Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is easy to grow and there are many different cultivars to choose from. Native to southeastern Asia, they are considered an invasive exotic in some parts of the country. But wherever you live, every type of pothos makes a great indoor plant, particularly when grown in a hanging basket.
Snow Queen and Marble Queen pothos are both popular cultivars and very similar in many ways. The main difference between them is their leaf color. Also, Marble Queen grows faster than Snow Queen pothos, and it can get a lot bigger. Marble Queen prefers a little more light, though both like indirect sunlight rather than full sun.
What is a Snow Queen Pothos?
Snow Queen pothos (Epipremnum aureum Snow Queen) is one of the most appealing pothos cultivars grown as indoor plants. It gets its name from its distinctively white and snowy foliage, which has patches and speckles of a light green color.
Like other pothos plants, its leaves are heart-shaped, but instead of being green with white variegations, it tends to be white with green variegations.
While similar in many ways to other pothos plants, Snow Queen pothos grow a little more slowly and are easier to maintain in a compact form. This is because there is less chlorophyll (which is the green color in the leaves and stem) in the plants.
The color difference could be as much as 80% white or cream vs 20% a light green color.
Snow Queen is available from garden centers and some hardware stores. If you can’t find them in your area, they are also available online directly or via an affiliate advertising program designed to publicize pathos and other plants.
What is a Marble Queen Pothos?
Marble Queen pothos (Epipremnum aureum Marble Queen) is a very common type of pothos. Developed from the Golden pothos, its heart-shaped leaves are the same sort of shape and size as Golden pothos but its leaves have more cream in them.
It’s one of the most versatile indoor plants for beginners because it’s easy to grow and almost impossible to kill! It is also remarkably easy to propagate from stem cuttings – but then this is true for all pothos plants, including Snow Queen.
Unlike Snow Queen, Marble Queen pothos has variegated leaves with marble-like patterns. Their leaves are often more cream-colored than green, and the white variegation patterns give the effect of random marbling.
Because its leaves have considerably more chlorophyll than Snow Queen leaves, Marble Queen grows faster. It is a low-maintenance pot plant that will look great in most indoor locations.
You can buy it via the same outlets as Snow Queen including an affiliate advertising program designed to publicize pathos.
Difference Between a Snow Queen vs Marble Queen Pothos?
Even though these two pothos plants are similar in many ways, they have distinct differences. Visually, their color and variegated lines and patches are different. Their growth rate is also different.
Let’s look at their differences and similarities in more detail.
Foliage
The primary difference between Snow Queen and Marble Queen pothos is the foliage. While their leaves are a similar size and both heart-shaped, the leaf tips of Snow Queen plants are sharper than those of Marble Queen.
When the leaves start unfolding, they look the same on both types of pothos. They are simply a green color.
As the plants mature, they start to get features that show the differences in their foliage.
Marble Queen leaves are more cream-colored than Golden pothos, but a lot greener than the leaves of Snow Queen. The ratio of green and white with Marble Queen is about 50:50, but with Snow Queen, 70-80% of the leaf color is white.
Also, the “white” on Marble Queen leaves is not as pure and it’s more creamy in color. The green is also darker.
Light
Generally, pothos plants thrive best in indirect sunlight. It makes perfect sense since in their natural state pothos grow on the forest floor where the light filters through the canopy of trees above it.
Because of its lack of chlorophyll, Snow Queen doesn’t absorb and convert sunlight the way Marble Queen does. But the less green and more white or creamy color there is in Snow Queen’s leaves, the more sunlight it needs.
Generally, brighter light will increase variegated leaf patterns.
Water
Both Snow Queen and Marble Queen pothos need minimal watering. It’s important that their roots don’t sit in water or they are likely to develop root rot.
Whichever cultivar you choose to grow, allow the soil to dry out before watering. Stick your finger into the soil and if it feels dry, give it water.
Like all pothos plants, it’s best to drench the plants rather than water them just a little bit each time. Then, allow the soil to dry out completely before you water again.
Fertilizer
Pothos don’t usually need fertilizer, but you can feed it occasionally to boost the color of its leaves and encourage it to produce dense foliage. Choose a product that has equal quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Organic fertilizers with 10% of each usually work well, but don’t overdo it. If you do decide to fertilize, only do it during the growing season and not during the fall and winter when the plants are dormant.
Avoid slow-release products that usually come in pellet form. Liquid fertilizer products are more reliable because you can gauge how much of the nutrients your plants are getting.
The caveat is that you’re more likely to harm your pothos plants by over-fertilizing than by not feeding them. If their leaves start to curl or turn yellow, you are probably over-feeding them.
Worm castings, which you can buy from garden centers, are a great, safe option for pothos grown in soil. What they do is nourish the soil
Temperature & Humidity
Pothos are accommodating when it comes to temperature and they will do well as long as it doesn’t drop much below 65℉ or get any hotter than 85℉.
Neither type is picky in terms of humidity, but if you want to increase it, fill a small tray with pebbles and water and place your pot on top. Alternatively, you can use a plant humidifier.
Container
Pothos grow naturally in tropical forests, but because they become invasive if left to grow in a natural outdoor environment, it’s best to grow them in containers.
Any container will work as long as it is compatible with the size of the root ball – ideally about an inch in diameter larger. It is also essential to ensure containers have sufficient drainage holes because their roots will rot if they sit in waterlogged soil.
Root rot is a killer!
Soil
Pothos grows best in soil that has a neutral pH between about 6.0 and 6.5. It’s essential that it drains well.
For years peat moss has been recommended as an ideal potting mix. Sometimes the peat moss is mixed with perlite to further aid drainage.
But in recent years, there has been increased debate on the sustainability of peat moss. This is because it is mined from the depths of bogs where it has formed over thousands of years.
Most of the peat moss sold in the U.S. comes from Canada and Canadian peat companies maintain it is a renewable source. Many experts disagree saying that bogs don’t regenerate unless only part of the peat layer is stripped away and the bog ecosystem reclaimed.
According to the University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science, it takes 15-25 years to form about an inch of peat.
They say that Sphagnum moss, on the other hand, is a living plant that grows on top of these bogs. It is more commonly used to line hanging baskets, including those used for growing pothos.
The value of peat moss is that it retains oxygen and moisture but doesn’t get heavy or waterlogged. But there are other options including good quality compost mixed with wood chips and coarse gravel.
Coconut coir is another option. It is also used for hanging baskets.
Pests & Diseases
Mealybugs, scale, aphids, and spider mites are the most likely pests to attack pothos plants. What attacks a Snow Queen is just as likely to attack a Marble Queen.
But there is some evidence that Snow Queen is more susceptible to fungal spore disease than any other type of pothos. This shows up as brown spores on the leaves.
Conclusion
Snow Queen and Marble Queen pothos are both great indoor plants that are easy to care for and propagate. They both have heart-shaped leaves but their colorations are very different from one another.
When deciding which of these two you want to grow, it’s a good idea to consider the differences, even though there aren’t many of them. But they probably will make a difference because they look different and the growth rate of each varies.
Caring for these two pothos types is much the same though. So, it might be a tricky choice. Sometimes, people find they opt for whichever type of pothos they can find in their local garden center.
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