Polka dot plant

Grown entirely for the splashes of pink, white or red across the leaves, this is a cheap, cheerful and slightly short lived plant that most people treat badly in exactly one way: they never pinch it. Left alone it grows into a leggy stem with a tuft on the end, flowers, and then goes downhill. Pinched out every few weeks from the start it makes a dense low mound and keeps going for years. Bright indirect light keeps the colour, because the spots fade in shade and burn in sun, and light steady moisture suits it. When it does finally get away from you, take three cuttings, root them in water in a fortnight and start again.