Snow queen pothos (Epipremnum aureum ‘Snow Queen’) plants can make a beautiful and elegant addition to any room with bright light. They are easy to care for and propagate and can grow as a hanging or climbing plant.
In this guide, I’ll discuss how to care for your snow queen pothos and outline the steps for propagation.
Also, I’ll answer some questions I’m commonly asked about snow queen pothos plants.
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Let’s first start with the most common question and source of confusion about snow queen pothos:
What is the difference between Snow Queen and Marble Queen Pothos?
The only difference between snow queen and marble queen pothos is the variegation. Otherwise, they are essentially the same plant (with the same care requirements).
Snow queen pothos is predominantly white with green speckled variegation (pictured below).
photo credit: foreverplanty
PS: Love the boho tapestry wall decor in this picture? Me too! You can buy the tapestry here!
On the other hand, marble queen pothos has a more even split between green and white/cream variegation. Or sometimes it’s leaves will be predominately green with cream speckled variegation. (Pictured below)
Note that some countries (such as Australia) refer to both of these plants as marble queen pothos. So, it also depends where you live.
If you have a snow queen pothos and want it to keep its predominantly white color, make sure your plant gets plenty of bright, indirect sunlight.
If you place your plant in an area with lower light, new growth might revert back to a more green color like the marble queen. This is because the green parts of the leaves photosynthesize the light. So, in low light conditions, the plant needs greener leaves to survive.
How to care for Snow Queen (or Marble Queen) Pothos
The care requirements are the same for both snow queen and marble queen pothos. I will mostly reference snow queen pothos going forward, but just know that this guide can also be used for marble queen pothos.
Here’s a quick summary of the proper snow queen pothos care:
- Light: Bright, indirect sunlight. Try placing your snow queen in front of an east- or west-facing window. A few hours of direct sunlight is fine, just try to avoid all-day direct sunlight.
- Water: Water your snow queen pothos once the soil has mostly dried out from your last watering.
- Soil: Choose a soil that can hold moisture but is well draining. I like to mix 2 parts indoor potting soil with 1 part perlite.
- Temperature: While your snow queen pothos can tolerate temperatures of 50 to 90°F, ideal temperatures are 60 to 80°F.
- Fertilizer: Your snow queen doesn’t necessarily need fertilizer, but applying dyna-gro fertilizer every couple months during the growing season can help it grow faster and more full. Don’t fertilize during winter.
- Propagation: Snow queen pothos propagation can be easily achieved via cuttings. We’ll describe this process later in this article!
- Toxicity: All pothos can be toxic to cats and dogs if chewed/ingested.
Now, let’s dive deeper into all the details of snow queen pothos care and propagation!
Snow queen pothos lighting requirements
Snow queen pothos require bright, indirect sunlight. This is especially important for the snow queen cultivar because of it’s light color, as mentioned previously.
If this plant is placed in low-light conditions, new growth will likely turn more green (similar to the marble queen cultivar).
A couple hours of direct sunlight is ok, but you should avoid prolonged/all-day direct sunlight on your snow queen pothos because it will burn the leaves.
If the sun shines directly into your window most of the day (such as a south-facing window), you can either move your snow queen further away from the window or place a shear curtain over the window to filter the light.
When to water snow queen pothos
How often you need to water your snow queen pothos will vary depending on the type of pot, amount of light and humidity, temperature, season, etc.
The best time to water your snow queen pothos is once the soil has mostly dried out from your last watering.
You can determine whether the soil is dry by using a few different techniques:
- Stick your finger into the soil down to your second knuckle. If the soil feels dry, it’s probably time to water.
- Feel the weight of your plant after you water vs when the soil is dry. Your snow queen will feel much lighter when the soil is dry, so you can use the weight to gauge whether your plant needs water.
- Use a moisture meter. Stick the meter into the soil in different locations and at different depths to get a good sense of how wet or dry your soil is. If the meter is reading “dry” throughout the soil, then it’s time to water.
- If the soil becomes overly dry for too long, the leaves on your pothos plant will start to droop and look very sad. If that happens, it’s definitely time to water.
When it’s time to water your snow queen pothos, give it a good soak and allow the excess water to drain out of the drainage holes in your pot. These plants don’t like to sit in soggy soil, as this could lead to root rot.
Then, let the soil dry out again before your next watering. Note that you will likely have to water more in the summer than in the winter.
Best soil for snow queen pothos
Snow queen pothos grow best in a soil that can hold moisture but is well draining.
Pothos aren’t super picky about the type of house plant soil, so any house plant mix will do, but I like to add perlite to the mix for better drainage.
So, I use a mixture of 2 parts house plant soil and 1 part perlite for my pothos plants and have had great results.
Once the roots of your snow queen pothos have filled it’s current container, it’s time to repot your plant in the next size up container with fresh soil. This will likely happen every 12-18 months depending on the conditions.
Avoid using a container that’s too large compared to the root ball of your pothos, because this could allow access water to remain in the soil and cause root rot. A container that’s around 2 inches larger than the previous container will work well.
Protip: Avoid repotting your pothos in the winter, as they are usually dormant and prefer to be undisturbed. When needed, repot in the spring or summer for the best results.
How often to fertilize snow queen pothos
Snow queen pothos don’t require much feeding, but fertilizing your plant every 2 months during the growing season (spring to summer) can help your pothos grow faster and more full.
I highly recommend using dyna-gro 9-3-6 fertilizer, as I’ve had great results with it.
Be sure to follow the instructions on your fertilizer.
Protip: You won’t need to fertilize your snow queen right after you buy it or right after you repot, as it likely already has the nutrients it needs. Wait a couple months to allow your plant to acclimate to it’s new environment, and then consider feeding it (but note that your plant will still do ok without fertilizer).
How to propagate snow queen pothos
Snow queen pothos (and all pothos plants) can be either water propagated or soil propagated. The propagation procedure is the same for all pothos plants and is outlined below:
(Note that I’m demonstrating this with my marble queen because my snow queen wasn’t ready to be cut. The process is the same for all pothos though.)
- Cut your snow queen pothos leaf stem about an inch above and below the node (shown below). You’ll need at least one node for propagation (a leaf without a node can’t produce new growth). I used these trimming shears.
If you want a really full looking plant, I recommend doubling the amount of node cuttings based on the size pot you plan to use. For example, if you’ll use a 4 inch pot, cut at least 8 leaf nodes. For a 6 inch pot, cut at least 12 leaf nodes. In my case, I cut 16 leaf nodes for a 6 inch pot. You can also follow this same process for a cutting that has multiple leaf nodes. - For water propagation, stick the cut ends into a small container with water. Make sure the water level is high enough so the nodes are covered by the water. I used a pickle jar, but if you’d like a stylish display for your cuttings, I really like this propagation station.
Keep the cuttings in bright indirect light (no direct sunlight). You should see new root growth from the nodes in about a month, and they will be ready to plant in soil once the roots are about an inch or two long (about 2 months, as shown above). - After you plant the rooted node cuttings in soil (shown above), keep the soil moist for the first month while your plant adjusts to the transition from water to soil. Then, you can treat it like any other pothos and let the soil dry out between waterings. You’ll eventually see new leaves and stems sprouting from each leaf node that you planted.
- For soil propagation, you can follow step 1 above, but then skip step 2 and instead plant the cuttings directly in soil. Keep the soil moist until the cuttings develop roots. In my experience, I’ve had better success with most or all nodes surviving when using the water propagation process first. Soil propagation does work as well, but I almost always have some nodes that die.
As for your parent plant, don’t worry about the stems you trimmed from it. New growth will come from the node above where you cut your parent plant, so it’s cut stems will not be affected and will continue to put out new growth.
Also, trimming your parent plant will encourage new growth throughout the plant and helps it become more full as long as its care needs are being met.
Related snow queen pothos questions
Is snow queen pothos toxic to cats and pets?
Pothos plants (both Scindapsus and Epipremnum) are poisonous to cats and dogs according to the ASPCA.
Pothos contain insoluble calcium oxalates that can cause mouth irritation and burning, excessive drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing if chewed or ingested.
So let’s keep both our pet and plant babies happy and healthy by keeping the two out of reach.
Why is my snow queen pothos turning brown?
There are a couple reasons why the leaves on your snow queen pothos are turning brown. The first thing to remember is that it is natural for some leaves to turn brown and die here and there as the plant grows and matures. But if you think an excessive amount of leaves are turning brown, here are some reason why this could be happening:
- Underwatering. While pothos like to dry out between waterings, if you leave the soil dry for too long, your pothos plant will begin to suffer. The leaves will begin to droop and eventually turn brown.
If your pothos has been underwatered, give it a good soak and allow the excess water to drain from the drainage holes. These are hardy plants, so as long as you continue to water it properly going forward, it should recover and you can simply trim off the brown leaves. - Direct sunlight. If your snow queen pothos is exposed to direct sunlight for too long, the leaves will burn and turn brown. Pothos prefer bright, indirect sunlight.
If your pothos is in a location where the sun shines directly onto the plant for more than 2 hours, then move it back a bit from the window or put a shear curtain over the window to filter the sunlight. - Overwatering or Overfertilization. If the leaves on your snow queen pothos develop brown spots, then it could either be overwatered or overfertilized. You should let the soil dry out between watering, as it’s not healthy for pothos roots to be sitting it soggy soil.
If you think you may have overfertilized your pothos, run lots of water through the soil and out of the drainage holes to flush the excess fertilizer and salts. Then don’t fertilize your plant until you see signs of recovery, such as new healthy growth.
