Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is one of those tried-and-true houseplants almost everyone has or has had. In fact, it was one of the first houseplants I grew, and it’s one of the most popular houseplants available.
We’re a fan of the good old golden pothos, but being passionate about plants, we offer several other pothos varieties. Online, I get some questions about which varieties are which, so here’s a quick guide.
Golden Pothos
The traditional pothos variety is golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum). It features heart-shaped mid-green foliage splashed in creamy gold. If you grow this variety up a totem and give it lots of light and warmth, you’ll find the leaves can grow quite large. In fact, outdoors in frost-free areas, the leaves can reach 12 inches wide or more! (Note: golden pothos shows invasive tendencies in areas like South Florida. We recommend against planting it outdoors in Zones 10 and 11.)
Marble Queen Pothos
Marble Queen (Epipremnum aureum ‘Marble Queen’) is another common pothos variety. It features green heart-shaped leaves heavily splashed and streaked with creamy white. The foliage is usually similar in size to golden pothos. Marble Queen may be more or less variegated, depending on the particular branch it was propagated from. Here at Exotic Angel® Plants, we only grow propagate Marble Queen from our most highly variegated mother plants.
Neon Pothos
Neon pothos (Epipremnum ‘Neon’) is one of the most distinct varieties. Its heart-shaped leaves are bright chartreuse or golden yellow in color with no variegation. The newer, younger leaves tend to be brighter than older leaves. The foliage deepens in color with age. To get the best color, grow Neon pothos in bright light. In low-light spots, the color will be duller and darker.
Jessenia Pothos
Jessenia pothos (Epipremnum ‘Jessenia’) displays green, heart-shaped leaves abundantly marked with chartreuse. Like Marble Queen (to which Jessenia is quite similar), every leaf will be different. It’s usually not too hard to tell the difference between Marble Queen and Jessenia when they’re next to each other. The variegation of Marble Queen is much lighter than the limey-green variegation of Jessenia. Jessenia tends to grow more slowly than golden pothos.
Manjula Pothos
Manjula pothos (Epipremnum ‘HANSOTI14’) is another patented variety (PP27,117). It features wide, heart-shaped green leaves. The foliage is variegated with shades of silver, white, cream, and light green. Each leaf is different; many leaves will have large patches of green. Others will be heavily flecked and splashed. With Manjula, there’s typically not a crisp line between the variegated areas – so the creamy areas tend to have spots or speckles of other colors. Another way to tell Manjula apart from other pothos varieties is that the leaves have wavy edges and don’t lay as flat as other pothos do.
Pearls and Jade® Pothos
Pears and Jade® pothos (Epipremnum ‘UFM12’) is an eye-catching variety that sports green leaves variegated with white and silvery-gray. The variegation tends to appear more on the edges of the foliage, rather than the middle. Unlike some other pothos varieties, the white sections of the foliage are often mottled with green and silvery gray tones. Pearls and Jade® pothos tends to have smaller leaves than some of the other varieties and tends to grow more slowly.
Note: Pearls and Jade® pothos was produced by the University of Florida and is a patented (PP21,217) variety.
Baltic Blue Pothos
This clone of Epipremnum pinnatum bears dark green leaves that develop a blue cast to them as they mature. Like other clones of E. pinnatum, this selection readily produces fenestrations (monstera-like cuts in the leaves) if grown in a warm, bright place. Note: Baltic Blue pothos has green foliage with a blue tint, and should not be confused with Cebu Blue, which has silvery blue-green leaves.
Cebu Blue Pothos
Here’s one for the plant collectors! This pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum ‘Cebu Blue’) doesn’t show off variegation on its arrow-shaped blue-green leaves. The foliage often has a bit of a metallic sheen, making it distinct from other pothos types. While the young leaves are vague arrow-shaped, Cebu Blue pothos can produce large, blue-green leaves with natural splits, much like a Monstera. It takes time for the plant to mature and warm, bright conditions to develop this adult-type leaf.
Global Green Pothos
A relatively new variety introduced into the United States, Global Green is a patented selection (PP33,530) that shows off green-on-green variegation. Typically, the leaf margins are dark green with lighter green shades in the center of the leaf. It's perfectly normal, though not necessarily common, for Global Green to bear some leaves that have patches or streaks of white or cream. Note: Costa Farms has been granted exclusive rights to grow Global Green pothos in North America by the plant's breeder and patent holder.
Lemon Meringue Pothos
A flashy mutation found here at Costa Farms sprouting from a single stem of Global Green, Lemon Meringue is also under patent selection (PP34,521P2). It features golden-yellow to light green leaf edges (depending on light levels; brighter light brings more yellow coloring) with medium green centers. As the leaves age, especially in lower light levels, the golden-yellow color fades to green. It's similar to the variety Emerald, which is said to be a mutation of N'Joy Pothos.Note: Costa Farms has been granted exclusive rights to grow in North America.
Look for Costa Farms pothos online or at your favorite local garden center. See our retailer partners.
Written by Justin Hancock
