polka dot plant

[ColleenT]

i got a pink polka dot plant from NE herps. it's really pretty, and i hope it lives in my viv. i soaked it for a while and planted it this morning. i think it will look great with blue frogs.

[flybyferns]

They're pretty plants.
They are easy to propagate too.
They might get 'leggy' with age, so pinching and saving
the pc that is pinched off is a perfect way to keep it full AND get more plants !

[irThumper]

True about that, Lynn! I've continuously raised Polka dots off of pinched cuttings from one grouping of plants (diff colored came in one pot) for the last appx 5 years now. I have a sort of love-hate affair with the Hypoestes phyllostachyas... I love their looks, I love their relative ease of care, but I hate how the little monsters take off and grow like teenagers! Lol. I've found it very difficult, if not impossible, to keep mine low growing and well behaved, but I have enjoyed having them

Here's a pic of some of my Polka dots grown from cuttings rooted in water jars.

[Tylerman]

Beautiful plants!

[ColleenT]

so what do you mean by pinching them? where do you pinch off, and how do you do it? my Pink Polka dot plant is already growing.

[deranged chipmunk]

Pinching off refers to trimming, essentially. You can snip them off when they get to your preferred height. The bottoms will get new growth and grow fuller. If you trimmed a long enough top, you can replant it and it will root and grow. You want to snip them off just above a node (where the leaves meet the stem). You can use any sharp object, knife, scissors, pruners, whatever your favorite choice of weaponry is.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[DigitalPunk]

I have some of these in the Mantella tank and they do great in vivs and as Lynn and Bill said are super easy to propagate.