--- title: "What’s wrong with this cutting? I took the cutting with the 3 circled…" description: "What’s wrong with this cutting? I took the cutting with the 3 circled leaves at the same time as the one directly to the right of it. When I added them back…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/46sbKsa-RgyFgv7yDz6N2w/fA9NkNKHQp6ylV7eu9Wjtg" community: "Planet Pothos" author: "Jayne" published: "2024-07-04T02:14:35.525447Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Y0KiJRBpXDibvwP7zOQIXL8oPcvJksNsp_Hrly55dkg/-KO9GZ4uSSmUeI4gTpExVw.webp?size=large" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Planet Pothos](https://getplanta.com/community/46sbKsa-RgyFgv7yDz6N2w.md) # What’s wrong with this cutting? I took the cutting with the 3 circled… _Posted by Jayne on 2024-07-04_ What’s wrong with this cutting? I took the cutting with the 3 circled leaves at the same time as the one directly to the right of it. When I added them back into the pot, the circled leaves immediately started getting floppy and curled up, no matter how much I watered my pothos (I was careful not to overwater, of course). It was like this for a while until I finally pulled it out to inspect the roots, which were brown. I cut off those roots and put the cutting back in some water to let new roots grow from other nodes. Once those roots got long enough, I put the cutting back into the pot, and the leaves became floppy again. This time, though, the roots looked perfectly healthy! What’s going on? Do some cuttings just not survive the transfer into soil? Obviously the two cuttings are getting the same care since they’re right next to each other, so I can’t figure out what the problem is! Do I need to stop trying to save this cutting and just try again with a new one? ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Y0KiJRBpXDibvwP7zOQIXL8oPcvJksNsp_Hrly55dkg/-KO9GZ4uSSmUeI4gTpExVw.webp?size=large) ## 10 comments ### send\_nodes commented on 2024-07-04 The main reason that “water roots” tend to have a hard time transitioning to soil is from lack of oxygen. Since water is just hydrogen and oxygen, roots in water have easy access to oxygen all the time in water. Once they’re transferred to soil, they get suffocated. An easy solution to this is to pot them up in a more aerated mix. I have a pothos growing in just orchid bark, perlite, and coco chips, so don’t worry about making the mix too chunky. #### Jayne replied on 2024-07-04 Thanks for the advice! #### send\_nodes replied on 2024-07-04 No problem! :) Another option would be to propagate in sphagnum moss or perlite rather than water. Then the plant will grow more resilient roots so you don’t have to worry as much when transitioning to soil #### Amie206 replied on 2024-07-04 My recently repotted pothos (that I’ve had for 20 (?) years, is having a hard time transitioning to chunky soil. I refuse to give up on her! Thanks for confirming she’ll be FINE! #### send\_nodes replied on 2024-07-04 Haha no problem! Yeah it might take time for the plant to adjust #### Jayne replied on 2024-07-08 Update: switching to a chunkier soil worked!! I made the switch 2 days ago, and those sad little leaves are already looking so much better. I never would’ve guessed that lack of oxygen was the problem, so thanks again! _1 more reply in the app_ ### LemmeSaveThePlant commented on 2024-07-08 A few months ago I had a bunch of cuttings from four of my pothos, snow, golden, n joy, and globe, in perlite in plastic boxes. I had three containers full, soooo many cuttings (more than 50!? Less than 100!) and some of them never grew even in the same conditions and some didn’t make it in soil. But some did! I think not all cuttings are cut out to make it. #### LemmeSaveThePlant replied on 2024-07-08 Not snow! Marble queen\* #### Jayne replied on 2024-07-08 Oh no, the poor little cuttings! In my case, though, it turned out that send\_nodes was right— my cutting just needed a chunkier soil mix, because now it’s so much happier! Good luck with your future propagating endeavors! --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_