Are you searching for ways to fix leggy polka dot plants? There are a couple of reasons why Polka Dots plants become leggy. But there are ways to get them back to their petite position. Aging is one of the most common reasons due to which polka dot plants tend to become leggy.
So, if your polka dot plant is getting leggy, no need to fret as we will be providing all the solutions along with the reasons. I hope the information provided below will help you.
How To Know If Your Polka Dot Plant is Leggy?
Leggy polka dot plants mean that the plant’s stem has become long. The plant will have a stretched-out appearance. If you see your plant spread all over the place, then it means that the plant has become leggy. You will also find many images of leggy polka dot plants on Google.
How to Fix Legginess Of Your Polka Dot Plant?
There are different solutions for fixing the legginess of your polka dot plant. Here are some of them
Pruning
Pruning is the best way to make your plant look better instantly. This not only makes your plant look better but also makes the plant bushier. Pruning your polka dot plants regularly prevents them from flowering, increasing the plant’s life expectancy.
You can prune your plants any time of the year, but it’s best to do it around late winter as it stops the flowering of the plant. Using your fingers for pruning is recommended, but you can also use a pair of sharp scissors. Just make sure that it’s clean.
Are you trying to prune your polka dot plants? Here is How To Prune Polka Dot Plants.
Adjust The Temperature
Polka dots become leggy when the temperature is not suitable for them. 18-26 degrees C is ideal for growing your Polka dots. Below or above this threshold makes your polka dot leggy and slows its growth.
Adjusting the temperature accordingly will do the trick. You can place the plant where it receives a bit of heat throughout the day. The best way is to move the plant to a location with less temperature during the day and back to its original place at night.
Adjust Sun Light
Sunlight is a huge factor when it comes to the legginess of polka dots. Direct sunlight will probably kill your polka dot within a day or two. Too much indirect sunlight will make it leggy. If you plan to keep the plant long-term, it’s necessary to keep it in a position where the lighting is ideal.
The best location is near an east-facing window. If you cannot find that, 2-3 feet away from a south-facing or west-facing window will do the job for you.
Try Soak-and-Dry Method
Watering your plants is necessary and is one of the reasons Polka dots become leggy. The plants become leggy if it’s underwatered and vice-versa. The soak and dry methods are beneficial here as they ensure that your plant gets the correct quantity of water.
The soak-and-dry method works like this. You stick one of your fingers one inch down in the soil to feel whether it feels dry or not. Then start to water the plant slowly in the soil around the edges. Stop watering the plant as soon as you see that the plant is not able to absorb any more water.
If your polka dot plant is dying, read, Is Your Polka Dot Plant Dying
Decrease The Pot Size
Potting your polka dots in a large pot has its fair share of downsides. Since the plant is small in the beginning, the roots cannot reach the farther parts of the pot. This results in the plant being unable to absorb all the nutrients and minerals in the soil.
A small pot of around 5″ inch circumference would be the ideal choice. This will allow the plant’s roots to absorb all the necessary nutrients. Once the plant grows, you can move to a bigger pot.
Keep Fertilizers Level In Check
Your polka starts to leg faster when you feed it too much fertilizer. Along with that, yellowing leaves and growth reduction will also follow. If continued for a longer duration, the plant will eventually die.
Putting off fertilizing would be ideal if you find your plant leaves turning yellow and leggy. Fertilizing once a week would be the best course of action. Fertilizing is much helpful when done during late winter.
Potting Mix
Plants can grow in any soil, but it is different for plants like Polka Dots. Polka dots are very sensitive, and they die. Having a lousy pot mixture could lead to your plants becoming leggy.
If you have potted the plant in regular soil, you must re-pot your Polka dot plant. To do that, you need a mixture of general potting compost, and along with that, you can use vermiculite to enhance the drainage of water. This will make sure that your plants don’t end up being leggy.
If you are looking for companion plants for Polka dot plants, then here are Polka Dot Plant Companion Plants that you can plant along with them.
Wrap Up
And that’s it. These are some of the solutions by following which you can fix the legginess of your polka dot plants. Polka dot plants are pretty sensitive and die off quickly if the conditions are not favorable enough. Just make sure that you follow the solutions accordingly, and you will be able to keep your plant healthy and attractive all the time.
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