Encourage new leaves along Devil's ivy stem

Question

I have an Devil's Ivy that is a couple of years old. It's been through periods of neglect, but is now getting a lot more attention and is looking pretty healthy overall. It has 5-6 long stems.

On a couple of the older stems, there are no leaves along the first 75cm or so, so it looks a bit scraggly. There are plenty of leaves past that point and the tips are growing well. I assume there used to be leaves, but they died during one of its phases of neglect.

It currently lives on a windowsill facing south (in the Southern hemisphere). (I know it might grow better on an east-facing window, but I really want it here.)

Is there a way to encourage leaves to re-grow on the lower parts?

Answer 1

Yes - cut the scraggly older stems right back to about an inch, preferably to just above a node, which will encourage new growth, either from the roots or from the stem you've cut back. You can use the healthy, leafy parts you cut off to make new plants by trimming them to about 4-5 inches, strip off lower leaves to leave 2 or 3 at the top and pop the stems in a bottle of water. Stand the bottle on a windowsill, keep topped up wth water and roots should form within about 4 weeks. When they do, pot them up. This assumes you mean Epipremnum aureum when you say devil's ivy...