Reason for disappearing plant variegation?
- Following are the reasons for the loss of variegation:
- Unfavourable environmental conditions like excess heat/cold exposure etc.
- Mutation may occur in the cells of the leaf
- Plants growing in an area where they receive very less amount of light or complete shade.
Why do some plants have variegation and why do they lose the variegation in their few leaves/parts?
The origin of variegation is due to the rise of some random but aesthetically beautiful spots on the foliage or other part of plants. The reason is their genetic makeup which allows a few portions of the plant to remain less green or albino.
The plant required a specific environment for its perfect growth when you buy a plant and take it to your home. The environment may change slightly or maybe a great change in the environment which leads the plant to stress condition. To overcome the stress the plant work in survival mode and variegated regions also gain chlorophyll as a result plant turn green and loss its variegation.
How can I reverse variegation in my plant?
You cannot reverse the variegation in your plants, once variegation is lost it is lost forever because the variegated spots are filled by the chlorophyll which is a natural process. Now the lighter or variegated pigment cannot occupy the space in the foliage. If the variegation is in gene and loss of variegation is due to environmental stress then the plant may produce variegation in the fresh foliage when the environment is favourable.
My variegated plants required more sunlight?
The variegated plant has less chlorophyll as compared to its green plant which means the variegated plant has less surface area but more work done so it required more light for the development of the plant. If the plant faces less light then it will increase its green pigment to make enough food for the plant and as a result, the plant turns green.
Do variegated plants require colorful glow lights?
Variegated plants do well in natural light but if you cannot manage good natural light then natural light along with artificial light works great for you. You can choose the light that has a higher level of lumens. Mostly recommended light colours are blue and red because they will boost the growth and increase the contrast of foliage.
Can I force random variegation in my plant?
Yes! This is possible now but achieving variegation in your plant at home is very difficult. Whereas, you can force variegation in a few plants by using chemical or different light exposure techniques in the fresh foliage for some time.
For example, people succeeded in inducing variegation of pink color in Philodendron with the use of chemicals in measured quantity and certain percentage partition.
