Cebu Blue Pothos
A pothos with narrow, silvery blue-green leaves that shimmer in the light, trailing in the juvenile form and, if it climbs high enough, splitting into fenestrated leaves like a small monstera. Ordinary pothos care, extraordinary colour.
Cebu Blue is the pothos that does not look like a pothos. The juvenile leaves are long, narrow and a metallic silver-blue, more like a lance than a heart, and they catch the light in a way that photographs never quite get. It comes from the island of Cebu in the Philippines and is a form of Epipremnum pinnatum, a close relative of golden pothos.
Given a pole and a few years it does something remarkable: the leaves grow larger, turn greener, and split along the veins into fenestrated fronds. Most people grow it for the trailing blue phase, and that alone is worth it. Care is the same as any pothos.
Light
Bright, indirect light for the strongest blue and the fastest growth. It tolerates low and medium light, where it grows slower and the leaves come in smaller. Direct sun bleaches the silver. A north window is fine; an east window is better.
Water
Water when the top two inches are dry, about weekly in summer and every twelve days in winter. It is forgiving of a missed week and unforgiving of a soggy pot. Water thoroughly, drain, and empty the saucer.
Soil and potting
A chunky aroid mix with bark and perlite. Repot every eighteen months, one size up. If you want the mature split leaves, give it a tall moss pole and keep it damp; the plant needs to climb to change form.
Feeding
Half-strength balanced feed every four weeks in the growing season. It grows fast and appreciates it.
Propagation
Node cuttings in water root in two to three weeks. It is one of the easiest plants to propagate; a single vine gives a dozen cuttings.
In a hot, dry home
An easy dry-home plant. Forty percent humidity is fine, it likes warmth, and the waxy leaves do not brown at the tips. Water a little more often in high summer, keep it out of the vent's path, and the blue holds well in the bright, filtered light a desert house gets.
Cebu Blue Pothos varieties
Same care, different look. These are the named forms you will see for sale.
- Skeleton Key
A form of the same species with dark green leaves that develop a distinctive keyhole split at the base as they mature.
- Albo Variegata
Epipremnum pinnatum with white and cream variegation. Slower; needs bright light.
- Mint Variegata
Pale mint-green variegation on the green leaf. Rare.
- Dragon Tail
The mature, green, deeply split form of the species, often sold under its own name.
Problems and fixes
Leaves green instead of blue
Likely cause: Low light, or the plant is maturing
Fix: Brighter filtered light keeps the juvenile blue; mature climbing leaves are naturally greener.
Yellow leaves near the base
Likely cause: Overwatering
Fix: Let the top two inches dry first.
Long bare vines
Likely cause: Not enough light
Fix: Move it brighter and cut the vines back to a node to branch.
Small leaves
Likely cause: Trailing rather than climbing
Fix: Normal for the trailing form; add a pole for larger leaves.
Cebu Blue Pothos questions
Will Cebu Blue get split leaves?
Only if it climbs. On a tall, damp moss pole in bright light the mature leaves fenestrate after a few years. Trailing plants stay in the narrow blue form.
Is Cebu Blue a real pothos?
Yes, in the sense that it is an Epipremnum, the same genus as golden pothos. It is a different species, pinnatum rather than aureum.
Is Cebu Blue pet safe?
No. Toxic to cats and dogs if chewed.
Plants with a similar rhythm
Mini Monstera
- Light
- Medium to bright indirect
- Water
- Weekly
- Pets
- Toxic
