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| From In the Garden |
Have you ever seen a green shoot growing in a variegated plant and wondered what was up? Plants manufacture food by using specialized cells called chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are colored green. The more chloroplasts a plant has and the more green it is the more food and more robust a plant is likely to be. When a plant is bred for variegation some of the chloroplast area of the leaves is removed and the plant is not quite as stable or even robust. The plant can sometimes strive to get back the chloroplasts and can revert to its natural state of solid green leaves in an attempt to get more food producing cells. This seems to be the case with the above variegated hydrangea I found at the University of Tennessee's Agricultural Research Station in Jackson Tennessee during this year's Summer Celebration. The green branch sure stands out doesn't it? I'm not sure how the UT staff handle this but in my garden when variegated plants revert I immediately prune out those green limbs in order to maintain the variegation. Left alone it is possible the plant will turn completely green as the green limbs slowly overtake the variegated limbs.
This reversion is not limited to hydrangeas. I've personally seen it on Japanese maples and privet. Have you ever seen this type of reversion and what do you do to deal with it if it shows in your garden?
in the garden....
******PSA*******
The next scheduled Montgomery County Master Gardener class starts August 17th and runs through November 16th. Classes will be held at the extension office on Tuesdays from 6-9 pm. The cost of the class is $100 per person or $125 per couple (if using the same book). Deadline to sign up is TOMORROW! So give Karla a call right away at: (931)648-5725 to reserve your spot....
in the garden....
in the garden....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,
In the Garden
I have not seen that happen in my year Tina, but your picture is a really good example.
ReplyDeleteI am on overload already with the MG class--and I am off right now to the second one!
I'm like you Tina, I cut it out. Jamie and I have actually seen the opposite in some plants. Our Red Tip shrub got a variegated limb on it, so does our Anthony Waterer spirea. We tried to root the red tip but it didn't work. Haven't tried the spirea.-- Randy
ReplyDeleteWow! I didn't know that's what that is. How cool.
ReplyDeleteHI Tina, I also cut out any reversions to either non-variegated or other changes. I had a Chickasaw Crape Myrtle that has the tiny leaves and one stem sprouted up with much larger leaves. Found it interesting but cut it out.
ReplyDeleteps- signed up the new MG class here in SC. Intro meeting is tomorrow night.
Linda, Have a great time at class. I always enjoyed mine even though I drove an hour each way to get there. I did have a friend who I carpooled with, made it nicer.
ReplyDeleteRandy, I've had that happen here too with camellias. It can be a very nice effect on the plants.
Dawn, Yup-not so good looking but neat.
Janet, Hi and welcome back! I know you'll enjoy new MG group. So glad you are getting settled into your new home.
Really interesting Tina -guess it makes sense since they graft trees to produce certain types of fruit. Gardening can be really interesting -thanks for sharing. Ciao!
ReplyDeleteHello tina
ReplyDeleteI'm very happy to read your blog again after a long interval!
Oh I didn't know the reason of the reversion. I once had some pothos and the pretty yellow pattern on the leaves disappeared and the leaves turned completely green. The flower shop said that the lack of sunllight had caused the reversion, however, my pothos leaves stayed green after I put the pot in the sunshine....
PS Your border gardens are really lovely!!
Thanks Tina. That is very interesting. I've seen it happen but did not know what was going on. I figured it was reversing but did not know what to do about it. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone has a very lovely day. Skeeter, Dawn, Anonymous, Jean, Nina--original & beautiful.
Interesting infor today.
ReplyDeleteThaks Lolo and the same to you!
I haven't seen much reversion here yet but our variegated plants are somewhat limited. I think I would cut it back like you said to keep it from reverting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tina I didn't know this. Yes, I have a Creeping Charlie that has solid green leaves and I always thought it was pretty. Guess I'll take them out now. I like the varigated better anyway to use as a different green for my annual planters. I can't remember if the plain green smells as good as Charlies varigated leaves or not. Guess I'll have to go sniff some. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHello everyone! More muggy icky stuff in the Georgia air....
ReplyDeleteI have seen this before. As a matter of fact, this spring I noticed the Vinca had a long stem of solid green. I did nothing to it and pretty much forgot about it until this posting today. I just ran out into the garden and could not find that sprig! I guess in time, it went variegated or died out. Another mystery to me... If I should see this again on any plants, I will know to remove it. Thanks for this info...
I see this attempt to revert frequently in variegated foliage. I do the same thing as you and try to remove the all green cane or stalk to keep the desired color. Roses frequently sport a cane with unusual blooms and a few years ago someone had a tomato that sported variegated leaves. That was odd.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
I have never seen this before. Thanks for sharing such useful information. Carla
ReplyDeleteMy variegated dogwood sometimes sends out a non-variegated branch, and my 'Diablo' ninebark (which is purple) sometimes sends out a green branch. I just cut it off and it's all good!
ReplyDeleteI've seen this happen in several of my plants, Tina, and always wondered what caused it--thanks for the explanation! I've also noticed bi-color blooms, like petunias, will revert to one color over time.
ReplyDeleteHope you get lots of interested applicants for the new MG classes--a great opportunity for everyone, and I'm impressed your county offers them in the evening!
It was interesting to learn about why a variegated plant can revert. I definitely cut out any green branches that have appeared on variegated plants. I have a Daphne that has started to do that, but seems to be back to variegated.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this happen in two directions. The all-green shoot is definitely something many plants will revert to. I've seen it on euonymous frequently, for instance. In some rare cases I've even see the non-green variegation color take over. Since as you point out that area has no chlorophyll, the growths tend to be even more weak than the variegated ones.
ReplyDeleteI seem to have the same thing happening on some variegated carex. In this case I think I have to divide them and split up the variegated/non-variegated? I didn't consider the possibility when I planted a whole row of them along the edge of the front yard. Now they're funny and mismatched. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina, Yes I have Eupatorium aromaticum 'Joicus Variegated' and it always sends up non-variegated shoots that I trim off. gail
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I know what to do when my variegated sedum starts to revert.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips.
Rosey
I would cut off the part which reverted, and root it up also. Funny, we have a neighbour up the block who has a dwarf spruce with a large reverted branch, which he trims back, but hasn't figured out to just chop it out. I am suppressing my urge to chop it for him, once and for all, since it is ruining the shape of the bush.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen reversion in any of my plants, although I have read about it. Your photo is a great example.
ReplyDeleteYep seen this with my variegated Euonymous. Thanks for the info. :)
ReplyDeletecan you reverse the plant back to green once you have a patch full of green hosta? If so how?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, not sure if you mean to say can you get back the variegation or not instead of saying can you get the green back. If you want the variegation you must cut out the green in order to let the variegated shoots grow. If you want the green such as in green hostas then you should buy green hostas and not variegated ones. Hope this helps.
DeleteMay 26, 2012 12:44 PM