Stunning bottle vases loaded with gorgeous dotted plants are like little gardens that offer a quirky touch to any environment.
One of the most appealing aspects of terrariums is how simple they are to maintain.
Yet, doubts emerge regarding the fundamentals of terrariums, which I will discuss in greater depth in this post.
So, do you know which Polka Dots plants are suitable for terrariums? Well, read along to know the answer.
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Can the Polka Dot Plants Grow in a Terrarium?
Polka Dot plants thrive in damp and warm environments, making them ideal for terrariums.
As there are numerous cultivars, a collection of varied-looking Polka Dots potted together in a beautiful plant terrarium makes for a brilliant piece.
Also, you can mix these exotic varieties with other moisture-loving plants in terrariums.
8 Best Polka Dot Plants for Terrarium
Have you ever struggled to recognize different types of Polka Dots?
And if yes, don’t fret! The Polka Dot plant exists in various colors and shapes, often seeming confusing.
The following are the most common ones that you can use in a terrarium:
1. Polka Dot Carmina
The Carmina differs from other Polka Dot perennials by its veined and splotched pattern. The leaf’s color of this cultivar is uncommon.
This herbaceous perennial may be grown in USDA Zone 10 and is resilient. Full Sun or partial shade: it will thrive in both conditions.
It consumes average amounts of water; maintains moisture but doesn’t make the environment soggy.
This plant thrives in soil with a pH of 5.1 to 6; stem clippings are the best way to propagate it.
The plant can grow up to the height of 12 to 36 inches and 12 to 15 inches wide. This variety’s flower shade is medium purple, and it blooms in the summer or early fall.
Different types of Carmina based on their Foliage color are: Carmina pink, Carmina red, Carmina orange, and Carmina white
2. Polka Dot White Splash
White Splash is part of the splash collection and has white leaves with green veins and specks. It has a mounding growth pattern and can reach a height and width of 10-14 inches.
Full sun or partial shade is the optimum light requirement for the plant.
Maintain moisture evenly on the soil. However, please don’t get confused and overwater the plant since it is rather drought-tolerant.
This low-maintenance cultivar does not require much trimming or maintenance with a medium growth rate.
However, trimming can be done for propagation, as the easiest method to multiply this beautiful terrarium plant is by Stem cuttings.
Grown in the USDA zones of 8 to 11, our White Splash produces small lavender flowers that emerge on flower stalks.
3. Polka Dot Purpariana
The leaves on this Polka Dot are a lovely purple color. Purple-tinged leaves distinguish this variety. Its brightly colored flowers add life to your otherwise dull garden
10-11 USDA hardiness zones are the region where the plants are usually grown.
The variety necessitates soil that is nutrient-rich and well-drained. Use a healthy, well-draining medium and prevent overwatering, which can cause the plant to perish.
Ideally, Purpariana grows rigorously compared to other polka dot varieties; hence, you might require to re-pot it often.
Also, go ahead and give it a good haircut from time to time to maintain its ideal shape within the Terrarium.
You can propagate Purpariana by the cutting method since this method is more straightforward than the seed propagation method.
ALERT !! Avoid Overwatering at all cost.
4. Polka Dot Pink Brocade
The emerald leaves of this cultivar have speckled pink dots on them. It develops to be 6 to 12 inches wide, duplicating its length.
Some specimens of this kind, when given suitable growing parameters such as bright light (full sun – partial shade) and porous soil, can reach a height of 2 feet.
The foliage is tightly packed, furry, and grows to 1.5 to 2.5 inches.
It grows brilliantly between USDA zones 9 to 11 and is sometimes considered invasive due to its expanded capacities.
This variation differs from the latter in that it has significantly more patches than the Pink-dot plant. It grows best in full sun or partial shade.
The plant thrives in fertile lands that are mildly acidic or neutral. Furthermore, there are no significant insect or fungal infections with this plant.
5. Polka Dot Confetti
This kind is smaller in size and height, growing 12 to 24 inches upward and spreading 12 to 18 inches.
It favors mesic water and mildly acidic or neutral soil, with a pH between 6.1 and 7.3. With respect to USDA zones 10 and 11, it is a resistant outdoor species.
These plants expand and prosper more quickly and are available in many colors, such as white, red, and pink.
It is a reasonably common variation that thrives in full sun and partial shade.
The foliage color of this variety may range from red, pink, rose, and white, and the blooms are small and have a lavender color.
The blossoms are less than an inch in diameter and bloom in the spring season, spring, and summer, which seem to be the traditional blooming episodes for this plant.
6. Polka Dot Red Splash
The plant type reaches a maximum height of 12 inches and has a similar distribution. It is a sturdy annual plant that belongs to the polka dot plant’s splash series.
The blossoms and fruit are not ornamentally substantial and are primarily cultivated for their breathtaking leaves.
It has a moderate texture and expands in a mulched shape that combines with other plant types.
It is a low-maintenance variety that does not need to be pruned. Pruning is only necessary for rare circumstances where dead leaves or stems must be removed.
It thrives naturally in typical, uniformly moist, rich soil, but caution should be exercised to avoid overwatering.
7. Polka Dot Red-dot
The red dots on the emerald foliage distinguish this polka-dot plant from others. The plant’s most unique aspect is the uneven dispersion of hues.
This plant is commonly used as a houseplant, but it can also be seen as an annual and typical land cover.
This is one of the varieties of Polka dots that require some fertilizer. However, when planted in a Terrarium, you need not fertilize it.
It can also withstand high humidity and extreme drought. Stem cuttings are the best way to propagate this variety.
8. Polka Dot White-dot
Compared to the brightness of other types, this plant is relatively drab. The green leaves of the shrub are flecked with white. It does not have the same appeal as other plants.
Sometimes people find that their Polka Dot White-dot is losing the white dotted patterns. This is mainly because you have given it too much or too little light.
Hence, make sure to keep it in a bright location with plenty of sunlight. A bathroom set is a big no!
For the overall Polka Dot plant care, watch:
What is the Ecosystem in Terrarium?
Terrariums are miniature ecosystems kept in a compact, typically sealed containers, such as bottles and glass jars.
They are mostly self-sufficient as properly functioning botanical ecosystems, with the plants hydrating themselves via transpiration and precipitation.
Terrariums are now available in a multitude of shapes and materials.
In principle, the type of Terrarium you choose is determined by the plants you want to nurture: tropical terrariums or succulent terrariums.
One may also assert that “open” and “closed” terrariums. A sealed terrarium generates its own microclimate by holding existing precipitation in the enclosed container.
Plants that thrive in warm, humid environments, such as moss, grasses, air plants, and orchids, thrive in closed terrariums.
Plants that prefer drier conditions and are a little more resilient are better suited to an open terrarium. And they can be positioned in a more sunny interior location.
Here’s How they Work
Photosynthetic organisms will draw in oxygen and release carbon dioxide when there is no sunlight throughout the night.
During the day, though, when the green vegetation within the Terrarium is exposed to the sun, it will carry out photosynthesis to create oxygen and glucose.
Plants will also transpire or release water vapor via their pores simultaneously. Water vapor is formed when water in the soil evaporates.
When this water vapor comes into contact with the cooler inner surface of the Terrarium, it cools down.
It condenses into water drops, which will subsequently shower back into the soil under the influence of gravity and be received by the plants’ roots.
Concurrently, the plants take up the carbon dioxide they produce throughout the night-time, photosynthesize in the presence of sunlight, and the circle continues.
Factors to Maintain the Ecosystem in a Terrarium
A self-sustaining Terrarium, like any biosphere, requires light for primary producers and biogeochemical cycles.
The atmosphere must achieve ecological equilibrium and be capable of supporting the growth and survival of all vegetation that lives within it.
Apart from plants, there are a few things you should think about when putting together a terrarium for your lovely Polkas!
1. Light: Intense and Indirect
The key to maintaining long-term terrarium lighting is steadiness.
No doubt, your plants require sufficient light to breathe and develop, but they should not be exposed to direct sunshine.
North-facing windows are a common pick because they get no direct sunlight yet are well-light throughout the day.
Unless you want to influence the lighting as much as feasible, you could perhaps put your Terrarium beneath a grow lamp.
Many terrarium newbies keep their terrariums in one location and rarely change their positioning.
Plants are constantly seeking sunlight in order to stay alive and develop, so they will innately bend to the corner with a light source.
To address this issue, begin shifting your Terrarium’s location and rotate it so that all plants receive sunlight from multiple viewpoints.
2. Room Temperature and Humidity
Generally, plants that favor humid and warm environments are housed in the Terrarium.
However, the average temperature better adapted to plant development can vary according to the type of plant.
Temperatures at nighttime should be between 10°C and 12°C for almost all plants within the system.
A terrarium provides a concise environment of high humidity that benefits plants that grow in identical circumstances, such as polka dot varieties.
Many high-humidity terrarium plants will require greater than 50% relative humidity levels.
While you hydrate your Terrarium, the condensation starts to evaporate and is deposited on the bottle in the form of droplets.
Closed terrariums are more vulnerable because condensation accumulates within them and cannot slip away.
Hence, you must occasionally lift the lid of a closed terrarium for air circulation and clean the bottle.
Avoid exposing the Terrarium to direct sunlight, as this will result in a very elevated temperature inside the Terrarium, resulting in fogged-up glass.
3. Water: Well Functioning Hydrosphere
A terrarium ecosystem’s lifeline is a well-functioning hydrosphere.
A sound water cycle is essential to design a terrarium base that facilitates fluid flow while conserving it where it is needed for plants to reach.
Choosing the proper kind of terrarium foundation with good drainage and water retention properties is crucial.
Watering technics such as misting and soaking are employed.
The watering frequency is determined by the season and the type of plant. One important technique is to inspect your soil before soaking or misting it.
Pests frequently show in overwatered terrariums with decaying soil, where they can feast.
To eliminate them, remove any fallen decaying leaves from the substrate. Also, ensure that the soil is not too watery and, if necessary, dehydrate it with a tissue.
Aerate the Terrarium by removing the top. You can also remove the plants, recreate your terrarium, and rinse them in cold water.
4. Containers: Transparent Glass or Plastic Jars
You should use transparent glass or plastic jars to make a terrarium enclosure. Glass that is tinted or hazy decreases light transmission and compromises the plant’s development.
Any vessel can be utilized as long as it is transparent: an abandoned fishbowl, aquarium, brandy bottle, old glass jar, pitcher, or water bottle.
There are also receptacles built explicitly for use as terrariums.
5. Growing Medium: Sterile, Rich and Well-Draining
The soil sample must be sterile, well-draining, and rich in organic materials in terrariums.
A readymade peat-lite mix (a combination of peat moss, orchid mix, and perlite) is a great option.
Potting soils are disinfected and ready to use when purchased from garden centers and florists that sell plant products.
You should not add fertilizers to the growth media because terrarium plants must not grow exponentially.
After the plants have been anchored, light fertilizing with a houseplant fertilizer can be done if soil-free mixtures are used or if the material used is recognized to be extremely low in fertility.
Learn Before you Grow Polka Dot Plants in Terrarium
Even if you are unsure whether you can maintain a healthy ecosystem, terrariums are not rocket science. In fact, it is most suitable for individuals who tend to forget to water their plants!
On the other hand, preserving one is a true masterpiece and a scientific experiment.
You should remember a few things, as mentioned below, before growing Polka Dots in Terrarium!
- When selecting a jar, keep in mind that closed vessels retain more moisture and establish a jungle-like environment. Polka Dots, as previously stated, adore moisture content!
- Combining plants with standard temperature, light, and water demands.
- It helps to have a pair of long forceps or a set of kitchen chopsticks on hand to help place the plants.
- Before placing plants in the Terrarium, assemble them on the side table to find the perfect blend and layout.
- Make sure that your plants have exposure to natural light. Some plants in open terrariums require constant water spritz during hot, dry periods.
- Pick pest-free plants; snails and slugs can disrupt a terrarium. It would help if you stripped every moldy leaf away.
- Resist using eggshells, limestone, or other substances that could alter the pH of the soil. Instead, add some gravel.
- If you possess a closed terrarium, you might even want to remove the lid from time to time to allow some clean air inside.
Make your Terrarium for Polka Dot Plants
Terrariums are miniaturized nurseries that are a visually appealing, low-maintenance, and space-saving way to showcase your house plants.
There are myriad reasons to create a plant terrarium: they are visually pleasing, pleasurable projects and provide the moisture that some of our best-loved potted plants require.
However, you cannot house just any plant in a terrarium. By creating a terrarium, we appear to be introducing mother nature back into our homes and businesses.
It has a soothing effect, particularly for those who function in unventilated workplaces and own residences with little or no greenery.
Here’s a quick guide to making a lovely terrarium.
- Purchase a terrarium arrangement to accommodate the demands of your property, or make your own out of a plastic container, fish tank, fishbowl, or vase.
- Then, cover half of the bottom of your jar with the layer of sterile soil you intend to use. You can use stones as your first stratum in the Terrarium.
- Add any big rocks or wood chips that you like to add to your tiny fairy garden.
- Make a large pit for the plant’s roots to settle.
- Extract the Polka Dot plants from their containers and loosen the existing soil to clean them up.
- Place the vegetation in the fine layer of soil and cover it with the second mound of dirt.
- Press solidly to ensure that the new soil level is almost the same as the initial soil level of the plant’s root system.
Now go on and experiment with different plants, colors, and sizes.
Also Watch,
Wrapping up…
Terrariums have low upkeep prerequisites. Closed terrariums prefer to be left alone so that they can establish their own microclimate.
Maintain the glass spotless in open terrariums by spritzing it with water and scrubbing the inside and outside regions clean.
If you have any further queries about these perfect Terrarium Polka Dots or would like to share your thoughts on what plants to hold in a terrarium, please feel free to comment below!
