When a variegated plant produces an all green shoot it must be pruned out.
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I could not resist showing you the chimaeral variegation in this lovely Eryngium I planted recently.
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I often see reverting variegated plants in private gardens. I want to knock on the door and tell them that the green will take over!
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This all white shoot in
Sedum spectabilis variegata
looks rather nice.
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There is a wonderful botanic word - chimaera. (Shades of an Ancient Greek hybrid monster). It describes how, in many variegated plants, two tissues grow together as one. Some cells, as a result of a common mutation, lose their ability to make chlorophyl and are white. They continue to intermingle with the green as every new shoot grows. Sometimes a new bud forms in a single tissue. The result is a completely green shoot or, less commonly, an all-white one. The green will grow aggressively and take over. A white shoot will soon go brown and die. You may enjoy it for a little while, but both will have to go!
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Ivies are particularly liable to revert. Reverted growth can be pruned out at any time. Note, the ivy reverting white as well as green.
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Spot the green shoot infiltrating my Acer ‘Flamingo’.
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