The short answer is: less often than in summer. But the longer answer is more useful, because how much less depends entirely on your home — and a lot of the advice you’ll find online assumes you live somewhere with dramatic seasonal swings that might not reflect your actual winter at all.
Does Watering Your Pothos Actually Change In Winter?
It might not, if your conditions don’t change much.
If you run your central heating constantly through the colder months, keep your Pothos under a grow light, and your home stays warm and reasonably bright, your plant’s environment in January might not be that different from June. In that case, adjusting your watering routine dramatically could actually cause more problems than it solves.
But for most people — particularly in the UK — winter brings lower light levels, cooler rooms, and a plant that’s barely growing. And a plant that’s barely growing is a plant using very little water. Watering at the same frequency you did in summer is a reliable path to overwatering.
The rule doesn’t change: water when the soil is almost completely dry. What changes is how long it takes to get there.
What Actually Changes In Winter
Light
This is the biggest driver. Less light means the plant photosynthesises less, grows more slowly, and uses less water.
A Pothos in a south-facing window in July is a fundamentally different plant to the same Pothos in the same window in December, when the sun is lower, the days are shorter, and the light intensity is a fraction of what it was.
Less light = slower drying soil = less frequent watering needed. It’s that simple.
Temperature
Cold temperatures slow everything down, including the rate at which soil dries out and the rate at which the plant uses water.
A cool room in winter means the soil stays moist for longer after each watering.
Cold also stresses Pothos — they don’t like temperatures below around 10°C — and a stressed plant is more vulnerable to pests.
Keep them away from cold windowsills and draughty spots in winter, and if you notice more pests appearing in the colder months, temperature stress is often a contributing factor.
Keeping leaves dust-free helps keep pest populations down.
Growth Rate
Pothos growth slows significantly in winter for most people, sometimes stopping almost entirely.
A plant that isn’t growing isn’t using much water or nutrients. This is normal, not a sign that something is wrong. Don’t panic and start fertilising to try to kick-start it — just let it rest.
What I Actually Do In Winter
My setup is probably more favourable than average: south-facing home, so I get decent natural light even in winter. But I still notice a significant difference in how quickly my Pothos soil dries out once we get into November and December.
What changed when I started using grow lights in winter was dramatic. I use grow lights on a timer through the darker months, and it makes a massive difference — not just to growth, which picks back up noticeably, but to watering frequency, which normalises.
With grow lights running, my winter watering schedule isn’t that far off my summer one. Without them, I’d be watering probably half as often.
If you’re in the UK and you’re not using a grow light in winter, expect your Pothos to need watering significantly less frequently from around October through to March. Check the soil rather than following a schedule, and don’t be alarmed if weeks go by without the soil drying out enough to warrant watering.
[Full guide to grow lights for Pothos here — worth reading if you want your plant to actually do something in winter rather than just survive it.]
How To Adjust Your Watering In Winter
There’s no formula. The adjustment isn’t “water every three weeks instead of every ten days.” It’s just: check the soil more patiently than you did in summer, and water only when it’s genuinely nearly dry all the way through.
In practice this might mean:
- Watering every two to four weeks instead of every one to two weeks
- Picking the pot up more often to assess weight rather than watering by feel or schedule
- Resisting the urge to water just because it “feels like it should need it by now”
If you had a moisture meter habit in summer, keep using it in winter — it’s actually more useful in the colder months when the consequences of overwatering are more severe (roots sit in cold, damp soil for longer, which accelerates rot).
The Mistakes People Make In Winter
Keeping The Same Schedule
Watering every ten days in summer and every ten days in January is how Pothos end up with root rot. The soil just doesn’t dry out at the same rate. If you’ve always watered on a schedule rather than checking the soil, winter is the time to break that habit.
Moving The Plant Away From The Window
In summer, protecting your Pothos from intense direct afternoon sun makes sense. In winter, the instinct to pull it back from the window is the wrong move — you need every bit of light you can get. Unless there’s a cold draught coming from the window itself, keep it as close to the glass as possible in winter.
Assuming Slow Growth Means Something Is Wrong
It doesn’t. A Pothos that barely moves in winter is a Pothos behaving normally. Don’t respond to slow winter growth by fertilising, repotting, or changing the soil. Just keep the conditions stable and wait for spring.
Letting It Get Cold
Pothos don’t like temperatures below around 10°C. If your plant lives on a windowsill in a room you don’t heat, or near a door that gets opened frequently in cold weather, it’s going to be stressed. Move it somewhere warmer. A stressed, cold Pothos is more susceptible to pests and will recover more slowly from any problems that come up. [More on Pothos temperature needs here.]
Winter Watering FAQs
How often should I water my Pothos in winter?
There’s no single answer — it depends on your light levels, room temperature, pot size, and soil mix. As a rough guide, many Pothos in UK homes need watering every two to four weeks in winter, sometimes longer. Check the soil rather than counting days.
Should I stop watering my Pothos in winter?
No, not entirely. Pothos don’t go fully dormant the way some plants do. They still need watering — just much less frequently. Let the soil dry out almost completely between waterings, as you would year-round, but expect it to take longer to get there.
Do Pothos need a grow light in winter?
They don’t strictly need one, but a grow light makes a significant difference in the UK, where winter light levels are low. Without supplemental light, Pothos tend to stop growing, and lower light means slower soil drying, which increases the risk of overwatering. With a grow light, the plant stays more active through winter and the watering schedule stays more manageable. [Full grow light guide here.]
Why is my Pothos drooping in winter?
Check the soil first. If it’s wet or damp, overwatering is the most likely cause — a common winter mistake. If it’s bone dry, it needs water. If the soil seems fine, check the temperature: cold stress can cause drooping too, particularly if the plant is near a cold window or draughty door.
Can I fertilise my Pothos in winter?
It’s generally not recommended. A plant that’s barely growing doesn’t need feeding, and fertilising a slow or dormant plant can cause nutrient burn. Wait until you see active new growth returning in spring before reintroducing fertiliser — and even then, start at half the recommended dose.
Why are my Pothos leaves turning yellow in winter?
Most likely overwatering, but pests are also a pain this time of year. Watering at the same frequency as summer when the plant is barely growing and the soil is drying out very slowly is the most common winter mistake. Let the soil dry out fully before watering again and check the roots if yellowing continues. Full guide to yellow Pothos leaves here.
New to Pothos and heading into your first winter with it? The free guide — Everything You Need To Do When You Bring Your First Pothos Home — covers the essentials so you’re not troubleshooting a soggy root ball in January. [Get the free guide →]