Money plant Vastu: direction, care and common beliefs

The money plant is the common pothos, an easy climber that grows in soil or in a bottle of water. Its name is a nickname: a plant cannot promise money, and no honest consultant will say it does. What Vastu offers is a sensible place for it, and the idea that a healthy, growing plant in a cared-for home is a good sign.

Why the south-east

The south-east is the zone of Agni, fire, and of the planet Venus, and Vastu links it with energy and the flow of money through a household. A green, growing plant in that corner is the commonly given pairing. The north and east are acceptable alternatives because they are light, open zones; the north-east is the direction most consultants avoid, and many keep the heavy south-west free of it too. Practitioners differ on the rest: a few also avoid the north-west, and the money plant is a modern addition to Vastu advice rather than a plant named in the classical texts.

Where in the home it is kept

The money plant is an indoor plant in Vastu. The living room and the dining area are the usual places; a balcony in the south-east of the flat works too if the plant gets some shade. Many people keep it in the south-east corner of the living room, on a shelf or a stand.

Pot or bottle, and which way it grows

Both soil and water are fine. In water, a clean glass or a green or blue bottle is commonly used, and the water is changed every few days so it never turns stale. In soil, a clean pot with a saucer that is emptied after watering is the usual choice.

Vastu advice commonly asks that the vine be trained upwards, along a stick or a string, rather than trailing down to the floor. Upward growth is read as rising energy; a vine that sprawls on the floor or dries at the ends is trimmed.

Common beliefs, and what they are

You will hear that a money plant must not be given away, that it should be grown from a cutting taken from someone else, or that it must never touch the ground. These are folk beliefs, not rules from the Vastu texts. They do no harm if you like them, and you can ignore them if you do not.

Adjustments without rebuilding

• A money plant in the north-east is commonly moved to the south-east of the same room.
• A trailing vine is commonly trained upwards on a stick or a string rather than cut back hard.
• A dried plant is commonly replaced with a fresh cutting in clean water.
• Where the south-east is not possible, the north or east of the room is the usual second choice.

These are traditional practices that many families follow. They vary between Vastu schools; for your own home, a consultant can say which matter most.

Related tools

• Office Vastu calculator: score the layout of your office, room by room.
• Shop Vastu calculator: score the layout of your shop or showroom.
• Property Vastu calculator: check a flat or house before you buy or rent it.

Related Vastu guides

• Vastu plants: Tulsi, money plant, bamboo and more: where each is traditionally kept, and which plants are kept outside.
• Vastu for wealth: The north zone of Kubera, where a locker is commonly kept, water in the north-east and fixing leaks.
• Living room Vastu: The best direction for the living room, where to sit, sofa and TV placement, and colours.
• Garden Vastu: Lawns in the north and east, tall trees in the south and west, water in the north-east, and what to keep away.
• Vastu remedies without demolition: Room use, colours, light, clutter, mirrors, plants, salt and yantras: traditional fixes, and when to rebuild.

Your personal best directions come from your Kua number. Check your whole home with the house Vastu calculator, see whether your house number suits you, and find your lucky number. More tools: all free calculators.