Exploring 14 Types of Pothos: From Marble Queen to Albo to Climbing Giants

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Your plant parent story might have started with some humble pothos. It’s forgiving, fast-growing, and honestly, it’s probably the most underrated plant in most of our collections. But there is so much more to the pothos that you might be missing out on. So in this episode, we’re going to talk about pothos way beyond the basics with the help of my plant friend Justin Hancock of Costa Farms.

Justin started in horticultural publishing before joining Costa Farms to assist with their marketing. His role at Costa Farms now involves testing how new plant varieties hold up with different light/watering/environment conditions, and making sure the average person can be successful with them. Let’s dive in!

In this episode, we learn:

[00:00] Why Pothos might be the most underrated plant in your collection
[02:14] Meet Justin Hancock from Costa Farms!
[03:09] Justin’s lifelong plant passion and career path
[04:37] What Justin does at Costa Farms
[05:20] Why Pothos is having a comeback moment
[07:45] Where do pothos come from?
[08:16] Pothos or Epipremnum or... something else? What makes a pothos a pothos?
[09:17] Why pothos is called "Devil's Ivy"
[09:46] Pothos vs philodendron vs scindapsus
[11:50] How do we care for pothos?
[13:05] Indirect light and what plants actually want
[15:24] Moss poles vs. fence planks
[16:03] How to make Pothos look so lush and full
[17:35] What’s the #1 problem with pothos care?
[18:19] What are the different pothos varieties?
[20:19] How do you specifically care for variegated pothos?
[22:26] How Costa Farms discovers new varieties around the world
[24:24] How Shangri-La and Champs-Élysées came to be
[27:18] The trend of fenestrated Pothos is here
[27:49] Rapid-fire matchmaking: which Pothos fits your personality?
[29:57] What is Costa Farms and where to find their plants
[31:04] Where to follow Justin and Costa Farms online

Mentioned in our conversation:

For pothos recommendations based on your plant parent personality,

check out the full show notes and blog here!

Follow Costa Farms:

Follow Maria and Growing Joy:

Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet! Get your FREE 2-week trial here!

Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle)

Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	If you're anything like me, you probably had a humble little potos at the beginning of your
0:04.0	plant-parent journey. It is the best plant. It's forgiving. It's fast-growing. And honestly,
0:09.2	it's probably the most underrated plant in most of our collections. But what if I was to tell you
0:14.4	there is so much more to the humble potos than what meets the eye? We know it as the golden
0:20.7	or marble queen hanging in our kitchen,
0:23.3	but boy, oh boy, are there so many interesting and gorgeous variety that you might be missing
0:28.9	out on? So in today's episode, we are taking a deep dive into the world of Pothos, like way past
0:35.3	the basics. I'm joined by Justin Hancock from Costa Farms.
0:38.9	He's not only one of the nicest plant nerds ever, but he is literally someone who, for his job,
0:44.9	tests new varieties of pothos and other houseplants in his home for living. Yes, that's a real job.
0:49.8	Yes, you will learn more about it. Today we're going to chat about all the different types of
0:54.4	pothos and how to care for them from the classic golden to rare cultivars like lemon meringue,
0:59.4	Shangri-La, even fenestrated versions that are hitting the market. We will also learn how to
1:04.6	differentiate between the cousins, Skindapsis, similar plants with different names. How do you tell them
1:11.3	apart?
1:11.7	You'll know
1:12.0	by the end of
1:12.6	this episode.
1:13.5	Whether you're a
1:14.2	beginner still
1:15.0	figuring out
1:15.8	if it's an
	...

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