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Wrong Colour Leaves
Neighbour has this copper coloured shrub, about 1 meter high. It is an evergreen (or should that be evercopper!) but just a few shoots have a mixture of copper and some green leaves. He is no real gardener, these were planted for him, but wonders why - so do I. Pictures are at: https://picasaweb.google.com/1043284...40020407/Bush? authkey=Gv1sRgCObny-Ds4vaecA Pictures 1 & 2 show the green area. There are both green and copper on the same branch. The green leaves seem to have started yellowing a bit (Pic 1). Picture 3 shows a bi-coloured leaf Picture 4 shows the whole bush -- Roger T 700 ft up in Mid-Wales |
Wrong Colour Leaves
On 05/08/2014 22:43, Roger Tonkin wrote:
Neighbour has this copper coloured shrub, about 1 meter high. It is an evergreen (or should that be evercopper!) but just a few shoots have a mixture of copper and some green leaves. He is no real gardener, these were planted for him, but wonders why - so do I. Pictures are at: https://picasaweb.google.com/1043284...40020407/Bush? authkey=Gv1sRgCObny-Ds4vaecA Pictures 1 & 2 show the green area. There are both green and copper on the same branch. The green leaves seem to have started yellowing a bit (Pic 1). Picture 3 shows a bi-coloured leaf Picture 4 shows the whole bush Looks like Physocarpus opulifolius "Diablo" to me. Sometimes plants with coloured leaves start off green and the colour changes as the leaves age. In this case, though, it looks like there is a reversion to the normal leaf colour. The way to deal with it is to cut out the whole green-leaved branch as close to the main stem as possible, as it will be more vigorous than the dark-leaved branches and soon outgrow them. -- Jeff |
Wrong Colour Leaves
In article ,
Roger Tonkin wrote: Neighbour has this copper coloured shrub, about 1 meter high. It is an evergreen (or should that be evercopper!) but just a few shoots have a mixture of copper and some green leaves. He is no real gardener, these were planted for him, but wonders why - so do I. Pictures are at: https://picasaweb.google.com/1043284...40020407/Bush? authkey=Gv1sRgCObny-Ds4vaecA Pictures 1 & 2 show the green area. There are both green and copper on the same branch. The green leaves seem to have started yellowing a bit (Pic 1). Picture 3 shows a bi-coloured leaf Picture 4 shows the whole bush It is possible that real experts know, but this is just one of the many ways where plant genetics and development are very different from animal, and poorly understood. Plant cells have a 'cellular memory' (a.k.a. are differentiated), but many or most are also totipotent (i.e. can develop into any other type of cell). That also applies to many colour variations, growth habit (e.g. bush ivy) and other properties. Also, their meristems (growing cells at the tip) are usually free of viruses even in virus-ridden plants, and sometimes de-differentiate (including changing colour and growth habit). I.e. plants do that sort of thing, and nobody seems to know why. Gardeners call it reversion, which explains nothing. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Wrong Colour Leaves
On 06/08/2014 08:17, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article , Roger Tonkin wrote: Neighbour has this copper coloured shrub, about 1 meter high. It is an evergreen (or should that be evercopper!) but just a few shoots have a mixture of copper and some green leaves. He is no real gardener, these were planted for him, but wonders why - so do I. Pictures are at: https://picasaweb.google.com/1043284...40020407/Bush? authkey=Gv1sRgCObny-Ds4vaecA Pictures 1 & 2 show the green area. There are both green and copper on the same branch. The green leaves seem to have started yellowing a bit (Pic 1). Picture 3 shows a bi-coloured leaf Picture 4 shows the whole bush It is possible that real experts know, but this is just one of the many ways where plant genetics and development are very different from animal, and poorly understood. Plant cells have a 'cellular memory' (a.k.a. are differentiated), but many or most are also totipotent (i.e. can develop into any other type of cell). That also applies to many colour variations, growth habit (e.g. bush ivy) and other properties. Also, their meristems (growing cells at the tip) are usually free of viruses even in virus-ridden plants, and sometimes de-differentiate (including changing colour and growth habit). I.e. plants do that sort of thing, and nobody seems to know why. Gardeners call it reversion, which explains nothing. Regards, Nick Maclaren. Meristems are composed of 3 layers. These can be genetically distinct, in which case the plant is a mericlinal chimaera. Many variegated cultivars are mericlinal chimaeras. Sometimes one layer of the meristem invades and takes over another, leading to reversion of the cultivar. But in the case of Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo' reversion there is the alternative explanation of a mutation knocking out the anthocynanin synthesis pathway. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
Wrong Colour Leaves
In article ,
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote: Meristems are composed of 3 layers. These can be genetically distinct, in which case the plant is a mericlinal chimaera. Many variegated cultivars are mericlinal chimaeras. Sometimes one layer of the meristem invades and takes over another, leading to reversion of the cultivar. Thanks. That's one piece of the jigsaw, which either I didn't know or had forgotten! But in the case of Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo' reversion there is the alternative explanation of a mutation knocking out the anthocynanin synthesis pathway. Which wouldn't explain how it can revert, unless you then bring back the previous explanation. Quite a lot of plants produce multiple types of shoots, which implies that there is a normal mechanism that does this sort of thing. Their properties are usually preserved through cuttings, but not always. If that uses the above mechanism, it indicates that many plants are normally mericlinal chimaeras! If not, there is some other mechanism as well. The truth is rarely pure and never simple .... Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
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