#take_care_of_polka_dot_plant

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How to Care for Prayer Plant?

Prayer plant has one of the most beautiful leaves among plants. These tricolor leaves have a green and velvety background with yellow dots on them and red lines on all of them. If you are interested in gardening and you like to bring a colorful and beautiful creature home, then this plant is very suitable for you.

Maranta leuconeura is native to the tropics of the United States and takes its name from the 16th century physicist and botanist Bartolomeo Maranta. About 40 to 50 different species of this plant have been identified, all of which grow on rhizomes, and is a perennial, evergreen plant.

This houseplant is also known as the prayer plant because the leaves of this plant are flat during the day but gather at night and become like arms raised for prayer.

The mature type of leaves of this plant grows up to about 15 cm, which is protruded from the short stem of this plant. Although this plant is known as a houseplant, it is not easy to maintain in the long run.

Prayer Plant Light Requirements: What light is best for prayer plants?

Maranta leuconeura needs a lot of light, but indirectly. This plant should never be exposed to direct sunlight as it will burn its leaves or it may stain and the leaves may lose their color.

Prayer plant can tolerate low light conditions, but in winter this houseplant goes to rest and should be in a skylight environment.

Prayer Plant Watering: How often should you water a prayer plant?

During the growing season, i.e., from spring to early autumn, it is better to water the prayer plant regularly and do not allow the plant soil to dry out. Whenever the soil surface is drying, it is time to water it and you should not let even the soil surface dry completely.

This plant gets thirsty quickly and needs water, but on the other hand, you should also be careful about diseases and fungi, so you should not allow the leaves to get wet or the soil to be too wet. Therefore, watering is another important aspect in order to care for prayer plant.

Dehydration and overwatering can both damage the plant and cause the leaves to turn yellow or drop.

It is better to use water that has room temperature and is not cold. Also, reduce the amount of water in winter.

What is the best soil for a Maranta leuconeura?

Prayer plant likes acidic soil. An excellent soil composition for this plant includes pudding with a pH between 5.5 and 6.0 or a combination of two parts peat moss, one part clay and one part perlite or coarse sand.

Ordinary potting soil can also be used as long as it is well drained. If you feel your soil is not well drained, you can improve it by adding perlite or coarse sand to the soil. Make sure the pot has drainage holes.

Prayer Plant Temperature Tolerance

Now, we come to temperature which is assumed to be principal to care for prayer plant in addition to light, watering and soil that are mentioned above.

Prayer plant prefers to live in temperatures between 15 and 18 degrees, and temperatures below this can damage the leaves.

Prayer Plant Humidity: Does prayer plant like humidity?

This houseplant likes a very humid environment that is usually not provided indoors.

You can provide this moisture to the plant with some measures. Using a vaporizer or kettle near the plant or pouring rocks and water into the tray under the pot so that water does not come in contact with the plant provides good moisture. You can also moisten the leaves with room temperature water.

What is the best fertilizer for a prayer plant?

You can fertilize Maranta leuconeura every two weeks from early spring to mid-autumn. It is better to dilute a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 fertilizer twice the product recipe.

If the amount of fertilizer is very low, the plant growth will be very slow or hard. Excessive fertilization can burn the roots, turn the leaves brown, and even kill the plant. During the winter it is better to reduce the amount of fertilizer once a month.

How to repot prayer plant?

Prayer plant does not need to repot much, but over time, its roots may occupy the entire pot and run out of space, and the plant will grow more slowly.

To repot Maranta leuconeura, you must choose a pot that is eventually 4 to 5 inches larger than the previous pot. To repot, gently remove the plant from the old pot, wipe the roots off the old soil, and place the plant in a new pot with new soil.

The best time to repot this houseplant is in early spring and before the growing season begins.

Why Are Paryer Plant Leaves Turning Yellow?

In addition to the points that we mention in the “Diseases” section, this problem is usually caused by poor maintenance conditions, fungal diseases or viruses. Often, the cause of “leaves turning yellow” is something that can be controlled, such as the location of the plant or the amount of fertilizer. But sometimes more serious action may be needed.

The first step when the leaves turn yellow is to check the amount of light and if the light reaches the plant too much, move it to a place with indirect and filtered light.

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How to Care for Polka Dot Plant?

The polka dot plant is not difficult to maintain, but since it is native to the tropics, it may not tolerate perennials in all areas and you will have to replace the plant with a new one each year.

The best time to plant polka dot plants is in the spring, and you should know that these plants have a moderate growth rate and remain small and compact even at maturity, especially when kept indoors. Therefore, polka dot plant is a good choice for those who are looking for a compact houseplant.

The polka dot plant is a small but very impressive plant that has spotted and special leaves. Most polka dot plant species have pink leaves with green spots that make an exceptional combination, but there are some other species of this plant that have purple, white, red or other spots. Some growers even create special colors of this plant which is very impressive. 

Polka Dot Plant Light Requirements: What light is best for Polka Dot Plants?

If you keep this houseplant outside the house, it is better to put it in a place that is a little shady during the day. In fact, too much light can cause the plant’s leaves to fade. But if you keep the plant indoors, you need to provide plenty of indirect or filtered light.

Of course, polka dot plants can tolerate a small amount of direct light or low light during the day, but you should know that low light in the long run causes the leaves of the plant to fade or get thin. Therefore, the east or south window of the house is a good place to keep Hypoestes phyllostachya and provides good light for the plant.

Polka Dot Plant Watering: How often should you water a Polka Dot Plant?

In the rest, concerning the tips of caring for a polka dot plant, it is better to know that the soil of this houseplant should always be moist and its humidity should be managed. That is, you must be careful that the soil of the polka dot plant does not become too dry or too wet; this is because excessive drying of the soil can cause the plant to wither and then to die in the long run. Excessively wet soil can also cause plant roots to rot and die. Therefore, watering is another important aspect in order to care for polka dot plant.

As a general rule, whenever the upper half of the plant dries out, it is time to re-water it. Keep in mind that the indoor plants need more watering than the plants in the ground. So regularly check the soil of the plant and water it if necessary.

In winter, however, reduce the amount of watering slowly, because polka dot plant is resting in winter and needs less water. Instead, whenever you enter the next growing season, return to the plant watering routine.

What is the best soil for a Hypoestes phyllostachya?

This houseplant prefers to live in an organic, rich and well-drained soil. Any soil composition that is organic is suitable for this plant. In the case of drainage, if you want to have better drainage, you can use perlite or pumice in the soil composition.

Polka Dot Plant Fertilizer: What is the best fertilizer for a Polka Dot Plant?

When you want to care for polka dot plant, one of the important questions that may come to your mind is “what is the best fertilizer?” In what follows, we will address how to fertilize this plant:

Polka dot plant is very interested in nutrition. Therefore, whether you keep it in the garden or in a pot, you need to fertilize it. If you plant it in the garden, you can mix some compost with the plant soil every spring to provide enough food for it. If your polka dot plant lives in pots and indoors, you can use organic plant fertilizers monthly during the growing season, i.e., from spring to autumn. In winter, you should not fertilize this plant.

It should be noted that a standard 20-20-20 fertilizer is a good choice to use for polka dot plants (Hypoestes phyllostachya).

Polka Dot Plant Repotting: How to repot Polka Dot Plant?

When the roots of the polka dot plant start to come out from under the pot, it is time to change the pot.

But before repotting, be sure to use its stems for propagation.

Note that in no case should the difference in size of pots be more than one size, because in this case the plant has to do the growth of roots and then start growing stems and leaves.

Polka Dot Plant Pruning: How to prune Polka Dot Plant?

Another thing to keep in mind when caring for a polka dot plant is pruning it. As we said, polka dot plant is very prone to thinning and needs pruning to prevent this.

You do not need any special tools to do this and you can prune the top two leaves of each stem with your nails on a weekly basis.

By pruning the Hypoestes phyllostachya, the plant will grow stronger and healthier from the pruned place again.

Propagating Polka Dot Plant: How to propagate Polka Dot Plants?

When you want to care for polka dot plant, another important question that may come to your mind is “how to propagate it.”

To propagate this houseplant, you can use two methods: 1- Propagating by seeds, 2- Propagating by stem cuttings.

If you want to use the seed growing method, you should start by soaking the seeds in early spring, then transfer the seeds to moist, warm soil to germinate after a few days. After a week or two, the seeds have grown to the point where you can transfer them to a pot.

But if you want to use the second method to propagate polka dot plant, you need a stem about 10 cm from the plant that is healthy and strong. After finding the desired stem and cutting it, put the end of the stem in the root hormone, then plant it in warm, moist soil. After about a week your cuttings will take root and start growing.

How do I make my Polka Dot Plant thicker?

This plant naturally becomes thinner with age. Of course, low light can also cause the plant to get thin. As a result, if this problem is not due to unsuitable light, you can solve this problem by pruning the upper leaves of the plant on a weekly basis and make the plant denser and thicker.

Does Polka Dot Plant Bloom?

Polka dot plant is one of the houseplants that also has flowering, but its flowers are not as attractive as its leaves; In fact, this plant is more famous for its beautiful leaves. Therefore, you can prune the flowers of the polka dot plant so that the plant can focus on the healthy and strong growth of its leaves. The leaves are the strong point of this plant and of course the main factor of its beauty!

Polka dot plant has small purple flowers. Unfortunately, these flowers are a sign of the end of a period for this houseplant. In fact, this flowering shows that the plant either dies or goes into hibernation after the end of this period. In this regard, we must say that if you have taken good care of your plant, you can hope that after the end of flowering, your plant will fall asleep and after a while, it will wake up healthy from hibernation.