Gorgeous pictures. I have the red ones growing in my office under fluorescents and so far look good but not quite as good as yours.

Susan

Susan, as you can see, some of mine are not as attractive. It is all about the environment. I feel SOOO pleasant by looking at those wonderful ones. They look amazing.

They grow so FAST! Remember the small pot in the picture above?

{{gwi:102699}}

{{gwi:102700}}

I have grown these plants for years and love them, but I was surprised to find out that when they are most beautiful, thay are actually "sick!" Thanks for sharing the info and pics. ;)

Shiver, if you have grown these for years, you must know they are beautiful sometimes while unattractive some other times. I would like to know from your experience what the condition to produce beautiful leaves is. By "sick", I donÂt mean over or under watering. I think the condition is probably under a light bulb with constant temperature  the normal indoor environment. Do you like my plants?

Your plants look great! To keep mine looking best (like the colorful ones in your pics) I have found it essential not to give them too much light, which seems to bleach them. A few feet from a large unobstructed north window is the best location for my conditions. I let them get *completely* dry before I water them, and the temp in my house is constant at about 75 degrees (us freezing gals like it warm). These plants seem to be unusually resistant to insects and they don't suffer from low humidity problems, though I do recall that was not the case years ago when I had to keep them under glass. Until I saw your pictures I had never seen what they looked like grown outdoors, and I do think they look a lot better being kept inside. Happy growing! ;)

I actually would have never thought them to be sick. They look great to me!

Susan

I bought these plants to interplant with my annuals in pots outdoors. The leaves are indeed smaller, and the pink spots smaller and lighter. They were much nicer when I first bought them at the nursery. They are making tall skinny stalks, despite constant pinching. I assumed they were just a plant that got rangy when it got older, like most coleus do. They are in partial sun, but it's still pretty bright.
Some of these outside pots get brought inside for winter; so it'll be interesting to see what the polka dot plant grows like in reduced light. I didn't realize it was a houseplant.

Linnea, since you're bringing yours in for winter, and because our seasons have been so dark, place in the brightest window possible..and keep cool, not hot. I'm surprised yours isn't compact after pinching..you can always cut back, and make cuttings from the stems..Then see what happens..Toni

My house is always cold, so that part will be easy! My best sunlight is also the coldest part of the house too.

a few more cuttings:

{{gwi:102701}}

{{gwi:102702}}

Aaabbb, your Hypoestes are nice..when did you take the cuttings? They're doing great. Toni

Legginess, IME, is due to insufficient light, though I would not be at all surprised if temperature too played a role.

Funny, I DO grow these under glass. I've never been able to keep them alive indoors otherwise.

No, these do not need any humidity. As long as they are used to the environment. Leggy is a BIG problem for older plants.

Remember the first Phal in the first part of this post, now it has 5 more flowers Â

{{gwi:102703}}

{{gwi:102704}}

{{gwi:102705}}

Lisa, beautiful Phal flowers..Toni

Has anyone seen a plant with 3 leaves per node instead of just two on either side of the stems? My plant has 3 "legs", and one of its "legs" has leaves that grow in groups of 3's instead of pairs! Is it a mutant?