The Cebu Blue Pothos – also known as the Dragon Tail – is a rare and beautiful kind of Pothos plant that can be distinguished by its silvery blue-green leaves. The shiny leaves are longer and thinner than the leaves on an average Pothos. The Cebu Blue Pothos’ scientific name is the Epipremnum Pinnatum, and it comes from the Araceae family, originating from the Island of Cebu in the Philippines.
The hard-to-find Pothos is one of the most beautiful houseplants you can find and can make any space look more beautiful. If you already have a collection of Pothos plants, the Cebu Blue Pothos would be the perfect addition to that collection.
What makes the Cebu Blue Pothos such a great houseplant is the fact that it is relatively easy to care for and can be propagated easily, too! So, if you happen to find this rare plant at a nursery or plant store, be sure to grab it, and you can learn everything you need to know about taking care of it right here. Let’s take a look at the complete care guide for the Cebu Blue Pothos.
How to Take Proper Care of Your Cebu Blue Pothos
The Cebu Blue Pothos is a resilient plant. Originating in the tropical Philippines, it usually requires an environment that is as close to that of the Cebu Islands as possible. So, if you want to care for your Cebu Blue Pothos and ensure that it grows well and stays healthy, you should try to recreate that environment as best as you can.
Here is everything you need to know about how to take care of your Cebu Blue Pothos:
How Much Water Does the Cebu Blue Pothos Need
A Cebu Blue Pothos should be watered at least once a week. This is a bit more often than a regular Pothos plant, which usually requires watering once every one to two weeks. Over-watering the Cebu Blue Pothos can lead to root rot, can cause the plant to start drooping, and can eventually cause the plant to die.
So, even while watering it once a week is a good estimate, you can go the extra step and check the soil’s moisture levels to see if the plant needs more water. You can do this by sticking your finger about an inch or so into the soil. If the soil is dry, then it’s a good time to water the plant.
Another tip to keep in mind is that if the leaves of the Cebu Blue Pothos are looking dry or yellowing at the edges but the soil is still wet, a light misting of water will do the trick.
How Much Light Does the Cebu Blue Pothos Need
As is the case with other kinds of Pothos plants, the Cebu Blue Pothos needs lots of indirect light. Without plenty of light, the beautiful coloring of the leaves will start to fade. So, to keep the Cebu Blue Pothos perfectly happy, keep it close to a window or in a space with plenty of indirect light. Avoid keeping it in direct sunlight, or else the leaves can start to burn at the edges.
What Kind of Soil Does the Cebu Blue Pothos Need
The most important thing to remember when it comes to the soil a Cebu Blue Pothos needs is that the soil should be one that drains well. Between watering sessions, the soil should ideally dry out. Soil that retains moisture can lead to root rot.
The soil should have a good mix of nutrients, compost, and other materials like perlite or vermiculite that encourage proper drainage. You should also consider and test the pH level of the soil. The Cebu Blue Pothos prefers more acidic soil, so the pH level should be between 6.0 and 6.5. You can get the right kind of soil at any local nursery or plant store, and be sure to check the label for the pH level.
Along with the drainage of the soil, you also need to pay attention to what kind of pot you use for your Cebu Blue Pothos. The pot should ideally have multiple drainage holes so that any excess water poured into the soil can easily drain away, and the soil has time to dry between watering.
The Cebu Blue Pothos Thrives in Humidity
Since the Cebu Blue Pothos originates from the tropical Cebu Island in the Philippines, they love humid environments and thrive in high humidity. This means that if you live in a dry area and there isn’t plenty of water saturation in the air, your Cebu Blue Pothos will start to dry out, and the leaves will start yellowing and withering.
The perfect temperature for your Cebu Blue Pothos is between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with 40 to 60% humidity. In case the humidity is lower or falls below 20%, you would need to take steps to try and increase the level of water content in the air. Without that moisture, your Cebu Blue Pothos won’t be able to absorb any water content from the air to grow and stay healthy.
You can increase the humidity in a number of ways. You can either mist the Cebu Blue Pothos occasionally to prevent the leaves from drying out or set up a pebble tray to place your pot on. You could also group your Cebu Blue Pothos with your other indoor plants and place them all close together to increase the air moisture levels. And finally, you can invest in a humidifying to keep in the room where your Cebu Blue Pothos is.
Repot Your Cebu Blue Pothos Once a Year
If you want your Cebu Blue Pothos to grow and have enough space to keep growing, you’ll need to repot it every year or every year and a half. A good indication that it is time to repot is that you’ll see the plant’s roots growing out of the drainage holes in the pot. You may also see that the Cebu Blue Pothos’ leaves are losing their distinct color and starting to droop or that the plant’s soil dries out very quickly after watering.
Repotting your Cebu Blue Pothos is quite easy. Every time you repot, choose a pot that is a few inches wider and taller than the previous pot. It would also be ideal if the pot was made of terracotta and had plenty of drainage holes. However, as long as drainage holes are present, any other material pot will do just as well.
To start, gently remove the Cebu Blue Pothos from the current pot. Try not to break away too much of the soil from the roots to avoid damaging the delicate root hairs. Even in the case of root bound, try not to break the roots apart. The root bound will correct itself once it is placed in the larger pot with fresh soil.
Place the Cebu Blue Pothos in the larger pot and fill the remaining space with fresh new soil, including perlite, mulch, pumice, and other aerating materials. Water the plant lightly and place it in an area with indirect light. In a week or two, your Cebu Blue Pothos should be as good as new and will recover after the stressful ordeal of being repotted.
How to Propagate Your Cebu Blue Pothos
Now that we’ve got all of the basic Cebu Blue Pothos care out of the way, let’s talk about propagation. The Cebu Blue Pothos is a beautiful plant, so if you’ve got one, why wouldn’t you want to propagate it and create many more plants from it? Luckily, propagating the Cebu Blue Pothosis quite easy, and there are two different methods to do it: propagating in water and propagating in soil.
To begin with, though, you’ll need to prepare some cuttings from your Cebu Blue Pothos. Grab a pair of sanitized scissors and locate a good spot to cut your healthy clipping from. Find a healthy stem and locate the small brown node that should be at the point where the leaf of the Cebu Blue Pothos meets its stem. Cut the stem from about a quarter of an inch below the node. If you can’t see any nodes, you can choose any stem at random as long as it has about two inches of stem and two to three healthy leaves on it.
Propagating the Cebu Blue Pothos in Water
You can start the propagation process once you’ve got the cuttings of your Cebu Blue Pothos. Place the cuttings in a jar with a few inches of water, and keep the jar in a well-lit area but not in direct sunlight. It will take between two to four weeks for new roots to start growing. Once the roots are about an inch long, you can transfer the cuttings to your pot of soil.
If you want to keep the plant in water, that’s fine too. Your Cebu Blue Pothos can grow in water without any problems as long as you add some nutrients to the water every now and then in the form of liquid fertilizer. You will also need to swap the water out every other week to ensure there is no algae or bacteria growth.
Propagating the Cebu Blue Pothos in Soil
If you want to propagate your Cebu Blue Pothos directly in soil instead of in water, that is an option, too. To start with, plant your cuttings into soil that is made up of potting mix. The soil should be slightly damp but not overly wet or dry. After you have planted the cuttings, you need to create a rooting bag. You can do this by using a heavy wire, bending it into a U shape, and digging both of the ends into the soil so that the wire is curving above the planted cuttings. Then, use a plastic bag or some clear wrap to cover the wire and most of the pot, too. This rooting bag will help keep the delicate cutting protected and create a warm and moist environment for the cuttings to take root in.
Once the rooting bag is set up, place your pot in an area with indirect sunlight and leave it like that for between four to six weeks. Once enough time has passed, it is okay to remove the rooting bag and let your Cebu Blue Pothos grow as usual.
The Importance of Keeping Your Cebu Blue Pothos Away from Children and Pets
The Cebu Blue Pothos is a beautiful, rare, and distinct plant. It is a plant that many plant lovers look far and wide for and hope to add to their Pothos collection. It is also very easy to care for the Cebu Blue Pothos and keep it growing bigger and healthier. However, there is one major downside to consider: The Cebu Blue Pothos is a highly toxic plant.
So, does it sound like the Cebu Blue Pothos was too good to be true? The fact is that this plant contains calcium oxalate crystals and is seriously toxic to humans, cats, and dogs. If ingested, the Cebu Blue Pothos can cause serious health problems like burning and irritation of the mouth, throat, and stomach. In some more serious cases, it can cause swelling of the throat, difficulty in breathing, and severe nausea. If you have any pets or small children in the house, it might not be a good idea to keep a Cebu Blue Pothos where they can reach it.
Our Final Thoughts
We hope that this complete care guide for the Cebu Blue Pothos was helpful for you and has all of the information you need to take care of your plant. If you’re thinking of buying a Cebu Blue Pothos, you should definitely go for it, as it is a beautiful and rare plant that can complete any Pothos collection. However, remember to keep it out of the reach of small children and pets, and you should be good to go!