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When choosing an indoor plant for your home you might be looking for a plant with a specific look. Some people prefer light green colored plants and others prefer house plants with deep green colored leaves. And others prefer house plants with variegated leaves to add that specific pop to their decor.
With variegated house plants, you get that attention-grabbing plant that many people are looking to place in their homes.
There are many popular house plants that come in variegated and non-variegated varieties, like the popular and easy to care for Pothos.
In this article we show you some of the most popular indoor plants that have variegated leaves.
What is the Difference Between Regular Leaves and Variegated Leaves?
Variegated leaves have multiple colors instead of just one color of green like regular leaves have.
Some variegated leaves will have green and white, while others will have green and yellow. Some variegated plants will even have pink and green.
House Plants With Variegated Leaves
Variegated Pothos
Pothos (aka Devil’s Ivy) is one of my favorite indoor house plants to grow.
They are easy to grow and hard to kill. And there are so many different types of pothos plants, you can accumulate quite the collection.
My original pothos was one of the plants that still stuck by me as I learned to gain a green thumb. Pothos plants are a great indoor plant for those new to keep ing house plants.
They can tolerate just about any light level including easily growing in low light rooms.
Pothos prefer to have their soil moist, but you can also let it dry out. The only thing that this has done to my pothos is help control the growth.
These are among the plants that NASA has shown purifies the air.
One thing to be cautious of with Pothos plants is that they are toxic to cats and dogs. So make sure if you have one and have pets that you keep this up and out of their reach. As a precaution on my pothos I keep Bitter Apple on hand and make sure to spray my pothos plants down once a week to keep my cats from munching on them.
Pothos Care Guide: How To Take Care of A Pothos Plant
How to Propagate Pothos Plants in Water from Cuttings
Pearls and Jade Pothos
Pearls and Jade pothos have a very striking contrast in the leaves with their variegation. The variegation with this type of pothos is towards the outside of the leaf with the middle of the leaf remaining green.
This type of pothos is slower growing and has smaller leaves than other pothos plants.
Pearls and Jade Pothos is patented by the University of Florida.
Related Reading: Are Pearls and Jade Pothos Slow Growing Plants?
Manjula Pothos
Manjula Pothos is another type of pothos plant that is also variegated.
Variegation of the Manjula pothos is similar to the Pearls and Jade pothos. But instead of the green being on the inside with specs of green on the outside lighter part of the leaf, the green tends to be on the outside of the Manjula pothos.
This type of pothos like the Pearls and Jade pothos is patented by the University of Florida.
N’Joy Pothos
N’Joy Pothos is another variegated pothos that looks like a close relation to both the Manjula and the Pearls and Jade. But unlike those two the N’Joy is not patented by the University of Florida.
This type of pothos has the sharp contrast of dark green in the center of the leaf with white or cream color on the outside. But the main difference with the N’Joy is that it doesn’t have the little flecks of green in the white variegated part like the two pothos above.
Related Reading: Is The N’Joy Pothos Slow Growing?
Marble Queen Pothos
The Marble Queen Pothos is variegated with green and yellow or cream color. It almost looks as though someone has splattered paint on the leaves.
These are a beautiful variegated houseplants that can grow in a vine-like fashion and can make quite a decor piece.
Related Reading: Why Is My Marble Queen Pothos Losing Variegation?
Nerve Plants
Nerve plants are a popular house plant that come in various shades of variegation. Some are green with white stripes while others have pink colors.
These are a very tolerable tropical house plant that doesn’t need too much light. They grow great in low or medium-light, but can also do fine in bright filtered light. Just make sure not to put these in direct sunlight.
Nerve plants prefer to have moist soil, with water being added when the surface of the soil just starts to dry. They also prefer high humidity and do great in terrariums.
Stripes Forever Nerve Plant
Stripes Forever Nerve plant has white variegation instead of the pink “nerves” that are most commonly seen in nerve plants that are in stores.
Rattlesnake Plant
Rattlesnake plants (Calathea Lancifolia) have very a unique variegation pattern on wrinkled leaves.
These house plants grow tall (up to 30 inches) and prefer moist soil and bright indirect light. If it gets direct sunlight it will start to lose the green spots on the leaves.
The main thing that the Rattlesnake plant can’t deal with is going without water for too long or getting too cold. So make sure you keep it in a room that has heat and that you remember to water it.
Rattlesnake plants are also safe for pets.
Watermelon Peperomia
Watermelon peperomias have variegated leaves that resemble, you guessed it, watermelons. They grow about 12 inches tall, but there is also a mini watermelon peperomia that grows to about 6 inches tall.
This is another easy to care for house plant that likes indirect light but also isn’t too picky about light levels. If you don’t have enough light you will notice it start to grow leggy, just move it to a brighter area. If there is too much light the leaves will start to brown.
These are also easy plants to propagate from leaf cuttings.
Watermelon peperomias are also another plant that is safe for pets.
Watermelon Peperomia Plant Care Guide
Snake Plant
Snake plants are also known as Mother In Laws Tounge.
Variegation varies greatly with Snake plants depending on the individual plant. Some will have subtle variegation while others will have a white stripe all the way around the outside of the leaves.
If there is one plant that is even easier than a pothos to take care of it is this one. And they also are among the plants that NASA has shown to purify the air.
Snake plants don’t require bright light and can do well in a room that doesn’t get much sunlight. They can grow tall and are a succulent so they won’t require a heavy watering schedule.
Spider Plant
There are two common types of spider plants. The C.C. variegatum that has dark green leaves with white on the edges and the C.C. vittatum that has a white stripe down the center of green leaves.
Spider plants are another easy to take care of variegated house plant that can survive someone that is trying to learn how to care for plants.
They are best planted in a hanging basket as their stems can grow pretty long. And they do not like direct sunlight. But they do like to be watered frequently during the spring and summer but not as much in the winter.