the start of the growing season will prevent you from having to fertilize it again.
It’s okay to fertilize the Global Green pothos maybe only twice per year and even once a year if it’s healthy enough.
Overdoing it on the fertilizer can be to your Global Green pothos’ detriment, so try not to do it.
Fertilizer burn can lead to symptoms such as discolored roots, shed foliage, leaf curling, burned and brown foliage, and white crust on the surface of the soil.
If you suspect that you’ve overfed the Global Green too much fertilizer, you’d have to remove the damaged roots with disinfected pruning shears, replace its soil, and avoid fertilizing the plant again for some time.
Where to Buy Global Green Pothos
There are only a few places I trust with ordering a plants online and on top of that the places that have earned my trust don’t carry the indoor plants I’m looking to purchase or don’t always have them in stock.
That said, when it comes to ordering the Epipremnum Aureum known as Global Green Pothos online I’ve found a place on Etsy and one place on Amazon that I’ve come to rely on over the years for my Global Green pothos plants
Common Issues with Global Green Pothos
Growing the Global Green pothos can be a very rewarding experience, but it’s not always a walk in the park. If you’re not careful, various issues can crop up that can leave your plant in poor health.
This section will allow you to rescue your Global Green pothos at the first sign of danger so it can stay healthy.
Common Pests
One of the best parts about growing the pothos is that pests are not such a frequent problem. You could still find yourself swatting away gnats, thrips, and/or mealybugs when growing the Global Green, though.
Here’s how to identify and eradicate these insects.
Gnats
If you overwater your Global Green pothos, gnats will usually follow. These small, winged insects will also gladly nosh on organic debris that’s leftover in the Global Green’s potting mix.
In a bowl or saucer, mix white vinegar (a cup) with dish soap (no more than three drops). Just leave the saucer there and the gnats will do the rest.
Seriously, they will! The insects will find the saucer too irresistible and will get stuck in the trap.
Thrips
Long, lean, and difficult to see, thrips are another problem pest you could encounter when growing the Global Green pothos.
You’ll have to bring out the big guns for treating a thrips infestation, such as neem oil. I’d recommend diluting the stuff with water.
Apply the mixture, let it sit for around five minutes, and then dab at the Global Green’s leaves so they don’t stay soaked.
If the neem oil doesn’t do it, then upgrade to insecticidal soap.
Mealybugs
The more you over-fertilize your indoor plants and the more water you give them, the higher the likelihood of mealybugs making an appearance.
To control mealybugs on your Global Green, combine water and mild dish detergent. Wiping down the foliage of your pothos will clear both the bugs and the sticky, mold-attracting residue they leave behind called honeydew.
Remember to dry the Global Green’s foliage when you’re finished!
Diseases
Root Rot
There’s really only one disease to be on the lookout for when tending to a Global Green pothos, but it’s probably the top plant killer. It’s root rot.
Root rot occurs when a plant’s roots receive too little oxygen, usually by being flooded with water.
Overwatering is the chief cause, but a pot without proper drainage can also contribute to root rot. After all, the plant is stuck in standing water.
As the roots die, the plant can no longer sustain itself. Leaf discoloration will occur, which is a clear giveaway that something is wrong with the Global Green. The plant will experience wilting and stunted growth as well.
How do you treat root rot? Essentially, remove your plant from the offending soggy soil, cut the dead roots, and repot in drier conditions.
Your Global Green will live if enough healthy roots survived to support it. If too many roots have died, then your plant will as well.
Global Green Pothos Common Questions
Do you still have some lingering questions about caring for the Global Green pothos? Allow me to answer them here!
Are Global Green and Emerald Pothos the Same?
To reiterate what I talked about before, many pothos varieties abound. Some look startlingly similar, such as the Global Green and the emerald.
Global Green Pothos and the Emerald Pothos are not the same but it’s easy to see why people would think they are. These two pothos types do share striking similarities.
The emerald pothos has completely green variegation too, and the leaf shape is unique. However, they’re not the same as the Global Green.
Global Green pothos has darker green variegation across the foliage compared to emerald pothos, which is brighter to neon green.
Is Global Green Pothos Rare?
Do you love getting your hands on rare indoor plants? Then you’ll be delighted to learn that the Global Green pothos is regarded as quite rare.
Part of that is due to the newness of this plant, as it’s not all that widely available. However, you’re usually not forced to pay an arm and a leg for one of these plants, which is great news!
Can Global Green Pothos Revert?
Variegated indoor plants are always at risk of reversion, which means their brilliant coloring and/or patterning disappear. When this happens, there is usually no way to bring it back.
Yes, Global Green pothos can revert.
What Causes a Global Green Pothos to Revert?
Dim conditions with not enough light are the number-one reason for Global Green pothos reversion.
What does a reverted Global Green pothos look like?
The Global Green pothos will become a single solid color. The plant is still green, but it’s nowhere near as variegated as before.
The reason this change occurs is that the green foliage makes it easier for the pothos to absorb light, something that it desperately needs at this point.
