The MGS Forum
Miscellaneous => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: JTh on November 21, 2019, 12:13:41 PM
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My first impression when I see plants with variegated leaves is almost always that there must be something wrong with them, like the Pandorea jasminoides I saw here in the Alicante region, Spain. I know that many people are collecting such plants, and I wonder if I am the only one who doesn't particularly like them?
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49098768368_c2a0b2f8eb_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hNG2g7)
_B207789.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hNG2g7) by Jorun Tharaldsen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46063510@N03/), on Flickr
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Jorun, you are not alone as I don't really like them either. We do possess one plant with variegated leaves, a Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Cooperi'. I cannot now remember where we got it from, or why. On the plus side it does have a very delicate bright red flower, but against that it has a tendency to attempt to revert to the more natural green and these need to be clipped out when they appear.
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I confess that I too am not a fan. I have a few spider plants and some Vincas and that is about it. The splashes of colour in the foliage of these brightens the shady places where they grow.
I was thinking of getting some kind of Caryopteris for next year. Looking online I saw some variegated plants and the blue flowers just didn't go well with the foliage. At least not for me. But then again, I don't like Cypress trees. So it must be me who is odd, as I'm often told! :-)
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In many cases I too dislike variegated leaves especially on plants with beautiful flowers where the variegation seems to detract from that beauty. However some plants, such as Euonymus fortunei cultivars, that are grown mainly for their foliage, can make an interesting, year long contribution to the garden.
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I'm not a fan, either - though we did plant a Cornus controversa 'Variegata' in our Sussex garden several years ago, which did always seem "right" (it eventually died, alas)
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I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one not beeing so fond of variegated leaves, thank you for your response!
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Here are 2 of my culprits. The Vinca major 'Maculata' has only ever produced one or two flowers for me over the 3 years that I have had it, It really is in deep shade and gets about an hour of direct sun in summer but nothing for the other 9 months of the year. Does Saxifraga stolonifera count as variegated? It grows in the shade of the dreaded Cypress and gets no sun at all.
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Don't mind either of those David as the leaves definitely have something to add the the garden when the plant is not in flower and they do not seem artificial. Some varieties of Brunnera come into this category too. My particular hates are flowering shrubs, such as Weigela for example, where variegated leaves only detract from the beauty of it when in flower- too much confusion
Good topic Jorun - nice to hear member's views on things 😊
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Ooops! Forgot to say that the second photo in my last posting is of Vinca minor 'Illumination'. It is the first that is Vinca major 'Maculata'. Sorry folks.