4" polka dot plant

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 best color in lower light situations.

Polka dot plants are well suited for indoor use anywhere but you can also grow them as annuals in temperate to warm zones. The foliage is an attractive foil for brightly colored perennial flowers and produces an attractive mound. This adorable plant looks great tucked in a planter with other foliage plants, as part of a color display with flowers, or in summer borders for added texture.

Growing a polka dot plant outside requires well-drained but moist soil with plenty of organic matter. Outdoor plants need little supplemental feeding but indoor plants should be fed once per month. Older plants tend to get leggy, but you can control legginess by cutting the canes back to lower growth and letting the plant fill in.