“Best” is doing a lot of work in that title, so let’s define it before you spend anything.
If best means best results, it’s a moss pole you pack yourself. Nothing else is close. The aerial roots grow into the damp moss, form a second root system partway up the plant, and your Pothos grows visibly faster with bigger leaves.
If best means best results for the effort you’ll realistically put in, it might not be, because a moss pole only works if you keep the moss damp, and a dry moss pole is an expensive stake.
I’m going to be straight with you about which of those you are, because buying the wrong one is how people end up with a £15 tube of dead moss.
Quick comparison
| Fillable moss pole | Kratiste pole | |
|---|---|---|
| Results | Best available. Secondary root system, biggest leaves | Good. Aerial roots attach, but no root system |
| Maintenance | Keep the moss damp, every few days | None whatsoever |
| Attaches by itself? | Yes, into the moss | Yes, onto the surface |
| Free propagation? | Yes, it air layers every node as it climbs | No |
| Stackable | Yes | Yes, with connectors |
| Availability | Amazon, everywhere | UK and Netherlands only |
| Best for | Anyone who wants a big Pothos and will do the watering | Anyone who knows they won’t do the watering |
The pick: a fillable plastic moss pole
This is what I’d tell most people to buy.
Let’s do the legal thing first:
These are affiliate links, so i earn a small commission if you purchase something through the link., at no extra cost to you.
EOX Plastic Moss Pole, 24-Inch, 4-Pack
Clear D-shaped tubes that fold together, you pack them with moss yourself, and they stack when your Pothos outgrows the first one.
A few things make this style worth the money over the alternatives:
You can see what’s going on. The clear plastic means you can see at a glance whether the moss is damp and whether the aerial roots are actually growing in. On an opaque pole you’re guessing for months.
The rooting grid. The openings are sized so aerial roots can get through into the moss, which sounds obvious but plenty of poles are solid tubes with a bit of moss glued to the outside.
It stacks. Pothos will outgrow 24 inches, and being able to add a second section rather than starting again matters more than it seems when you’re buying.
Four of them. You will use all four. Everyone says they won’t.
The moss doesn’t come with it, which is normal for this style. You want long-fibre sphagnum:
One bag fills several poles. Soak it before packing, because dry sphagnum repels water rather than absorbing it, and a pole packed dry will shed everything you spray at it.
How To Train Pothos To Climb A Moss Pole
What you’re signing up for
The moss has to stay damp. Not moist-ish, not damp at the top, damp the whole way through. If it dries out, aerial roots that were growing in will die back and new ones won’t bother.
A small pressure sprayer is the tool that makes this survivable. Twenty seconds, every few days.
If you read that and thought “yeah, I’m not doing that”, respect. Read the next section.
The low-maintenance option: Kratiste poles
I use these. I have about ten of them, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Kratiste poles are made from potato peels and elephant grass, they’re compostable, they’re extremely light, and the crucial bit: Pothos aerial roots attach to them on their own, with no moisture required at all. Something about the material encourages it. You stick the pole in the pot, clip the vines on, and then you do nothing, forever.
They come with clips included, which is a small thing that saves an annoying separate purchase.
The trade-off is real and worth understanding. The aerial roots attach to the surface but they don’t grow into anything, so you don’t get the secondary root system. Growth is better than no pole and better than coir, but not as dramatic as a well-maintained moss pole.
They’re around £10, roughly the same as a moss pole.
The catch: they’re a UK and Netherlands product. As far as I know you can’t get them on Amazon US, so if you’re reading this from the States this option probably isn’t open to you, and the fillable pole above is your answer.
I have reached out to the sales team, and they are hoping for a US launch soon.
What to check before you buy any pole
Height, and whether it stacks. Two feet sounds tall until your Pothos gets there in a season. Stackable is worth paying for.
Whether the roots can actually get in. Open grid or mesh, not a solid tube with moss decoratively attached. If aerial roots can’t reach the moss, it’s a stake.
Weight and stability. A pole that topples is worse than no pole. Heavy poles need a heavy pot, and the pole needs to reach the bottom of the pot rather than sitting in the top few inches.
How you’ll water it. If the top isn’t wide enough to pour into, you’re committing to a sprayer. Fine, just decide in advance.
Repotting. Once roots have grown into the moss, the pole and the plant are one object. Plan for that, or accept some root tearing later.
A note on DIY
You can make one from garden mesh, cable ties and your own moss.
Worth it if you already have that stuff in a shed. Not really worth the trip to buy it, given how cheap the plastic ones are and how much neater they are to live with.
You can also use wooden planks. They work well, and the aerial roots can attach.
HOWEVER
They can be heavy and therefore difficult to kept upright.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn’t a coir pole on this list?
Because Pothos aerial roots won’t attach to coir unless your humidity is unusually high, and coir can’t be kept damp in any meaningful way, so there’s nothing for the roots to grow into. Coir poles do work as physical support, and there’s nothing wrong with using one as a stake. They’re just not a moss pole and I didn’t want to sell you one as if they were.
Do I need a moss pole for a Pothos?
No. Pothos will live perfectly happily trailing for years. A pole gets you bigger leaves, tighter leaf spacing and faster growth, so it’s an upgrade rather than a requirement.
What size moss pole should I start with?
Two feet is a sensible starting point for most Pothos, as long as it stacks. Going taller straight away makes the pole harder to keep stable in a normal-sized pot.
Can I use LECA or perlite instead of moss in the pole?
People try. Both dry out far faster than sphagnum, so you’d be watering daily to achieve less. Not worth it.
Are self-watering moss poles any good?
I’ve yet to find one that works properly. They either don’t deliver enough water to the moss, or they leak into the pot and leave your Pothos sitting wet. If you find a good one, tell me.
Do I need a moss pole to propagate my Pothos?
Not at all, but a moss pole makes it easier, because every node roots into the moss as it climbs. By the time you want cuttings, they’re already rooted.
Will a moss pole give my Pothos split leaves?
Maybe? Pothos can fenestrate at maturity but that takes years of vertical growth in strong light and it’s rare indoors. Buy a pole for bigger leaves and faster growth, not for splits.