I direct sowed a bunch of E. Magnus seed last Fall, and many of the plants growing and doing well. Today while dividing some Hostas in the shade garden I walked by and noticed a heavily variegated plant. Is this unusual? I will get some photos tomorrow and post them here in the morning.
This message was edited May 28, 2008 8:00 PM
Variegated E. Magnus
All the leaves are very different.
Some are more variegated than others.
Is this just a slow forum, I would have expected to see some kind of response by now.
Lotsalilys, I was hoping that someone would answer you as well. Frankly, I'm stumped.
You've gotten lots of views. Apparently we don't know what to make of it. Personally, I'm hoping it's stable and not the result of a virus. I sure looks cool...
That's incredible lotus! I've never seen it personally, but I'm not that knowledgable about them. :) I sure hope it's stable too, you may have come up with something new! How sure are you that it is one of your Magnus seedlings? (just curious so that you know it's parentage for it when you introduce it lol ;) )
I am bumping this back to the top hoping someone will know more about these. The plant continued to put out variegated leaves all summer long and flowered with typical purple Magnus type flowers. I saved a bunch of seed form this plant and the ones around it.
Any comments, is this plant really unique? Are there other variegated coneflowers out there? I have not seen any.
This forum does not seem to have a "resident" expert so it can be hard to get questions answered.
I have never seen it myself.
It definitely looks nice. There are some echinaceas on the market which are variegated. They aren't healthy though. If yours is healthy and strong, you could have something here.
I'd divide it and try to make more. Send photos of it to Plant Haven and Plants Nouveau. I'd be interested to hear what they tell you!
It has turned into a nice sized clump over the summer. I collected a couple of good sized seed heads, so we'll just have to wait and see. As far as hardiness goes, it didn't seem less vigorous than the pants with normal foliage.
Of coarse I know nothing about the verigated form, but would guess it isn't detrimental to the plant, if it is a trick of the sum, or lack of.
I am a fool for all echinaceas, and have bought many different seed.One in particular is E.parodoxia, does it take forever to produce a bloom?I have some that I grew from seed soon to be three years, and have never seen a bloom.
The varigated folage would not bother me, in fact it would add in many cases.
Mike
Lotsalily's. Variegated plants on the market, can be started as a begnine (sp?) virus that changes the cellular composition of the plant. Sometimes contageous. Which is bad. Sometimes not, which leaves you with a pretty variegated plant that can have a place in peoples gardens. Sometimes it's just a genetic mutation that leaves it a garden worth plant. However, it's a little to early to tell. Definitely mark the plant in someway that you'll know with 100% certainty that it's the same plant next year. If it comes up variegated next year and still a healthy plant, then it's worth trying worth going through the processes of trying to propogate it!! At this point it does look to be a true new type of plant! Sorry I didn't see this thread sooner! hopefully you marked the plant before it went dormant. It'll be curious to see what it's seeds do for you. You'll have to post an update for us next season!
This message was edited Nov 21, 2008 3:25 PM
Thank you redchic01, I have been busy and read your post but didn't have time to reply. The plant in question appeared very healthy, It grew as well as the others around it. It only had a few flowers since is was still a rather young plant. I did get a bunch of seed. I will probably plant it in April directly in the ground. I get much better results that way. Thanks again for your comments!
This plant is still variegated, and has more than doubled in size from last year. I am germinating seeds now, I can't wait to see what comes up, although the original seedling was normal looking when I planted it, so time will tell.
echie are known for not showing their specialty till the second year, like the double it only started to double (razmataz) the second year of blooms and only some are doubled the third year most are doubled, is the plant in full sun and does the leaves feel different where the color is different, what do the blooms look like, I am interested since I collect echie have for years
I didn't notice any difference in the leaves where they were variegated other than color. The blooms looked like a normal E. maguns bloom.
I have an echinacea paradoxia blooming, after three years from seed.Do I sound proud? I am!!!
Mike
you should be you are now the proud owner of a home grown echie
its a great feeling to grow perennials from seed
mona
I just started some paradoxia seed, they are up to about 2-3 inches. Does it noramly take a long time to get bloom. I figured probably next summer.
All i know is what mine did, and it took three years to bloom.I almost took a pic of my long stemed "Ozark cone flower" today, but maybe tomorrow.BTW, its worth the wait. Mike
My paradoxa are blooming too! I love them. They are much prettier than Mac N Cheese and Harvest Moon combined. The blooms don't fade either and you can start them from seeds. They also return and actually increase each year! Pallida is awesome too. I have had them blooming for 6 years. They look great together too.
Sicciarella,
I have a double decker that I bought at a reputable nursery recently. It doesn't seem to be "double decking." Can I expect it to do it next year, or do you think it might begin as the plant matures this year? It has just begun blooming.
From the perennial resource website (Walter's Garden)
First year plants sometimes produce single flowers. From the second year forward, a high percentage of two-tiered flowers appear with either a single or double set of petals. Occasionally, older plants produce single flowers.
http://www.perennialresource.com/encyclopedia/view/?plant=1239
I hate to be the downer in the crowd, but I'm wary and think it might be a virus.
Never mind- I turned up the brightness on my screen, and it definitely looks variegated. Sorry, should have done that before I posted. Cool!
I don't think it is a virus, it is surrounded with normal plants.
If I were you, I would try to get a small plantlet from this plant and propagate it. It is my opinion that this plant has potential. All the variegated echinaceas i've grown were weak plants. This plant looks strong!