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4.2 out of 5 (291 experiences)


About Polka Dot Plant
The polka dot plant is a small, charismatic houseplant that can be found in a variety of colors ranging from white, to pink, red, and purple. With excellent care, you may be able to get them to blossom! They produce delightful small pink flowers when given enough sunlight. 🌸
Taxonomy
Hypoestes phyllostachya
Hypoestes
Acanthaceae
Lamiales

How to care for Polka Dot Plant
How often to water your Polka Dot Plant

every 9
Polka Dot Plant needs 0.5 cups of water every 9 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.
Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.
Water 0.5 cups every
9
Finding light for Polka Dot Plant in your home

a window
Polka Dot Plant may have difficulty thriving, and will drop leaves 🍃, without ample sunlight.
Place it less than 3 feet from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.
Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Polka Dot Plant in your home 🏡.
How to fertilize Polka Dot Plant

Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.
By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.
To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Polka Dot Plant after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.
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I think she's dying?! #PolkaDotPlant I just bought this baby (the pot is 1.5 inches across, she's super small) and I don't think I'm giving her the right environment at all. Her smaller leaves are getting super crunchy and I'm afraid she's dehydrated. The recommended watering schedule is every 8 days, but I don't know if she'll last that long. A few of the other posts on here have mentioned humidity as a factor... I'm going to move her into more dappled sunlight and away from my plants that like the open window. I think the air movement is sucking moisture out of her leaves. Should I try to find a quality jar as a budget terrarium for her in the meantime? And should I continue to water her soil to keep in moisture, or just mist her leaves? Any advice is appreciated!
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Curly leaves Why are the leaves of my polka dot warping?
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I got these ladies and planted them 3 weeks ago. They are 4 different color variations in the same pots and location but only 1 is thriving. How can I help the others 3? (Pictures included from when I potted and today). #PolkaDotPlant
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Oh, Michelle, we have had our battles, haven't we? I am not great at keeping polka dot plants alive, I usually kill them pretty fast. But this one!! This one has survived! I've had her for about 6 months. She *has* shrunk but I think I finally have gotten her stable.. She is under a grow light in a cabinet now. She almost died, got super leggy, I chopped off all the leggy bits and this is what grew back eventually! #polkadotplant #happyplants #plantaddict #newgrowth #plantsmakepeoplehappy #planttherapy #jesssjungle
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Just got her yesterday and wondering if I can go ahead and put her in a new pot with new soil? Also how much perlite do I add to the soil? #PolkaDotPlant
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S you can see by the photos; my Polkas grow straight up. What can I do to make them bushier? Bushier? Not a word….. #PolkaDotPlant
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What's wrong with her #PolkaDotPlant
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all the new growth on my polka dot plant has been coming in so much pinker since I got a grow light😍 #polkadotplant
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PLEASE HELP If you’ve been following my #PolkaDotPlant #Terrarium journey, then you’ll know what’s happening. I recently cut back all of the dead/dying bits, including all the moldy bits, and two out of three of them are looking great! Except for this one… I couldn’t cut off this part because it was right at the bottom of the plant and the rest of it looked healthy, so I left it. That may have been a mistake. As you can see from the picture, it’s gotten SO MUCH WORSE. I’ve been frequently spraying it with dilute vodka (I know the water seems counterintuitive but I didn’t know if straight vodka would damage the plant, and I didn’t have much spare to begin with) sometimes twice a day, the top wide open, and since it’s on my windowsill then I’ve had the window next to it open as well. I can see some of the roots against the glass and they’re a beautiful white, the other two plants are doing fine (though would appreciate a closed lid), it’s just this one section of plant that’s gone stupidly moldy. Like, this guy is starting to grow a Gandalf level beard. It ain’t good. Any ideas what’s going wrong? Is it salvageable? Anything I can do instead? Please help me 😭 #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #PestControl #mold #help #helpneeded
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Did some trimming! I finally got around to cutting off all of the dead/dying bits of my polka dot plants, leaving only the healthy stuff (which some extra pruning to try and make them grow in bushier), and I’m quite happy with how it turned out!! They don’t look like much right now, but all the new growth that’s come through since being in the terrarium has looked super green and healthy, and I’m SO EXCITED to see how they grow! Also, to deal with the mould issue, I sprayed it a couple times pre and post trimming with a dilute vodka solution so hopefully that and cutting out all the dead bits will clear it up! #HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #NewGrowth #PlantTherapy #Terrarium #PolkaDotPlant #pruning
Care Summary for Polka Dot Plant
Polka Dot Plant
Greg recommends:

0.5 cups every 9 days

< 3ft from a window

Repot after 2x growth
Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.

What other plant parents say







