Each plant is unique. Size, shape, fullness, and variegation will vary.
Epipremnum aureum ‘Pearls and Jade’ | Pearls and Jade Pothos
Creamy white variegation scattered with green speckles gives Pearls and Jade a much more detailed pattern than a traditional Golden Pothos. Individual leaves can carry broad white sections, irregular green centers and tiny flecks of green within the lighter areas, so no two leaves develop exactly alike. This cultivar was selected and developed from ‘Marble Queen’ at the University of Florida, giving it a documented history rather than simply being another trade name for a variegated Pothos.
This is a climbing vine even though it is commonly grown trailing from a pot or hanging basket. Each node can produce an aerial root, and when those roots are given a vertical support they can attach to, the plant has the opportunity to produce increasingly larger foliage. Left trailing, Pearls and Jade generally maintains smaller leaves and long flexible vines. It is also naturally more compact and slower growing than a standard Golden Pothos, so do not expect it to move at exactly the same speed.
For natural light indoors, place it 1–3 feet from an east-facing window or approximately 2–4 feet from a west-facing window. It prefers approximately 600–1,200 foot-candles at the leaves. Foot-candles simply tell you how much light is actually reaching your plant. Because portions of each leaf contain little or no green tissue, good usable light helps the remaining green sections support the plant. Stronger light does not create the white variegation. Watch the newest section of the vine instead. Increasingly long spaces between leaves or progressively smaller new leaves can tell you the plant needs more usable light.
Under a grow light, use a full-spectrum 5000–6500K fixture approximately 8–12 inches above the canopy, aiming for 600–1,200 foot-candles at the leaves. If you are growing it upward, move the fixture with the active growing point as the vine climbs. If you are growing it as a trailing plant, make sure the growing ends of the vines remain within useful coverage rather than allowing all of the light to fall only on the top of the pot.
Water when your plant needs watered. Allow it to use a good portion of the available moisture before watering thoroughly again, then allow excess water to drain. Use a loose aroid mix with potting soil or coco coir, chunky orchid bark and coarse perlite or pumice. How quickly the pot dries will change with the amount of foliage, root development, light and season, so use the root zone and the plant rather than a calendar to decide when it is ready.
Watch the newest leaves and the spacing along the vine. Pearls and Jade naturally produces relatively small foliage when grown trailing, so leaf size becomes especially useful when you compare new growth with the growth immediately before it. A vine producing progressively smaller leaves with increasingly long spaces between them gives you a reason to look at light and root health. If you are growing it vertically and the aerial roots are attaching well, you should eventually see the opposite direction, with stronger growth and increasing leaf size.
Success looks like sturdy vines, healthy roots and new leaves continuing to carry that irregular mix of green, cream and white. Some leaves will be greener and others much lighter, and the tiny green speckling within the pale areas is one of the characteristics that makes Pearls and Jade recognizable. Whether you choose to let it trail or give it something to climb, look for steady new growth and leaves that maintain or increase their size.
