POLKA DOT PLANT

HYPOESTES PHYLLOSTACHYA

This joyful little plant offers vibrant foliage and a neat, compact shape. Its green leaves are speckled with pink, red, or cream—combine different colored plants to add real sparkle to your home. The polka dot plant likes indirect light, but too little light will cause its leaves to fade.

HEIGHT 10in (25cm)

SPREAD 10in (25cm)

FLOWERS Insignificant

FOLIAGE Colorful, speckled

LIGHT Filtered sun

TEMPERATURE 64–81°F (18–27°C)

CARE Fairly easy

PLACE OF ORIGIN South Africa

CARE

The polka dot plant likes filtered sun and moderate humidity, so it will thrive in a kitchen or bathroom, or in any room if grown in a humid bottle garden or terrarium. Plant in commercial potting mix with a little perlite mixed in for drainage. Let this dry out slightly before rewetting. Reduce watering in winter; never overwater if growing in a pot without drainage holes, such as a bottle garden. Feed the plant with a balanced fertilizer every two weeks throughout the spring and summer.

Mist plants regularly and occasionally pinch out (take off with your fingers or scissors) the growing tips to keep the plant compact. Some gardeners even remove the small purple flowers as they can spoil the shape of the plant.

PROBLEM SOLVING The colors in the foliage can fade if the plant isn’t in a bright enough place—if this happens, simply move it to a brighter spot. Scale insects, whitefly, and mealybugs can also cause issues. If growing the polka dot plant in a bottle garden, act quickly, otherwise the pests will soon take over.

If you’re short on space, you’ll always find room for this neat little plant.

DISPLAY

Although small, the polka dot plant creates a big impression, thanks to its vibrant foliage—the colors pop and will add sparkle to a sunny room. Place it so that it can be easily viewed from above—you won’t get the full impact of the plant if it’s on the top shelf. As this plant remains fairly small and neat you can have great fun experimenting with your choice of pot. For example, consider planting it in a large, decorative mug. Alternatively, it’s equally striking in a pot on the windowsill or as the lead plant in a bottle garden—children love planting these and in most garden centers you can buy small, pocket-money plants to create them. Other great candidates for this kind of display include the maidenhair fern and the mosaic plant.

Houseplants A–Z | POLKA DOT PLANT

ALSO TRY

Decorative foliage is popular, and it can be great fun matching foliage to other features in a room, such as pillows, carpets, and curtains. If you’ve fallen for the polka dot plant and want more plants with colorfully variegated foliage, try:

• Polka dot begonia (Begonia maculata), height 16in (40cm). This plant has green and white spotted leaves with cascading cream flowers. It enjoys light shade.

The polka dot begonia likes high humidity, but never mist its leaves.