Marble Queen Pothos: How to Care, Prune & Propagate It
The Marble Queen Pothos is a fantastic and fascinating plant for so many reasons!
Not only it’s a beautiful plant with stunning variegation and colours, it is also an extremely adaptable and hard to kill plant, (that’s where the nick name Devil’s Ivy comes from…).
Native to the Islands of French Polinesia, the Marble Queen Pothos has many benefits for plant newbies, busy people and those who consider themselves black thumbs!
The many benefits and merits of this plant aren’t outweighed by its few negatives;
The Marble Queen Pothos is toxic to pet and humans if ingested. So make sure to keep it away from the reach of pets and curious toddlers.
Devil’s Ivy indeed! as it is highly invasive when planted in non-native areas with a tropical climate. It has no natural enemies and it can overgrow the forest floor quite easily.
It actually caused severe ecological disasters in areas of Sri-Lanka, and it is considered a potential risk for coastal areas of South Africa.
I talked about the Marble Queen Pothos in a few articles before, including “My Top 5 Impossible to Kill Houseplants”, “Top 10 Plants For Your Home Office”, and “The 10 Best Low Light Plants For Your Home and Office”.
All articles listing low maintenance and adaptable plants.
Personally, I have a special relationship with my Marble Queen Pothos as it came in our home as a Workshop product in the shape of a Kokedama Moss Ball.
It has evolved and grown since then, and it has never given me a sign of weakness.
A hardy plant with beautiful foliage that I recommend to anyone!
My Marble Queen Pothos the day it came home from the Kokedama Workshop.
marble queen pothos light
As per my article on the “The 10 Best Low Light Plants For Your Home And Office”, The Marble Queen Pothos adapts quite well to low light environments.
It does well in medium light conditions as well.
However, based on my personal experience, I can say that this plant thrives in bright, indirect light conditions, as long as it is not exposed to direct sunlight.
The Marble Queen Pothos is extremely adaptable and it will do well wherever you place it.
The only difference you will notice based on the amount of light it receives, it’s the foliage colour and variegation.
I had my Marble Queen Pothos in two different light conditions; medium light first and bright, indirect light after.
While it did pretty good in medium light conditions, I noticed that my plant looked so much better when moved to bright, indirect light.
When in medium light conditions, the leaves didn’t have a very distinct variegation and they had a yellow undertone.
When exposed to bright, indirect light, the colours became much brighter giving the variegation a more distinct contrast of white and green, without any yellow undertone.
See the two examples in the pictures below to better understand the difference in light exposure.
While inside the Kokedama Moss Ball, my Marble Queen Pothos was displayed in an area with medium light. You can see how the variegation of the leaves is not as contrasting as it is in the next picture, and how the leaves have a yellow undertone to them.
Once I took the Marble Queen Pothos out of the Moss Ball and planted it into a pot, I placed it on the fireplace mantle, which is right by a North facing window. Within a couple of weeks I was able to notice the change in leaves variegation and colour.
With more light exposure, the variegation has definitely more contrast and the colours are much brighter, going from undertones of yellow to clear contrasts of bright white and green.
marble queen pothos humidity & temperature
This plant is native to tropical regions, and as such, it thrives in higher humidity levels, making it an ideal plant fro bathrooms and kitchens.
However, by now, we know that the Pothos is a very adaptable plant, and it does really well in any average home climate.
Like with any other plant, make sure you keep it away from any drafts, whether they are cold or sources of heat in winter.
If you want to bring it outside for the summer, or if you live in a warmer region with a temperate climate, just make sure the temperature is between 65F/18C and 85F/30C, and always away from direct sunlight.
The more indirect bright light this plant receives, the more contrasting and brighter the variegation of its leaves.
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marble queen pothos watering & Fertilizing
One of the best perks of the Marble Queen Pothos is that it doesn’t need too much water.
In-fact, this plant is best under-watered than over-watered.
The best way to determine if your Pothos needs water is to stick your finger in the soil; if the top 50% of the soil feels dry to the touch it’s time to water.
As a reference, I water mine every two weeks.
It is very forgiving if you forget to water it and it goes 3 weeks without water.
Having said that, it all depends on where you place your plant.
The more light it gets, the more water it needs.
If your Marble Queen Pothos is in a low to medium light area, you can water it every 2 to 3 weeks. If it is in a bright, indirect light area, you may have to water it more often.
Just feel the soil. It is your best way to determine when your plant needs to be watered!
I recommend you fertilize your plant once a month between Spring and Fall with a liquid plant food.
These cuttings I pruned off my Marble Queen Pothos are growing in water.
The Marble Queen Pothos can grow in water!
marble queen pothos soil & repotting
This plant can grow in pretty much any medium!
I have my Marble Queen Pothos growing in a mix of generic plants potting soil and perlite, and its cuttings growing in water!
You could use a generic potting soil, or a tropical plants potting soil and mix it with some perlite to add drainage.
I generally use a proportion of 4 units of soil to 1 unit of perlite.
It is interesting to know that when my Marble Queen Pothos was inside the Kokedama Moss Ball, I used a mix of Japanese Bonsai soil and peat moss to assemble the moss ball.
The cuttings I obtained by pruning one of its long stems have been growing in water.
So, really, once again, this is a very adaptable plant that does well in any condition!
No matter the soil, the pot, or the light, the Marble Queen Pothos grows fast!
You will need to repot it at least once a year.
I highly recommend you read my article on repotting houseplants as it provides all the useful informations and tips you need to know before repotting plants!
It is critical that you repot your Pothos in Spring.
When inside the Kokedama Moss Ball, the Marble Queen Pothos roots where mixed with Japanese Bonsai soil and peat moss.
Once I planted the Marble Queen Pothos into a pot, I mixed a generic potting soil with perlite to add some drainage.
marble queen pothos pruning
Marble Queen Pothos can be pruned, should be pruned, it’s really good for them!
I hesitated for a long time until I finally convinced myself it was time to prune the long stem/vine trailing off my plant.
It was very long and I was having fun creating all sort of compositions with it.
However, I knew that pruning plants had great benefits, so I finally got the courage to snip off the Rapunzel’s braid!
The results of simply pruning one stem, were incredible!
It is unbelievable how much energy plants put into growing long vines!
When you prune those vines, that energy is diverted into new growth, and WOW!
By simply pruning one stem, my Marble Queen Pothos started growing new stems at the base of the plant and splitting existing stems into two branches, making it into a fuller and lush plant!
Take a look at the photo story below!
Read more about the benefits of pruning indoor plants here.
As you can see from this picture, one of my Marble Queen Pothos’ stems was going across the whole mantle, and then trailing down. Way too long!
Here I am just showing how long was the stem before I pruned it off.
And here is Rapunzel’s braid cut off! 😂
(Later in the article you’ll see I divided that one long stem into 4 cuttings!)
And here is my Marble Queen Pothos with its new hairdo! Much more manageable!
benefits of pruning
These pictures will show you how my Marble Queen Pothos benefited from being pruned.
You’ll see all the new growth both at the base of the plant, and on the stems.
One of the first things I’ve noticed a couple weeks after I pruned my Pothos, was that even the stems that I didn’t prune started to split into two branches. It clearly shows how the plant diverted the energy it was putting into growing that extra long branch into a newer and fuller growth!
New growth started to pop out right at the base of the stem I pruned. These new shoots, are actually new stems, not just leaves. Cutting one long stem has resulted into the growth of multiple new stems at the base of the plant, making for a much fuller plant.
New stems are also branching off from the long stem I pruned.
It is interesting to see how the plant creates new growths at the nodes.
You can see where the stem were cut. No new growth will occur at that end. However, the plant will grow new stems on the closest node to the cut.
marble queen pothos propagating
Propagating Marble Queen Pothos is the by-product of pruning them!
It’s killing two birds with one stone!
I propagated the one stem I pruned off by cutting it into 4 segments (cuttings), and placing them in water to root.
It is important to cut the stems between nodes, which are those parts of the stem with tiny protuberances that will end up being new roots.
If you cut the stems right at the nodes, (protuberances), nothing will grow!
Marble Queen Pothos propagation is that simple!
Cut the long stems off and place them in water to root!
In my case, the stem I pruned was extra long, so I divided it into 4 cuttings.
Those 4 cuttings have been rooting in water for 3 months at the time this article was issued, (see last picture).
Once the roots are formed, you can plant you cutting, which is now a new plant, into a pot filled with soil!.
I recommend to pot at least 3 cuttings together to have a nice and full plant!
Remember the long stem I pruned off from my Marble Queen Pothos?
I then cut it into 4 pieces, (cuttings) to root in water in order to make a new plant with 4 stems.
See how fast roots are forming and grow in water in the next few pictures!
May 13; I placed these 4 cuttings to root in water.
May 27; the first roots and even a new stem are starting to grow.
June 7; the roots continue to grow.
June 28; roots and stems growth 6 weeks after cutting.
August 16; after 3 months roots and stems are fully developed and ready to be planted into a pot with soil.
(These cuttings were ready to be planted in soil 4 weeks ago. However, I like to have fully developed roots before planting).
Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.
I absolutely love Marble Queen Pothos! I have one myself – a baby plant I purchased in spring, and already it’s growing and starting to trail soon! 🌱🪴. Thank you for this article, as it went into depth of the care, pruning og propagation 👍.
Hi thanks for this information! Question, how often do you change the water the pothos sits in to root?
Hello Christine! I change the water once a week.