Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Excerpt from Plantsman, Vol. 1
Variegated plants are those which have either definite patterns of cream or white in their leaves and those which display irregular splashes. The lack of chlorophyll in areas of the leaf is what the eye see as the color - when actually the white is a lack of color.
International culture of variegated plants is somewhat recent in horticulture. Not that they have ever been absent, but nurserymen discovering a variegated sport would promptly pinch it off to be discarded in the compost bin, considering it as weak plant tissue. The feeling that it is weak tissue is still a true fact Less chlorophyll in the leaf surface means less food production for the welfare of the entire plant not good engineering for the survival of the species.
Variegated sports found on an otherwise solid green plant are at a disadvantage. Slower growing, they can soon be shadowed by the faster growing solid leaves, giving the less light to grow by. Unchecked, many of these sports would soon die out Because a market has been created for new plants, the variegated sports are removed from the parent plant, rooted, and grow to be an entirely variegated specimen.
Variegations can be a result of genetic structure, or the harboring of a friendly virus in the one little area of the plant - the sport - that causes the lack of chlorophyll. When these are found, they are selected for propagation. The cutting is usually taken above the first set of patterned leaves, thus trying to eliminate any solid ones. This is especially true in perennials that die back to the roots in winter. If rooted in the solid green area, the chance of variegated foliage return ing in the spring is next to nothing.
With all variegated plants, care must be given to examine them every once in a while. 'these plants are not really normal and solid green shoots may appear, which are by nature much stronger and faster growing and can soon overtake the slower, weaker variegated growth. Thus, pruning is essential if the leave do revert.
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