Product Description:
Polka dot plants (Hypoestes phyllostachya) are common houseplants with colorful foliar displays. They are highly hybridized to produce a variety of colors and types of leaf spotting. Also called freckle face plant, this houseplant can grow in any type of indirect light but has the best color in lower light situations. If polka dots aren’t enough to turn your head, you’ll find polka dot plant in several striking color combos. These include pink and green, pink and white, green and white and red and green. These plants are not especially difficult to grow, but because they are native to warm climates, many gardeners treat them as annual and replace them with new plants each year. They’re best planted in the spring. They also can be grown in containers as houseplants. They have a moderate growth rate and remain relatively small once mature, especially when grown indoors.
Light:
When grown outdoors, polka dot plants like a spot with some shade. Bright, indirect light is ideal indoors, such as from an east- or south-facing window.
Soil:
Polka dot plants prefer organically rich soil with good drainage.
Water:
These plants like a moderate amount of moisture in the soil at all times. Avoid letting the soil completely dry out.
Temperature and Humidity:
Polka dot plants are only hardy in USDA growing zones 10 and 11, preferring temperatures over 60 degrees F. They should be planted outside in the spring after the threat of frost has passed and brought inside if you plan to overwinter them well before the first frost of the fall. These plants like humid conditions, preferring a minimum humidity level of 50 percent. If you need to raise the humidity, you can mist your plant’s leaves or place its pot on a tray filled with pebbles and water as long as the bottom of the pot isn’t touching the water.
Fertilizer
Feed container plants with an organic fertilizer designed for houseplants once a month during the warm growing season.
Pruning
Remove yellow or dying leaves, and plant debris to encourage better-growing conditions. While pruning, always use clean utensils or shears to reduce the chance of bacterial and fungal diseases.
Propagating Polka Dot Plants:
- To propagate the polka dot plant using stem cuttings, you will need a sterilized pair of scissors or shears. You will need a clean jar of water also.
- Cut a piece of stem from any part of the plant but make sure you have at least a 2-inch piece. A 4-inch piece is ideal.
- If rooting in a jar of water, keep the water level even by adding water as it evaporates. Every other week, change the water entirely to inhibit bacterial or algae growth until the root grows up to 2 inches long. It can take two weeks or several months before the root grows about 2 inches.
- If rooting in the soil, place the fresh-cut end of your cutting into potting mix or peat moss and keep it evenly moist. Optionally, you can place some rooting hormone on the fresh-cut end before planting it about an inch deep in the soil to aid the rooting process.
- Cover the cutting with clear plastic wrap until the stem develops leaves or other obvious growth. It can take several weeks to several months.
- To test if the cutting has set roots, gently tug at the cutting to see if it has give or if roots keep the stem rooted in the soil.
- The plant’s cutting is ready to be repotted once the cutting has established several inches of new growth. Only transplant the cutting outside once the threat of frost is gone.
