"Spidey" wrote in message
...
About five years ago a friend gave me some excess bluebells which were
taking over her garden. I planted a clump at the base of each tree in
our orchard.

This year one of the clumps has pink flowers. It is planted at the base
of a Bramley which has never been healthy - it grows a few leaves at the
end of each branch, but never flowers.

I am suspecting there is a localised problem with the soil. All the
other trees are doing fine and all have blue bluebells underneath. Any
suggestions what the problem might be?

By the way, I am aware that there are naturally occurring pink
bluebells, but my friend is sure she has never had any, and these ones
have flowered blue in the past.

There are a number of genes involved in the flower colour of bluebells. Pink
is recessive and can be passed through numerous generations till Xed with
another carrying the same recessive gene. 5 years is ample time. There is
another .doubly recessive, gene that can produce white flowers. Neither of
these indicates being infected with alien species. An ultra rare combination
of alleles can increase the intensity of pink to magenta~or dilute till
barely shell pink.
They are not more common because the genes are recessive, and doubly
recessive, and it is highly probable that the insects involved have an
instinctive preference for the blue.
Best Wishes Brian