Native to French Polynesia, Marble Queen Pothos (POH-thows) are easy to care for and undemanding. A popular houseplant widely grown for its creamy white and green variegated foliage. Epipremnum aureum (ep-ih-PREM-num AW-re-um) is its botanical name, but commonly referred to as Marble Pothos, Devil’s Ivy, or Money Plant.
The Marble Queen Pothos is a popular plant in the hardy pothos family. A tropical aroid vine in the family Araceae (a-RAY-see-ee). They can grow in any type of light, even under a fluorescent light, making them perfect for home or office. I personally have them in my bedroom on a shelf, in my kitchen, and family room. All pothos plants are considered to be air purifiers and are efficient at cleaning the air of harmful chemicals (formaldehyde, trichloroethene, toluene, xylene, and benzene).
Water
Water every 1-2 weeks, allowing the soil to dry out between watering.
Light
Thrives in medium to bright indirect light, but can tolerate low indirect light.
USDA Zone
2-11
Temperature
Prefers warmer temperatures between 65°F – 85°F (18.3°C-29.4°C).
Soil
Pothos prefer slightly damp soil. Soil should not stay saturated with water.
Fertilizer
Liquid fertilizer diluted at half strength, once a month.
Size
36-60 inches tall/ 22-26 inches wide
Scientific Name
Epipremnum aureum ‘Marble Queen’
Common Name
Marble Queen Pothos, Devil’s Ivy, Solomon Islands Ivy, Hunter’s Robe, Taro Vine, Money Plant, Ceylon creeper, Ivy arum
Pronunciation
ep-ih-PREM-num AW-re-um
Pests
Mealybugs, thrips
Flower
Does not flower in cultivation. In the wild, flower stalks with a cream spathe marked with purple surround the spadix.
Toxicity
Toxic to humans and animals if ingested
Pothos are arguably the most popular houseplant. Like other closely-related aroids, their leaves will change in shape with age (similar to a Monstera). The leaves can be found in the wild sprawled out along the ground and climbing up trees. With its long cascading vines, it makes a beautiful table or hanging plant. It can be trained to grow on a pole or trellis.
Pothos have the ability to spontaneously generate variegation, which has led to several cultivars of variegation and color – marble, classic jade, golden, and neon. All members of the pothos family have glossy, heart-shaped, leathery leaves but in different colors. The Golden pothos are yellow and green, Jade pothos are solid green, Neon pothos are lime green, and Marble Queen pothos are green and white.
View more pothos varieties with pictures here.
Watch our Pothos Care Video below or keep reading!
Marble Queen pothos prefer their soil to be kept on the dry side. They are somewhat tolerant of neglect. Water when the top several inches of soil has dried out. Typically this will be every 1-2 weeks depending on your climate. Increase the frequency with increased light. Be sure to allow the soil to dry out between waterings. If in doubt, be sure to use a moisture meter or wait for the leaves to become soft and droop a tad before you water.
Keep a close eye on the leaves. If you notice the edges getting brown and dry then you’re underwatering. Bright yellow leaves mean the plant has gotten a bit too dry before you watering. Black leaves or yellow leaves with soggy soil indicate overwatering. Variegation in the leaves is often lost in lower light levels. A plant in low light needs less water and fertilizer than the same plant in bright light.
Marble Queen Pothos thrive in medium to bright indirect light, but can tolerate low indirect light. However, given their tropical nature they look better and grow faster in medium to bright indirect light. When the light is too low, the white variegation on the leaves can revert to green on the new growth. You will get better results with the variegation if you grow Marble Pothos in brighter light. Only the green parts of the leaves can make energy for the plant. Therefore, in low light the leaves will compensate for the lack of light by turning green.
Be sure to avoid direct sunlight as the leaves are subject to sunburn. Place her in a room that gets a medium amount of natural light, or even in an office or bathroom that gets low light. Use a grow light if needed during times of very low light conditions. Rotate the plant occasionally to encourage even growth.
Marble Queen pothos prefer warmer temperatures between 65°F – 85°F (18.3°C-29.4°C). Leaves may be damaged if the temperatures drop below 55°F (12.8°C). Therefore, cold temperatures should be avoided. It survives winters indoors at room temperature with no trouble. Outdoors in warm tropical climates, it is grown as ground cover. She will readily scramble up a tree or a wall, growing several feet tall with dramatic large leaves.
Marble Queens will do well with basic indoor levels of humidity. 40% – 60% works well, but she prefers slightly higher humidity levels. When you grow Marble pothos indoors during colder months, watch out for brown leaf tips which indicate air dryness.
Well-draining soil is essential for keeping Pothos happy. If your plant is left sitting in water, it’s susceptible to rot and fungal diseases. Add pumice or perlite to the soil to help increase extra drainage and be sure to pick a pot with a drainage hole. I also like adding coarse sand with perlite to commercial potting soil for a 2:1:1 ratio.
Pothos need to be repotted every few years to avoid compacted soil. Repot during the summer when the soil is dry. Start by gently brushing the soil off the roots. Inspect the roots for rot or other problems that are usually underground. Place in fresh well-draining soil and hold off on watering for a few days. This will allow the roots to get comfortable and heal from any damage during transfer.
Feed monthly with a liquid fertilizer diluted at half strength. Remember that you fertilize only in growing months and completely cut back in winter. Under fertilizing is better than over fertilizing.
People grow Marble Pothos indoors for its air purifying properties but strangely enough, it is toxic and non-ingestible for pets and humans. All pothos are toxic to humans and animals. It can lead to oral irritation and severe burning of the mouth. In addition, it might lead to vomiting, lack of appetite, and drooling. Visit ASPCA for more detailed info or call ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.
Marble Pothos care requires regular pruning to prevent the vines from getting leggy. Trim long vines every few months to keep your plant full and bushy. Remove any discolored leaves and stems with pruning shears or sharp garden scissors for a clean look. You can use the stem clippings to easily start new plants. This is the easiest way to propagate your pothos plant.
These are some of the easiest plants to propagate. I prefer my pothos plants to be full and bushy. To do so, I trim longer vines just before the growing season. Use stem cuttings to start new plants in the same pot. You can also twist back long vines into the pot. Use floral pins to hold the vines in place. Pinned stems will eventually root. Later, you can remove the pins.
Propagate Marble Queen Pothos Stem Cuttings
Stem Cuttings are a very simple way to propagate Marble Queen pothos and other pothos varieties. To remove stem cuttings be sure to have sharp pruning shears or garden scissors. Choose a strong healthy vine from the Marble Pothos mother plant. Cut the stem with 2-4 nodes and a terminal.
Remove leaves at the bottom to expose the nodes leaving only the leaves at the terminal. Plant cuttings back in the mother pot or in a new pot. If planting in soil, be sure it is well -draining. Marble Pothos cuttings are prone to rotting before rooting.
Rooting hormone is not needed, but it will speed up root growth. Place stem with at least one node well under the soil. Gently press down the soil for support. Keep the pot in a bright spot. But, away from direct sun. Water well and keep the soil moist until the cutting is established. This should take approximately 1 – 2 weeks depending on your climate.
Propagate Marble Queen Pothos in water
You can also propagate Marble Queen Pothos in water. Follow the steps above for cutting removal. Instead of placing it in soil, place it in a container with water. I like to use glass jars or antique milk bottles. Select a jar that is deep enough that the bottom two nodes of the cutting are under water but the terminal leaves are out. Place your cutting in the jar filled with clean water.
An option I like is to add a few pieces of activated charcoal or activated carbon to the bottle. This helps with the algae that may build up on the bottom of your bottle. Change the water every one to two weeks. New roots should sprout from the nodes submerged in water after 1 – 2 weeks. Water propagation is one of my favorite methods and you can read more tips here.
Transfer the cutting to soil once the roots are about an inch or two long. Or, you can let it grow in water. If you decide to keep the Marble pothos cutting in water, use a balanced liquid fertilizer (diluted at half strength) to feed your plant. Fertilize your plant once every month.
Pothos do not flower in cultivation. Houseplants typically only grow in only the juvenile phase. Flowering occurs only in the mature phase. In the wild, pothos plants produce a number of erect flower stalks together, each with a cream spathe marked with purple surrounding the spadix.
Be wary of overwatering your Pothos, which is the number one killer of houseplants. Overwatering kills plants much faster than underwatering. Symptoms of overwatering include yellow, mushy leaves that easily fall off. Remedy this issue by removing the plant from the overwatered soil and place it in fresh well-draining soil. Hold off on watering for a week or so. If you still aren’t sure of when to water, a moisture meter will take out the guesswork.
Underwatering is harmful to pothos, but much easier to fix. Give your plant a good drink and it will usually perk up. When underwatered, the leaves will wilt. They can also send out air roots. Read more about air roots here.
Etiolation is a common, but easily preventable problem with plants. When the plant isn’t getting enough sunlight, it stretches toward the sun. If you don’t keep your pothos in a bright location, it will grow stretched and less attractive than its typical compact form.
Once stretched out, it will not return to its original look. Propagate the stem as mentioned above to give it a second chance. This can also help increase your collection size.
What's in a name?
Pothos are often mistaken for philodendron and vice versa. Probably because they both belong to the arum family or aroids. There’s also scindapsus pictus varieties that the houseplant community considers as pothos. This is likely because in the early 1900s, pothos were classified as Scindapsus Aurea. The current classification of Pothos is Epiprenum Aureum.
Pothos have a collection of names, just like any other plant. One of them, Devil’s Ivy, was given for how quickly it can grow without being killed. In fact, it is so resilient that it will stay green even when deprived of light.
All pothos plants do not require a lot of maintenance. Mealybugs or thrips may be the biggest pest threat to your pothos. Although, they are generally free of pests. Inspect your plants regularly. If signs of mealy bugs appear in the form of a white cottony web or disfigured leaves, be sure to eradicate them immediately. These small white scale insects drink the sap out of plants and secrete honeydew that attracts ants. A Q-tip dipped in alcohol or a spray from an organic pest killing soap will do the trick. Read my complete post on mealybugs eradication here.
Pothos Diseases
Bacterial Leaf Spot Disease causes dark spots with yellow halos. Keeping the leaves dry helps prevent bacterial diseases. Root rot and stem rot fungal diseases cause stems and roots to become mushy and die. These problems need to be treated with a commercial Fungicide and correcting how you are watering the plant.
Sunburned Pothos
Brown spots may appear on your pothos. These are most likely from sunburn. Move your plant out of direct heat to prevent further damage. Learn how to save your sunburned plants here.
Pothos has several different varieties:
Classic Jade pothos
Marble Queen
Golden pothos
Neon pothos
Snow Queen pothos
NJoy pothos
Satin pothos
Silver Splash pothos
Pearls and Jade Pothos
Cebu Blue Pothos
Are Marble Queen Pothos toxic to cats? According to the ASPCA, they report that Pothos are toxic to dogs and cats. This plant contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals similar to other plants in the Araceae family. Chewing or biting into this plant will release these crystals causing tissue penetration and irritation of the mouth and GI tract. Pets that consume any part of the plant may exhibit vomiting, pawing at the mouth, lack of appetite, and drooling. In addition it can lead to oral irritation and severe burning of the mouth. If ingested, they will become sick yet will won’t die. Keep your critters away from ingesting this plant. It is also poisonous for humans and its sap leads to skin irritation as well as vomiting when ingested. Kids should steer clear on pothos a well.
Marble queen vs Golden pothos? Traditional Golden Pothos have heart-shaped leaves that are mostly green. A mixture of green and white colors are splashed about unevenly to give it more of that creamy gold appearance. Just as with the traditional variety, Marble Queen leaves are heart-shaped with a blend of green and yellow pigmentation. The difference lies in the shape of the leaf, which is typically narrower. The yellow mottling tends to also be more scattered rather than in blocks.
Does Epipremnum aureum flower? Flowering occurs only in the mature phase. In the wild, pothos plants produce a number of erect flower stalks together, each with a cream spathe marked with purple surrounding the spadix. Pothos do not flower in cultivation. Houseplants typically only grow in only the juvenile phase.
Does Marble Queen Pothos purify air? Marble Pothos are great for air filtration. These plants have purifying properties that help remove common household toxins from the air. They do this by absorbing the toxins inside of their leaves. The NASA studies on indoor pollution done in 1989 recommends 15 to 18 plants in 6 to 8-inch- diameter containers. Cleans the air in an average 1,800 square foot house.
Why is it called Devil’s Ivy? Devil’s Ivy was given as a nickname because it is so hard to kill. In fact, it is so resilient that it will stay green even when deprived of light.
Can you grow Marble Queen Pothos in water? Yes! Pothos are a great choice for hydroponic growing. Be sure to change the water every other week to ensure your plant gets a fresh supply of nutrients from the water. Plus, algae will build-up over time as a result of exposure to sunlight. Put a drop of hydrogen peroxide to oxygenate the water and to prevent the risk of fungal infection. Activated charcoal is also a great addition to help with algae build-up.
How do you keep pothos leaves clean? Wipe down the leaves with a soft damp cloth. The moisture helps humidify leaves, and you also remove dust to restore the glossy appearance to the plant’s leathery leaves. Clean leaves will also photosynthesize better as well.
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