Snow Queen vs. Marble Queen Pothos Difference and Similarities

Last Updated on October 17, 2022 by Admin

Snow Queen vs. Marble Queen Pothos is one of the common comparisons you’ll hear about. This is probably because of their gorgeous looks.

And while the two plants can look very similar, once you know what to look at, it is easy to differentiate one from the other.

The main difference between the snow queen and marble queen pothos are in the variegation of their leaves.

Snow Queen pothos have green and white color combination with more white portions. In contrast, Marble Queen pothos have green, white and cream colors where green is more dominant.

Additionally, marble queen pothos grow at a faster rate compared to the snow queen pothos. It will also become the bigger plant of the two.

Table of Contents

Snow Queen vs. Marble Queen Pothos Differences

Leaf Colors, Patterns and Shape

The most obvious differences between the snow queen and marble queen pothos are in their leaves.

Both are foliage plants.

As such, it is the appearance, bushiness, color, shape and variegation of their leaves that make them very attractive.

The good news is that differentiating the snow queen from the marble queen pothos is actually easier than comparing some of the other variegated pothos plants.

The thing you want to focus on are their overall colors.

The marble queen pothos is primarily green, with white and cream variegations. Among the 3 colors, the most dominant is the green, although not by much.

The combination of the white and cream can sometimes cover as high as 50% of the leaves.

But if you look at the plant from 3 feet away or farther, the first thing you’ll see is that it is more green than white or cream.

Meanwhile the snow queen pothos is somewhat the opposite.

While it has a similar green and white color scheme, it is the white or white-cream color that is more prominent than the green.

In some cases, you’ll see the white portions cover 80-85% of the leaves.

This is where the plant gets its name snow queen. Its white or whitish appearance makes it unique.

Note that there are a few things to consider when looking at their colors.

With both the marble queen and snow queen pothos, the white sections don’t look like solid blocks as they do with the pothos N’Joy.

With the N’Joy pothos some white portions are completely blocked by the white that you get a solid color

In contrast, both the snow queen and marble queen pothos white parts look like they were formed by adding lots of dots together.

Thus, you’ll see small dots or spots of green in between them.

The other thing to be aware of is that the presence of the white variegation means that the plants produce less chlorophyll.

As such, it is important to ensure that they receive or are positioned somewhere with plenty of light.

This is especially true with the snow queen since there’s more white than green on its leaves.

In low light, the plant will grow slower and won’t be able to produce sufficient food to support itself and its growth.

Additionally, lack of light increases the risk of reverting. This will cause the white parts to turn more green and possibly to the point where the plant develops solid green leaves and loses all its white variegation.

That would be a waste!

Another difference with the leaves, albeit very minor, is their tip.

Both the snow queen and marble queen pothos have heart-shaped leaves. They likewise have pointed tips.

But if you look closely, you’ll notice that the tip of the snow queen pothos is a bit pointier compared to that of the marble queen pothos.

That said, it is much harder to distinguish the two using this method especially since the shape of the leaves of both plants change as they mature.

Instead, focus on the leave colors and variegation. That’s usually the easiest way to tell the two plant’s apart.

New Leaves

The snow queen and marble queen pothos have similarities and differences when it comes to new leaves.

Both feature leaves that look very different from the time they emerge and eventually when the leaves mature.

You’ll see the leaves come out and not look like leaves at all. They are curled and sometimes have odd looking shapes that do not resemble foliage at all.

But don’t worry as the leaves will unfurl and open up in time. Each plant will do so at its own rate.

Additionally, the leaves will start out green for both plants as well.

This can be worrisome especially because you want your snow queen or marble queen pothos to have variegation. That’s they’re crowning glory.

Again, don’t worry as the variegations will start appearing as they develop.

The differences will then become more obvious as they do since there is more white with the snow queen pothos than the marble queen pothos.

However, that may not always be the case.

Why?

While the snow queen pothos normally has more white variegation that the marble queen pothos, the amount of light the plant gets as it grows affects the level of variegation.

Therefore, a marble queen that gets optimal lighting can have more variegation than a snow queen that’s kept in low light.

This makes it very important to choose a location where each plant receives plenty of indirect or filtered light. This will allow them to develop the optimal variegation.

Growth and Development

In terms of growth, the marble queen pothos will grow faster than the snow queen pothos.

That said, the marble queen is by no means a fast grower. But in this case, it does so at a better rate compared to the snow queen.

The main reason for this is because it has more green color.

The green color in its leaves signifies that it produces more chlorophyll.

While chlorophyll is best known for giving leaves their green hue, it has other functions as well.

The most important of which is to collect light from external sources including the sun and artificial grow lights.

The plant then uses the light for photosynthesis where it turns the nutrients, water and air into sugars or food. The sugars are vital as they are what provide the plant energy to push out new growth and maintain the healthy leaves.

As a result, the more chlorophyll the plant produces, the more food and energy it is able to produce for itself.

This also means that it will grow faster than the plant that has less energy.

Since the snow queen has less light collecting chlorophyll, it doesn’t produce as much food which means it isn’t able to grow as fast as the marble queen pothos.

However, the faster growth of the marble queen pothos may or may not be a good thing depending on what you’re looking for in a houseplant.

If you don’t want to regularly have to prune the plant, then the snow queen is probably a better option.

The slower growth means you’ll be trimming it less frequently than the marble queen pothos.

Faster growing plants also need more nutrients and water to sustain the growth. This means a little bit more maintenance on your part as well.

On the other hand, if you’re not the patient type and want to see the fruits of your labor sooner than later, then a faster growing plant is ideal.

Again, the difference in growth rate of the two plants can be a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for.

Color of their Petioles

Petioles are the part of plant that connects the stem to the leaf. With most plants, petioles are usually green in color.

However, they colors of petioles can vary for each plant.

Sometimes it is the petiole of a plant that helps you distinguish it from a very similar looking plant.

And such is a case with the snow queen and marble queen pothos.

The marble queen pothos’ petioles are green in color.

In contrast, the snow queen pothos’ petioles are lighter in color. The actual hue can vary though.

In some cases, it is closer to a cream or white color. But in most cases it will usually be a light green or light green-yellow color that’s close to cream.

Either way, by looking at the colors of the leaves and the petioles, you’ll be able to tell the difference between the marble queen and snow queen pothos.

Growth Habit, Rate and Size

Both the snow queen and the marble queen pothos are vining plants.

As such, they will eventually develop long stems wherein many leaves will grow out of each of these stems.

Thus, they feature a lot of smaller leaves compared to some other houseplants which have fewer but very large leaves.

The beauty of both the marble queen and snow queen pothos is that their long vines let you display them in many ways.

As the plants get bushier, the combination of green and white color makes the long stems look stunning as well.

One thing to note is that both plants are natural climbers. And they are vigorous climbers at that.

Therefore, if left untrimmed over time, the long vines will spread upward, downward or the sides depending on how the plants are displayed.

Because they like to climb, they both will reach their optimal size indoors when given a pole or vertical structure to climb up on.

That said, many growers will allow their long stems to drape down from hanging baskets as well.

In both cases, the snow queen and marble queen pothos are allowed to grow longer. And you don’t need to trim them as often either.

One difference between the two plant is their size.

Indoors, the marble queen pothos can grow to between 5 to 6 feet. In contrast, the snow queen is a smaller plant that usually maxes out between 3 to 4 feet long.

Combined with its faster growth, this does mean that you’ll likely need to do more repotting with the marble queen pothos compared to the snow queen pothos.

Repotting gives the plant the ability to keep growing when it outgrows its current container.

Of course, you can also opt to keep both plants more compact.

This works just as well if you’re not a fan of very long stems. By pruning the longer vines regularly, you can let both plants stay compact and bushy.

This makes them take up less space. But at the same time, the fullness will feature the lovely combination of green and white colors.

Snow Queen vs. Marble Queen Pothos Similarities

Aerial Roots

One of the similar features of both the snow queen and marble queen pothos is that they both have aerial roots.

Aerial roots are not present in all plants.

But pothos do have them just like philodendron and monstera plants have aerial roots as well.

Note that aerial roots are not the same as soil roots.

Instead of growing under the plant into the soil, aerial roots stay above the soil. And they grow at the base of the plant.

You can easily tell the difference between aerial roots and regular roots by their appearance and texture.

Normal roots are firm yet flexible. They are white in color when healthy.

In contrast, aerial roots become woody and firm.

Some people love the look aerial roots give while others hate how they look.

Additionally, aerial roots don’t function the same way as terrestrial roots do. Regular roots keep the plant stable in the soil and give it foundation.

They also absorb water and nutrients.

Aerial roots are there to get more moisture from the air since pothos like humidity.

More importantly, pothos use aerial roots to cling onto and climb up trees, trunks and other large plants. This lets them attach themselves to go up objects too.

In doing so, they are able to go higher in their natural environment to receive more sunlight.

Absence of Sheaths

Taxonomy

Another similarity between the marble queen and snow queen pothos is that they are both classified under the Epipremnum aureum species.

In fact, all pothos as considered Epipremnum aureum.

This puts them in the same family as Monstera, Philodendron, Anthurium, Alocasia, Caladium, Peace Lilies and Aglaonema plants.

All of these are considered aroids as they belong to the Araceae family.

So, how can you tell between the different types of pothos?

Like all plants, each pothos variety has common names and a botanical or scientific name.

Both marble queen pothos and snow queen pothos are common names.

Scientifically, they are labeled as Epipremnum aureum ‘Marble Queen’ and Epipremnum aureum ‘Snow Queen’, respectively.

This way you can tell that they are pothos plants. At the same time, you can identify each one with a different name.