What is a variegated plant?
Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves, and sometimes the stems, of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the source of a number of variegated house plants.
How does a plant get variegated?
Variation in leaf colour occurs because of a lack of the green pigment chlorophyll in some of the plant cells. It is usually the result of a cell mutation. The plants variegation can be inherited (genetic) or occur randomly (chimeric).
Are variegated plants healthy?
Variegated plants will have limited amounts of chlorophyll in their leaves because of the lack of green coloring. Less chlorophyll in a plant equals less energy, which is needed for photosynthesis. Variegated plants are generally less healthy and less vigorous than solid green plants.
How can you tell if a plant is variegated?
This applies both to green leaves with irregular markings (variegation), say in white and yellow, and to those of a single solid color such as gold or purple. A random mutation usually shows up as variegation. If you propagate from a green shoot or sow seed of the plant, the color will not recur.
Why is it called variegated?
The term “variegated” comes from the word variegatus in Latin which means composed of various colors. This beautiful array of colors is caused by some of the plant’s cells lacking chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the green pigment in plants that works to convert light into energy the plant can use.
What is the purpose of variegation?
Leaf variegation has been demonstrated to have adaptive functions such as cold tolerance. Pittosporum tobira is an ornamental plant with natural leaf variegated cultivars grown in temperate regions.
Can I make my plant variegated?
The more traditional and stable way to achieve variegation is to take cuttings of the branches that have more blotchy variegation in the leaf rather than the all-white form (has no chlorophyll) and just keep building the numbers of plants. This process takes a lot longer to produce volume.
How do you encourage variegation?
Place the plant in full sun to encourage variegation. Variegated plants need more sun than solid green plants because they don’t have as much chlorophyll to absorb sunlight. If you’re growing a variegated plant, leave it near a sunny window or a bright spot on your property so it absorbs enough sun to stay healthy.
Can you increase variegation?
You can simply promote more variegation of already variegated plants by positioning your houseplants in a spot with more light. The darker the spot, the more green leave are produced. Near a window or an artificial light source is a good spot for your variegated plant to produce more variegation.
How do you get variegated leaves?
Can you make a plant variegated?
Why variegated plants are expensive?
Essentially variegated plants have less surface area to photosynthesise with and produce the sugars they need for growth and repair, hence they usually need more light compared to entirely green plants and typically grow much, much slower. This is the basis of why they are currently so sought after and pricy!
What does it mean when a plant has variegated leaves?
The much more common, non-italicised, inclusion of ‘Variegata’ as the third element of a name indicates a variegated cultivar of an unvariegated parent ( Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’). However, not all variegated plants have this Latin tag, for instance many cultivars of Pelargonium have some zonal variegation in their leaves.
Where do you find variegated plants in the world?
Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves, and sometimes the stems, of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the source of a number of variegated house plants.
Where does the Bauhinia variegata plant come from?
Bauhinia variegata. Bauhinia variegata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is native to an area from China through Southeast Asia to the Indian subcontinent.
What’s the best way to grow a variegated plant?
Place the plant in full sun to encourage variegation. Variegated plants need more sun than solid green plants because they don’t have as much chlorophyll to absorb sunlight. If you’re growing a variegated plant, leave it near a sunny window or a bright spot on your property so it absorbs enough sun to stay healthy.