Ctenanthe lubbersiana 'Brazilian Snow' specifically. I bought it with that fabulous variegation. It's been an easy plant overall, but sometime in it four years with me has lost all the white patches and become all green. I asked about it a year or two (3?) ago and was advised maybe because I didn't fertilize well or have the right light. This year it's put out a ton of leaves, loved the heat, in part shade in a big pot, some leaves are huge like ten inches by 8, but still all green. Could it grow that well with 'poor fertility' and not regain its color?
I have divided and taken cuttings in its lifetime. Could it have reverted to all green and I was unlucky enough not to notice that I only used green parts?
Thoughts?
Lost variegation on Ctenanthe
Found an old newspaper article on Google that said use extra phosphorous (bloom boost).
Have leaves that used to be variegated lost their coloration, or have new leaves been green and gradually those new green leaves have taken over and the older variegated leaves have died off? If leaves that were once variegated went green, then it could be due to cultural conditions and could potentially be fixed with light, fertilizer, etc. But if new leaves are all coming in green and the older variegated leaves stayed variegated but eventually died off, then it may have reverted in which case you probably can't get it to go back to being variegated.
I guess the trail of evidence i pretty cold here. I can't recall for sure whether the older leaves faded, or just that all the leaves since are green.
Do you think that a plant that is growing vigorously in part shade has any excuse to be all green, other than that it is all reverted? Could a plant be growing vigorously but still need some fertilizer to be able to variegate? The leaf growth this summer has been great and the new leaves are huge.
I don't know about Ctenanthe in particular, but too much shade can cause some plants to lose their variegation (too much sun can also cause it, that's why you'd have to know specifically what your plant wants). If that's what happened, then getting it the proper lighting could bring the variegation back again. As far as the vigorous growth, all-green parts will tend to be more vigorous and grow faster. That's why if you do have a plant that's starting to revert you need to prune out those parts before they take over.
Thanks for the advice. Seems like its reverted is the most likely explanation.
I'll bet it is a fairly common occurance - people buy a plant with great variegation, take it home and soon no variegation.
Well maybe some plants more rhan others..
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