Shangri La Pothos is a must-have for most plant enthusiasts who enjoy low-maintenance indoor plants. The Sleeping Pothos is a gorgeous plant with unusually shaped foliage that resembles someone who is dozing off with closed eyes, or as others say, it looks like cooked spinach, hence the name Spinach Pothos.
The major feature of this plant is its shriveled leaves, which require straightforward maintenance techniques. Generally, Shangri La Pothos needs temperatures between 60 and 85 °F, humidity levels over 50%, and bright indirect light to grow.
The Pothos plant thrives when the top 2 inches of soil are moist. In addition, a fertilizer that has been diluted and balanced helps to keep the Pothos plant’s glossy leaves. In our guide, you can learn more about the care for your variegated Shangri La Pothos. By the end, you’ll know all there is to maintain the health of your houseplant collection.
Shangri La Pothos Overview
Following is a general summary of this evergreen plant;
Epipremnum Aureum ‘Shangri La’ is its scientific name. Common names for the same plant include spinach, Godzilla, and sleeping pothos
What is Shangri La Pothos?
A cultivar of golden pothos Shangri La Pothos was developed. Its distinctive feature is the shriveled appearance of the leaves, which have bright-green leaves with yellow variegation.
The plant is known as the “spinach pothos” because the leaves resemble cooked spinach leaves. Also, because of the leaves “sleeping” appearance rather than being fully “awake” and open, it is sometimes called the sleeping pothos.
It is often called the Godzilla Pothos because of the upward-pointing leaves, which resemble Godzilla, making it a cool plant and a rare plant to many. (Learn How To Propagate Pothos In Water)
Shangri La Plant Care Guide
Sleeping Pothos’ development and health are impacted by poor plant. Moreover, the sleeping pothos plant doesn’t get ideal growing condition leaves of these plants will lose their unique shape and lushness.
Therefore, it is crucial to provide the below-mentioned conditions to keep the Pothos thriving.
The requirements for growing sleeping pothos are here in a brief form:
- Sunlight: Bright and indirect light throughout the day, in an East or North facing window.
- Watering: Keep the plant slightly moist by regularly watering when the top few inches dry out
- Temperature: 60-85°F or 15-30°C
- Humidity: 50-70%
- Soil Mix: Well-draining soil mix
- Fertilizer: Only during spring and summer
- Pests: Mealybugs, Scales, Aphids, and Spider mites
- Diseases: Root rot and Bacterial leaf spot
- Propagation: Propagate with stem cutting in the spring
- Potting: Repotting in Ceramic or plastic pots with suitable drainage holes.
- Pruning: Early spring.
1. Adequate Sunlight and Location
Shangri La Pothos adores bright, indirect light. But, unfortunately, the spinach pothos’ fragile leaves cannot withstand direct sunlight. However, a few hours of early sunlight don’t harm plants; they foster the formation of leaves that are more vigorous to grow sleeping Pothos.
The hardest part of producing a sleeping pothos is keeping the lighting enough. The plant can be placed in an east or north-facing window where it will receive dappled light in the morning and indirect light the rest of the time.
Since these windows receive the most sunlight throughout the day, placing the plant in a west or south-facing window is not recommended.
Sleeping Pothos loves shade, yet too low light causes the vining plant leaves to lose variegation. Also, if they face too bright light, they leave open entirely and lose their shriveled appearance.
2. Proper Watering
Because you’ll find the Shangri La Pothos rare and unique indoor plants, it is essential to maintain consistent moist soil to keep the plant from being stressed. In the summer, once a week of watering is recommended for Shangri La Pothos, and once every two weeks in the winter.
Before watering the plant, check the soil’s moisture level because this plant dislikes soggy circumstances. A finger inserted into the soil will check the soil’s water content.
It’s time to water the Pothos once more if the top 1-2 inches of the soil mix are entirely dry. However, if the potting mix is not completely dry, you must wait a few more days until the dirt feels dry.
Root rot risk is increased by overhead watering and overwatering. Drinking water should not be used since it includes mineral salts that are bad for plants. Use distilled water or rainwater instead. To ensure that the salts stay at the bottom, let them sit for at least 24 hours if you are still using drinking water.
You can give your Epipremnum Shangri La a light misting using a spray bottle, which will help keep the aerial roots hydrated. (Learn How To Care For Ferns Outside)
3. Ideal Temperatures
You must take precautions to avoid temperature fluctuations because Shangri La Pothos is a temperature-sensitive plant.
It requires warm to hot temperatures because it is a tropical plant. The ideal temperature for Shangri La Pothos is between 60 and 85 °F (15 to 30 °C), and it can tolerate lower temperatures of 50°F and higher temperatures of 95°F.
However, placing the plant to extreme temperature extremes for an extended period will damage your pothos plants. You can easily place the Pothos in bright indirect light close to a window to achieve the temperature requirements.
The extreme freezing temperature stops plants’ physiological processes like growth. As a result, the plant experiences stunted growth. In plants with prominent black spots on their leaves, a temperature below 50°F will cause chilling harm.
If the temperature goes beyond 30°C, water more frequently. However, before watering, check to see if the soil is dry. Air conditioners and heaters can help you keep the space at the right temperature. To keep the soil warm for young plants during the winter, heating pads are an excellent idea.
To prevent the plant from extreme winter temperatures, wrap it in a frost blanket. When placing the plant throughout the winter, stay away from drafty areas, heating or cooling vents, and single-window windows.
Mulch can prevent the soil from losing heat in the winter and water in the summer. Bring Pothos indoors during the winter if you have any outside. Place it outside until the leaves brown, indicating a cooling temperature.
4. High Humidity
The tropical plant Shangri La Pothos naturally thrives in heavy humidity. So, keep the humidity level between 40 and 70% for your lovely plant to be content.
It can tolerate even 40% and 90% humidity levels on the lower and higher edges.
Low humidity can create issues like wilting and the curling of yellow leaves before they brown. In addition, low humidity causes plants to transpire more often, losing more water than their roots can absorb, thus stressing them.
One way to increase humidity is to place small plants in a terrarium, which generates high humidity. You can also misty your Shangri La using your spray bottle weekly, as this helps keep leaves green and shiny. Aerial roots, which are roots from the soil, also remain hydrated using your misting method. (Read Ultimate Lawn Care)
5. Soil Mix
Mature plants grow in both soil and water. However, the soil is the preferred environment for cultivating them. It is because Pothos are bushier when grown in solid media. If you intend to cultivate your Sleeping Pothos stem cuttings in water, use water devoid of mineral salts. Lightweight, well-draining, and organic matter-rich soil is ideal.
It is advisable to avoid including a lot of clay in the garden soil mix because regular potting soil retains water for longer and could lead to unintentional overwatering of the Pothos plant. A suitable potting mix can be made for growing Shangri La Pothos plants.
Mix Vermiculite, peat moss, perlite, sand, shredded bark, compost, and coco coir at home to create a well-balanced combination. Sphagnum moss can mix acidity to the soil mixture, as Pothos prefer slightly acidic soil.
Add one part vermiculite, two parts perlite, and one part shredded bark to four parts peat moss or coco coir.
6. Fertilization
Because Shangri La Pothos is a light feeder, fertilize it once a month in the summer and spring with diluted liquid fertilizer to keep it glossy and bushy. During the winter, Pothos doesn’t require any plant food. However, feeding the plant once in the winter may keep it healthy.
It is advisable to apply a direct amount of fertilizer for the development and age of the plant. Giving the Sleeping Pothos enough food encourages healthy growth and produces beautiful green leaves. Plant fertilization plants can be decreased by incorporating organic matter and slow-release fertilizer into the potting mix.
Use a balanced fertilizer that has been diluted to half strength and has an NPK ratio of 10:10:10. Avoid mixing soluble fertilizer with a slow-release fertilizer. To prevent root burn, fully water the plant before feeding it. You can add worm casting and bone meal as a slow-release fertilizer when repotting.
7. Healthy Stem Growth
Slow-growing habits are typical of Shangri La Pothos. Depending on where you keep them, they may creep or climb in a vine-like manner. Outside, they can reach heights of 6 to 8 feet. However, it will only grow to a maximum length of 3-5 feet as an indoor plant.
The Sleeping Pothos has glossy, shriveled leaves. When viewed closely, the leaves have some yellow or light green variegation besides their dark green tint.
It is advisable to support it with something like a moss pole or grow it in a hanging basket because it is a climbing plant with vine-enjoy growing habits. The amount of light a vine receives often affects how long it grows.
8. Flowering
Shangri La Pothos develop green flower spikes that range from yellow to green when cultivated in its natural environment.
However, it must be fully developed for the plant to produce flowers.
However, indoor-grown sleeping pothos rarely produce flowers. Therefore, to enjoy its flower throughout the year, you must provide it with the best growing conditions.
However, Pothos are more famous for their stunning foliage than their flowers since their lovely leaves are more eye-catching. Therefore, rather than waiting for the Sleeping Pothos’ bloom to materialize, pay attention to making the leaves bigger and glossier.
9. Potting
Size, material, and drainage holes are essential for a Pothos pot. Shangri La pothos needs a ceramic or terracotta pot with a drainage hole.
- These pots provide airflow, drainage, moisture, and soil temperature. Pots should be 2-3 inches larger than Pothos’ root ball.
- Late winter or early spring is the greatest time to repot a Shangri La Pothos when active growth begins. Then, every two years, repot.
- Small pots need frequent watering because they don’t hold enough.
- Plants develop more slowly when root growth is stifled.
- Root-bound small pots need periodic repotting.
- Large pots hold more water and make mush.
Steps To Repot a Shangri La Pothos
- For easy removal, water the plant well. Do it the day before.
- Holding the pot’s base, remove the plant.
- Turn the container to remove it.
- Remove one-third of the Shangri La Pothos roots soil
- Trim unhealthy, lengthy roots or those that show signs of root rot.
- Plant the Pothos in a new pot with fresh potting mix.
- Then water the plant, and place it in bright indirect light.
- The plant may wilt for a week, yet don’t panic and add more water.
- In a week, the Shangri La Pothos will have bright green leaves.
10. Prune Shangri La Pothos
Shangri La Pothos benefits from pruning to keep it tidy and healthy. In addition, it aids in controlling the plant’s height and bushiness. To keep your Pothos healthy and bushy, prune them once a month.
The greatest time to prune your Pothos is at the start of spring when the plant’s development resumes following the dormant season. (Read Weed With White Flowers Guide)
Tips to Prune Shangri La Pothos
Pruning the Pothos plant should always be done with clean, sharp shears.
- The plant will grow more fully if its old leaves, dead foliage, flowers, and buds are pruned.
- To encourage bushier growth, trim leggy stems slightly above the nodes of the stem.
- Because Sleeping Pothos is a hazardous plant, wear gloves, goggles, and a mask.
- Don’t remove all of the vine’s leaves. And if any vines are damaged, remove them.
- Plant shock results from removing over one-third of the plant in a single pruning session.
Pests and Disease
These plants fend off common pests and don’t commonly affect Shangri La Pothos. In addition, it is a tough plant that can withstand some neglect, making it a suitable choice for novices.
No plant is completely immune to pests and diseases, though.
It is more prone to these difficulties when there are challenges, stresses, illnesses, inadequate care, or adverse living situations.
The most frequent pests for this plant are mealybugs and spider mites, scale insects, and a few more. However, once they do, they will begin sucking the plant’s sap, which impacts its health.
Finding them early is crucial for this reason. Also important is prompt treatment with neem oil or insecticidal soap.
Problems with bacteria and fungi cause houseplant death. Another terrible concern is root rot.
Shangri La Pothos Toxicity
Even though Sleeping Pothos has an attractive appearance that is relaxing to the eyes, you must keep it out of reach of children and dogs because of its deadly nature.
Pothos is called up entirely of calcium oxalate crystals, a poisonous substance.
When Pothos leaves or stems are consumed, it might result in mouth irritation, swollen lips and tongue, drooling, difficulty breathing, vomiting, increased salivation, etc.
Shangri La Pothos Propagation
Stem cutting is the most promising method for propagating a Shangri La Pothos.
- Directly placing stem cuttings into some soil is the quickest and easiest way to grow Shangri La Pothos.
- When the plant is actively growing, spring and early summer is the best time to take cuttings.
- Cut a section of the stem with fresh leaves, and at least one node should be cut. Your cutting won’t produce new buds if there isn’t a node.
- To clean the incision and promote quicker roots, dunk the cutting, if available, in cinnamon or rooting hormone.
- The cutting should be placed in sterilized potting soil, and ensure you bury the nodes.
- Watering frequently will keep the soil moist (but not soaked).
- Place your new plant in a well-ventilated spot with enough light that is bright and shaded.
- Within two to three weeks, the plant ought to develop roots.
