Pothos, which is also known as Epipremnum Aureum or devil’s ivy, is one of the easiest plants you can grow.
The devil’s ivy requires low maintenance. It’s also a very tolerant plant, which makes it perfect for beginners.
There are many Epipremnum Aureum varieties out there that you can grow in your household. From the original golden pothos to the one-of-a-kind harlequin, you’ll surely find a plant that’ll get your attention.
Lucky for you, in today’s article, we’ve put together a full list of 12 eye-catching pothos varieties that you need to check out. Let’s get right into it!
12 Popular Pothos Varieties That Every Plant Enthusiast Must Check Out
Most pothos varieties share the same properties, and their requirements are quite similar. So, we’ll be talking mainly about the appearance of each plant.
Here we go!
1 – Golden Pothos
Let’s kick off our list with perhaps the most common pothos of them all: the golden pothos, or as some would call it, the “original pothos.”
Golden pothos is known by many other names, including the devil’s ivy and the devil’s vine, but don’t let those names fool you. The devil’s ivy is a lovely plant with heart-shaped leaves.
The emerald-green leaves are usually streaked with golden-yellow variegation, hence the name.
You can also see the variegation in different colors, like white, cream, and pale green.
The trailing vine is arguably one of the easiest houseplants to grow. That’s why it gained huge popularity among beginners.
2 – Marble Queen Pothos
This vining pothos variety produces impressive foliage with creamy white variegation. Compared to the golden pothos, it has whiter and bigger variegation.
In fact, the marble queen is highly variegated with almost equal amounts of green and white. As a result, it tends to be a slow grower, as it has low amounts of chlorophyll.
Ideally, you want to keep your marble queen in a location where it gets bright, indirect sunlight.
Many people prefer the aesthetically pleasing look of the marble queen, which makes it a popular decorative plant.
3 – Snow Queen Pothos
While often confused with the marble queen pothos, the snow queen is distinguishable from the marble queen. For starters, the snow queen’s leaves have noticeably pointier ends than the marble queen’s.
Also, the snow queen is more variegated, with around 80% white to only 20% green.
More interestingly, the variegation is pure white. You can rarely see any yellowish variegation on the snow queen’s leaves.
Therefore, it grows even slower than the marble pothos. So, if you live in a place with low light conditions, you might need to use LED growing lights to support your plant’s growth.
Other than that, the snow queen requires low maintenance.
4 – Neon Pothos
As the name suggests, a neon pothos has lime-green colored leaves that give a neon-like appearance. Over time, the mature leaves turn emerald-green, which adds more contrast to the colors of the plant.
The leaves are typically non-variegated. However, you can spot some small patches of dark green, which happen due to a gene mutation.
The unique neon plant is native to the tropical Solomon Islands in Oceania. So, they love the warmth and high humidity.
You can train the neon Epipremnum to climb up trellises or let them dangle over your shelves. In any case, their heart-shaped neon leaves are eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing.
5 – Cebu Blue Pothos
This tropical evergreen vine is a variety of pothos native to Cebu Island in the Philippines.
What’s unique about Cebu Blue is that, as the name suggests, the leaves have a bluish tint to them. In the juvenile phase, the leaves look silver or bluish-gray.
When the Cebu Blue matures, the leaves take an elegant greenish hue. In addition, you can see some zigzag division that goes up to the midsection of the leaves.
In some cases, mostly in mature climbing plants, you might spot deep fenestrations, which translates to holes that develop on the leaves.
However, this isn’t a bad thing. Fenestrations add a bold look to the green leaves, and that’s why many growers desire them.
Unlike some variegated varieties, Cebu Blue is a fast grower.
6 – Baltic Blue Pothos
Do you like the idea of fenestrations on your plant? Well, getting a Cebu Blue to fenestrate can be a hassle, but a Baltic Blue can get there quite easily.
Despite being slightly more uncommon than other pothos varieties, it’s still not a rare one.
You might be thinking that it’s native to the Baltic Sea region. Yet, in fact, this plant was released in early 2022 by Costa Farms as a part of their Trending Tropical collection.
Baltic Blue pothos is simply a clone of Epipremnum pinnatum. So, it gets all the hardy properties of the family, as well as being beginner-friendly and easy to grow.
7 – N’Joy Pothos
N’Joy is another recent member of the pothos group. It’s highly variegated with bright white and deep green patches.
The best part about the N’Joy is that each leaf is like a sketch with ink patches. You can end up with spots making the shape of a heart or a butterfly!
The N’Joy leaves are relatively smaller than other Epipremnum, but they tend to be eye-catching. However, due to the variegation and the small size of the leaves, this plant is a slow grower.
The adorable N’Joy is native to the rainforests of French Polynesia in the South Pacific.
8 – Pearls and Jade Pothos
The pearls and jade pothos plant is a result of a genetic mutation to the famous marble queen. However, there are many key differences between them when it comes to appearance.
So, why is it called pearls and jade? The plant has distinctive patchy variegation with some green speckles.
You can spot the variegation in different shades and colors, including creamy white, green, grayish green, and pearl white.
With the foliage it produces, the pearls and jade pothos undoubtedly stands out in the Epipremnum genus.
9 – Glacier Pothos
The glacier pothos shares some similarities in appearance with the pearls and jade Epipremnum, as well as the N’Joy. However, the glacier pothos is still remarkable in its own way.
Glacier pothos tends to have silver or grayish streaking. Additionally, it produces smaller and more rounded leaves.
You can also spot many gorgeous patches of creamy white and emerald green on the leaves.
That, along with the compact size of the plant, makes it a perfect decorative plant to place on an office desk or a coffee table.
10 – Hawaiian Pothos
If you’re looking for a decorative plant with large foliage, you need to check out the Hawaiian pothos.
The leaves are huge on this one! They can grow anywhere between five and 12 inches long.
The dazzling heart-shaped leaves are primarily emerald green, with some dabs and variegation of greenish yellow.
The Hawaiian pothos originates from French Polynesia, and it has a relatively fast growth rate.
11 – Dragon’s Tail Pothos
The dragon’s tail, which belongs to the Epipremnum pinnatum, has a more distinct appearance than other pothos.
At first, the leaves are shiny green and small. When the plant grows, the leaves become elongated and start developing splits, which makes them look like wings or a dragon’s tail.
It’s often confused with the Rhapidora Decursiva, which is also a vining plant.
12 – Satin Pothos
The last plant on our list isn’t an Epipremnum. The satin pothos belongs to the Scindapsus pictus genus.
So, technically it’s not a pothos, but people refer to it as one. It’s also known by many other names, including silver vine and Argyraeus.
It shares many similarities with the Epipremnum family, especially in appearance. Additionally, the Scindapsus pictus is just as easy to grow.
The satin pothos is an evergreen tropical vine with heart-shaped leaves that contain silvery gray splotches.
What Are Some Rare Types of Pothos?
Are you looking for some rare Epipremnum varieties to add to your houseplant collection?
If you’re up to the challenge, here’s a list of some hard-to-find pothos as of 2022:
1 – Manjula Pothos
Often confused with the snow queen, the Manjula is a rare variety of pothos. Some people believe it originated in India, while in fact, it was developed by the University of Florida.
In any case, it has only been in the scene since 2010, and growers love it!
The leaves of the Manjula are heart-shaped with curvy tips. Moreover, you can spot the leaves in different variegated shades of white, green, cream, and silver.
The variegation tends to be more like brush strokes with speckling. This occurs in different patterns and colors.
Many growers end up with leaves looking like stunning abstract paintings.
2 – Harlequin Pothos
The Harlequin is perhaps the rarest pothos variety on our list. However, it’s worth the challenge to find it!
The rare pothos is native to Southeast Asia. While similar to Manjula, the Harlequin leaves tend to have more white variegation.
In fact, a great part of Harlequin leaves is pure white, which gives it a unique, elegant look. It’s hard to spot any cream or yellow coloring on its leaves.
Despite how rare it is, growing the Harlequin is as easy as any pothos. However, it’s crucial that you provide your plant with bright indirect sunlight, or it’ll lose a lot of its white variegation.
3 – Jessenia Pothos
Are you looking for a full-green pothos plant? Well, this one’s for you!
The Jessenia pothos is fairly new on the scene, and it’s a little hard to find.
The Jessenia produces foliage with lime-green variegation. It looks like a paint-splash pattern of dark green and light green variegation.
Each leaf looks different, with many shades of green. You can easily identify Jessenia, as it has no white or yellow variegation.
4 – Global Green Pothos
The global green pothos originates from the South Pacific Island, and it’s gained huge popularity in the past few years.
It’s a fast grower, and it produces one-of-a-kind, green-on-green foliage. The leaves of the global green have an astounding pattern of light green interior and dark green edges.
You can also spot some small silver variegation and patches of cream on its leaves, but these aren’t very common.
Global green is in high demand. In fact, it’s hard to find it in stock most of the time.
5 – Emerald Pothos
Emerald pothos is basically a reversed version of the global green pothos. The middle parts of the emerald’s leaves are dark green, while the edges are light green.
Both plants are almost identical in other aspects, even in size.
How Many Types of Pothos Are There?
The answer to this question might be a little complicated. Overall, there are around 36 varieties of pothos, which belong to the Epipremnum genus in the family Araceae.
Additionally, there are at least 20 Epipremnum plants that are referred to as pothos and are being sold in the market.
Surprisingly, there are also many plants that are referred to as pothos, but they don’t belong to the Epipremnum genus.
For example, the silver satin pothos belongs to the Scindapsus genus and not the Epipremnum, but people still call it a pothos.
To add, many companies around the world develop and patent new varieties of pothos each year, like the Baltic Blue pothos and the Manjula.
As a result, it’s hard to tell the exact number of pothos types.
Pothos Varieties FAQs
Which pothos varieties grow the fastest?
Chlorophyll is a pigment that gives the plant its green color, and it plays a crucial role in photosynthesis. The more variegation the plant has, the less chlorophyll it contains.
So, the rate of growth depends on the amount of variegation the plant has. The greener the plant is, the faster it grows.
That said, we can conclude that high-variegated plants are slow growers, while non-variegated and green-on-green plants are quick growers.
Are all pothos varieties easy to grow?
Yes! All the pothos varieties we’ve mentioned in today’s article are easy to grow and require low maintenance.
Overall, pothos plants are one of the most popular choices among beginners. They’re resilient, tolerant plants, and they can bounce back from almost any situation in no time.
Can I grow more than one pothos variety together?
Pothos plants go well together. They all have similar requirements, as they belong to the same genus.
Therefore, growing two or more pothos varieties together is significantly easier than having various plants with different requirements.
Is there a non-toxic variety of pothos?
Sadly, all pothos plants are toxic. While they’re not fatal to adults, they can be downright harmful to children and pets.
So, you need to keep any pothos plant away from their reach, or you may want to consider growing another non-toxic plant.
Is the heart-leaf plant a pothos?
While often mistaken for one, the heart-leaf plant isn’t a pothos. It’s a philodendron.
Heart-leaf plants and pothos plants both produce heart-shaped leaves.
However, a pothos produces thick, glossy, and often variegated leaves. On the other hand, the philodendron usually comes up with matte, elongated, and non-variegated leaves.
Does a highly-variegated pothos require more care?
All pothos plants require minimal care. However, highly-variegated ones typically require more sunlight.
Otherwise, the plant might lose its beautiful variegation.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve read our guide, you should be familiar with most pothos varieties out there and how each variety is unique in its own way.
While they might have different appearances, they all share one key similarity, which is being relatively easy to grow.
No matter which pothos variety you pick from our list, you’ll undoubtedly face no issues growing it, even if it’s your first plant!
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.