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If you want to add some subtle drama to your collection of houseplants, then the Jessenia pothos is perfect for you. This is one plant that quietly expresses its uniqueness. With dark green leaves speckled with a marbled chartreuse pattern, the Jessenia pothos can be an asset to any style of home decor.

What is even better is that Jessenia pothos plants are one of the easiest to manage houseplants. Jessenia pothos care takes a mere few minutes over the course of a month. Even people with the dreaded “black thumb” can manage the care requirements for the Jessenia pothos plant.

Jessenia pothos leaf
Source: jungleoffulton

How do you take care of Jessenia pothos?

Jessenia pothos, like most pothos plants, is classified as an “easy care” plant. Even beginning plant owners can be successful in growing Jessenia pothos. To care for it, water it every seven to ten days, fertilize it occasionally, keep it in correct lighting, and repot the plant as needed.

Jessenia pothos plants are one of those houseplants that are incredibly low maintenance. The plants can thrive on benign neglect and do not mind being ignored most of the time. Jessenia pothos care only takes a few minutes each month.

How often should I water Jessenia pothos?

A good rule of thumb is that you should water your Jessenia pothos every seven to ten days. However, test the dryness of your soil each time as it will depend on the size of the plant, the size of the pot, and the humidity and temperature levels in your house. 

That is, by testing the soil to see how moist it is, you can easily know when to water your pothos.

Keep in mind: The biggest mistake most pothos plant owners make is overwatering their pothos, as this can lead to root rot or fungal disease. Test the dryness of the soil by poking your finger into the potting soil in the pot. If the first inch of soil is dry, it is time to water your Jessenia pothos plant.

Jessenia pothos plants will tell you when to water them. When your Jessenia pothos starts to get a bit wilted, you can water it, and it will perk right up. Water the plant until water comes out of the drain holes in the bottom of the pot and then empty the saucer underneath the pot.

What soil does Jessenia pothos prefer?

Jessenia pothos likes soil with a pH that is slightly acidic. The soil mixture should have a pH between 6 and 7. In addition, any potting soil that is light and well draining will be perfect for your Jessenia pothos

The good news about growing Jessenia pothos is that any potting soil that drains well is great for growing it. You should be able to easily find a good kind of potting soil in which you can grow your Jessenia pothos. This easy to grow plant is not incredibly particular about the kind of soil in which it grows.

person putting soil in a pot

To get the best soil for your pothos with the right pH level, many people successfully use soil that is labeled for succulents or cacti to grow their Jessenia pothos. However, any potting soil that is light and well draining will be perfect for your Jessenia pothos. 

Be sure that you use actual potting soil. Dirt from your garden or yard may compact and keep the roots of your Jessenia pothos too wet or you may bring insects or plant diseases into your home.

When the soil in which your Jessenia pothos is compacted and too wet, the plant’s roots will not get adequate air. Additionally, soil that holds too much water will keep the roots too wet and lead to fungal diseases and possible root rot in your pothos.

What light does Jessenia pothos need?

Like most pothos plants, the Jessenia pothos needs at least four hours of indirect sunlight per day. This plant tolerates a wide variety of sunlight levels. However, the one thing that this plant cannot stand is lots of bright, direct sunlight.

If you put your Jessenia pothos in a place that has too much sunlight, your pothos will quickly develop sunburn. The leaves will get brown and crispy around the edges and will also turn a bit pale. If this happens to you, you should move the plant or put up a curtain or shade to block the harsh sunlight.

If your Jessenia pothos plant begins to lose its variegation, that is a sign that it is not getting enough sunlight. Remember that pothos plants are “low light” plants and not “no light” plants. If your plant is suffering from a lack of light, find a better spot to keep it that has more sunlight.

Find out more: What Are Your Pothos’ Light Needs (So Your Plant Can Thrive)?

Which fertilizer does Jessenia pothos prefer?

Jessenia pothos need a balanced fertilizer. Water-soluble fertilizers are the perfect choice for this plant because you can simply fertilize while watering. You should choose a fertilizer that is 15-15-15 or 20-20-20 to supply all the nutrient needs for your pothos plant.

Pothos plants do not need to be fertilized all year. From spring to fall, simply water in the fertilizer once a month to give your Jessenia pothos the nutrients that it needs to be strong and healthy. Remember that the potting soil is very low in nutrients, so you cannot skip fertilization of your Jessenia pothos plant without hurting your plant.

What humidity and temperature levels do Jessenia pothos like?

Jessenia pothos plants grow wild in tropical jungles, so they really do prefer high humidity levels. However, they can grow in places with lower humidity if you take care of them correctly. They also are not frost tolerant and will only thrive when temperatures are between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Jessenia pothos plants do best in humidity levels of between 50 and 60 percent. To help your plant stay hydrated, you can lightly mist the leaves once or twice a week. Do not spray it so that the leaves are dripping, but instead, a light misting is all that is needed.

The ideal temperature range for the Jessenia pothos is between 60 and 80 degrees. Only move the plant outdoors if temperatures will stay in this range. The plants will die if exposed to even a light frost, so pay close attention to the weather reports if your plant is outside on chilly spring or fall nights.

pothos on a table

When to repot Jessenia pothos?

Jessenia pothos are one of the slower growing pothos, but eventually they do outgrow their pot. Like a child wearing clothing that is too small, a pot-bound pothos will not be healthy. If you notice roots protruding from the bottom of your pot, it is time to repot the plant.

To repot a Jessenia pothos, you need some potting soil and a larger pot for the plant. Gently ease the plant from the existing pot and use your fingers to tease apart the mass of roots. Place the plant in the new pot and add enough soil to fill it.

Give the plant a good watering to settle the dirt and give it a drink after repotting. You may need to add a bit of extra soil after you have watered it. Return the plant to its spot and you are done.

The biggest thing to remember when choosing a new pot for your pothos plant is to make sure that it has drain holes in the bottom as your pothos needs drainage in order to survive. In particular, this will help to prevent root rot from overwatering.

Related: 7 Simple Steps to Repot Pothos Plants

What are the benefits of Jessenia pothos?

Jessenia pothos plants are gorgeous houseplants that will add to the beauty of any style of home decor. However, they also have other benefits as well. Notably, these plants filter toxins from the air, including harmful chemicals like formaldehyde.

Jessenia pothos plants release beneficial oxygen into their environment, so you will know that your plant is working overtime to take care of you, even while you take a few minutes a week to take care of it.

Additionally, scientific studies show that humans have evolved to need the presence of plants in their environments. When you have plants like the Jessenia pothos, you will experience some mental health benefits.

Indoor gardening can reduce stress levels, help people recover more quickly from illness or injury, and increase attention spans. Having a plant like a Jessenia pothos in your workplace can even boost your productivity and improve your mood.

Pruning Jessenia pothos

Jessenia pothos grows slowly, but over time, the plant may grow too large for the space. If your plant has gotten too large, it may be time to prune the plant. Pruning will not hurt the plant, but rather, it will help stimulate new and healthy growth in your Jessenia pothos.

To prune your Jessenia pothos, simply take a sharp, clean pair of scissors or gardening shears, and snip the vines that are too long. Do not cut the plant back by more than one third. Taking too many leaves away will over stress the plant and could even kill it.

pruning shears next to brown leaf

Spring and fall are the best times of year to prune your Jessenia pothos plant. The changing light will stimulate the plant to put out new growth and recover from its pruning.

If you are dealing with an insect infestation or a fungal disease, you should not prune the plant. If you prune while battling these problems, you could spread the disease or pest. You should first deal with the problem before you try to prune the pothos.

Are Jessenia pothos rare?

At one time, Jessenia pothos were rare. However, as time has gone on and more people have come to know, love, and propagate their own Jessenia pothos, it is no longer considered to be a rare variety of pothos. You can find this kind of pothos at a florist, your local garden center, or even Walmart.

As you’ll see in the next section, it helps that propagating Jessenia pothos really isn’t that hard. This means that you may even be able to find people in your local area selling or giving away Jessenia pothos cuttings, which can be a great way to build up your houseplant collection.

How to propagate Jessenia pothos

Jessenia pothos plants are very easy to propagate. You can take a stem cutting from the plant and have as many new plants as you would like. Just put the cutting in some water for a few weeks and soon it will be ready to pot up in a new pot.

Take a pair of sharp scissors and cut a stem from your Jessenia pothos plant that is six to eight inches long. When you prune the plant, it is a good time to take these cuttings. Remove all but two or three of the leaves from the tip of the plant and place the stem in a glass of clean water.

juvenile jessenia pothos after propagation
Source: kaarwallacee

Change the water if it starts getting murky or smelly. After a few weeks, roots will begin to grow from the stem cutting. When the roots are several inches long, you can plant the new plant in a pot.

Spring is the best time to propagate your pothos plant because the longer day length stimulates new growth in the plant.

Can I grow Jessenia pothos outside?

The only places where Jessenia pothos plants can grow outdoors all year are places in USDA zones 10 and 11. These areas of the United States do not generally experience frosts which the Jessenia pothos cannot tolerate. However, in other parts of the United States, you can grow the plant in pots, moving it outdoors when conditions are right.

If you want to move your pothos plant outside, you must have two things: correct temperatures and shelter from the sun’s harsh rays. As long as temperatures are between 50 and 90 degrees, your plant will be fine. However, you should also provide shade from direct sunlight or the Jessenia pothos will become sunburned.

The Jessenia pothos will need to be placed on a porch or other sheltered area. These plants are not meant to be exposed to direct outdoor sunlight. Be sure that there is shade at all times of day if you move your Jessenia pothos plant outside.

When you move your Jessenia pothos plant inside for the winter, you should probably examine it for insects before you take it inside. If you have a pest problem, you should address this before you bring the plant inside or the pests could infest your other houseplants.

Does Jessenia pothos revert?

The lovely coloring on the Jessenia pothos is one of its primary characteristics and what makes it unique. However, if you give the plant the wrong conditions, the coloring can change and it will revert. Keeping lighting levels right can prevent the plant from reverting.

The most common reason for a Jessenia pothos plant reverting is light that is too low. When the plant is aching for more sunlight, it will change the light colored streaks, which are low in energy producing chlorophyll, to dark green colors. The plant needs more energy than it gets from the provided sunlight, so it will begin to revert.

If you notice that your plant is beginning to revert, you need to move it to a place with better lighting. Then, you can cut off the reverted leaf and it will probably put out new leaves with the old variegation that is so lovely.

What makes a Jessenia pothos?

The color pattern is what makes Jessenia pothos so unique. Jessenia pothos plants have mottled areas of dark green and light green. The plant does not have large areas of variegation, but rather, it has tiny speckles of alternating colors.

As you’ll see below, this makes it similar to other varieties of pothos, leading to some people to misidentify them.

How to identify Jessenia pothos

There is a huge variety of pothos plants in the world, so you may wonder what makes Jessenia pothos plant so special? The color pattern is the main thing that sets the Jessenia pothos apart from other pothos plants. Jessenia pothos plants have dark green heart shaped leaves with chartreuse mottling evenly distributed in tiny flecks on the leaves.

Jessenia pothos vs Golden pothos

The main difference between the Jessenia pothos and Golden pothos is their variegation. The variegation on the Jessenia plant is subtle and understated, while the Golden pothos variegation is obvious. Golden pothos have large yellow blotches on the leaves, while Jessenia pothos have dark green leaves with light green speckles.

When you put these two next to each other, you shouldn’t have much trouble comparing the Jessenia pothos vs Golden pothos. While the “flicked paint” effect can be seen on both, the Golden pothos was definitely closer to whoever was holding the brush when that happened.

Jessenia pothos vs Marble Queen pothos

The main difference between the Marble queen pothos and Jessenia pothos is the coloring of the leaves. Marble queen has green leaves with pale yellow or creamy white flecks and speckles. Jessenia pothos has green leaves with lighter green speckles and flecks all over the heart-shaped leaves.

It’s true that these two are rather similar in their patterning and so, much like distinguishing between the Snow Queen vs Marble Queen pothos, looking at the color of the speckles is key to figuring out the difference between the Jessenia pothos vs Marble Queen pothos.

marble queen pothos
Marble Queen Pothos

Jessenia pothos vs Global Green pothos

The main difference between the Jessenia pothos and Global Green pothos is the pattern on their leaves. While Jessenia pothos has dark green leaves with lighter green specks, the Global Green variety has solid green leaves with an area of lighter green in the center of the leaf.

Global green pothos is a newer variety of pothos plant that has recently come into vogue. While also a type of variegated pothos, the pattern of the variegation is very different between the Jessenia pothos vs Global Green pothos. As such, it actually shouldn’t be too difficult in this case to spot the difference between them.

Where to buy Jessenia pothos

You can find Jessenia pothos at many garden centers and department stores. These plants are not at this time considered rare, so you probably can find one easily. If you are struggling to find Jessenia pothos in your area, you may want to ask a local florist to order one for you.

If you still cannot figure out a good way to obtain your Jessenia pothos, you can find them at many online retailers. You can have your Jessenia pothos plant delivered to your front door and you won’t even have to step foot inside a store.

What’s a standard Jessenia pothos price?

If you want to enter into the world of houseplants, Jessenia pothos is a great plant to help you to get started. These plants are not expensive plants to buy, nor are they very hard to find and maintain. You can likely find one for less than $25 at a local florist or garden center.

Even if you do not have the money to buy a very large specimen of Jessenia pothos, take heart. Jessenia pothos, while not being the fastest growing variety of pothos, still grow reasonably quickly. Soon, if you care for it properly, your small Jessenia pothos will grow larger and you can take cuttings to increase your houseplant collection.