Pothos are easy to grow and are resilient plants for people who don’t have much of a green thumb. But can pothos be in direct sunlight?
Let’s look at what type of sunlight pothos likes best and then find out what happens when you place it in direct sunlight.
What Type of Sunlight Does Pothos Like Best?
Pothos need sunlight to survive. However, they’re picky about what type of sunlight they like best.
What type of sunlight does pothos like best? Your pothos will do best in bright, indirect sunlight. For example, it’s extremely happy in a sunny bathroom with frosted northerly windows or in a pot across the room from a sunny window.
When pothos is in its ideal sunlight environment, it will be greener, healthier, and put out lots of new growth. You’ll probably even find yourself needing to trim it as the vines get longer and longer.
It can also adapt to low and medium light situations. However, you will notice that the growth will be much slower, and the leaves will stay smaller if it doesn’t have a lot of light.
Can Pothos Be In Direct Sunlight?
No, you shouldn’t put a pothos plant in a spot that gets a lot of direct sunlight.
However, they can handle being on a window ledge that only occasionally gets direct sunlight, such as a westerly window that gets a little direct sunlight when the sun starts to set.
Pothos come from light-dappled forests that only allow medium light levels. So, they aren’t suited for direct sunlight. However, in the wild, their leaves get larger as they get higher in the tree canopy, so they do appreciate sunlight.
So, if you’re thinking of putting your pothos on a sunny southerly window sill or outdoors on your sunny patio, you shouldn’t.
What Happens If You Put Pothos in Direct Sunlight?
Direct sunlight can cause pothos leaves to turn brown, yellow or even burn.
If entire leaves are turning golden yellow, it’s a sign that your pothos is getting too much sunlight.
Leaves that are yellow from too much sunlight may eventually turn brown around the edges and fall off the plant.
At first, you may notice only one leaf turning yellow, but eventually, if you don’t move your plant out of direct sunlight, the majority of the plant’s leaves will turn yellow.
Of course, if you have a variegated pothos variety like golden pothos or Brasil pothos, it’s normal for it to have some yellow on its leaves. Meanwhile, there are other pothos species that always have a yellowish tint, like neon pothos and lemon pothos. However, the leaves of an unhealthy plant getting too much light will be obviously different from the healthy leaves.
Can a Pothos Recover From Over-Exposure to Direct Sunlight?
Pothos are extremely resilient. If you accidentally placed a pothos in direct sunlight and noticed its leaves starting to yellow, you haven’t ruined your plant.
Simply move your pothos to a different location with less direct sunlight. Even moving it across the room from the window can help.
You will want to remove any yellow leaves that have begun to brown or wither.
Final Thoughts
Can pothos be in direct sunlight? No, they shouldn’t be in a location that constantly gets direct sunlight. Being in direct sunlight causes their leaves to yellow and wither. Pothos can handle minimal direct sunlight. However, they’re happiest in locations with bright, indirect sunlight.