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Variegation, or Deficiency?

I have two AV babies that are both very pale in the center. They are of a variegated plant called Mesmerizing Pink. Lyndon Lyon lists it as "single and semidouble coral pink pansies with blue fantasy streaks and flecks throughout each flower. Good Bloom count. Champion variegation on medium green foliage. Semiminiature."

I haven't ever managed to find a full plant photo of this variety, and now i'm not sure whether what I'm seeing in these baby plants is normal, or whether they're needing to be greened up. They aren't struggling in any way and don't seem to be growing any more slowly than anything of the rest. Not the fastest, but nowhere near the slowest either. The two leaves that these plants came from were variegated most like the green leaf at about 5-6 o'clock in the photo.


Both of the babies doing this started off with dark seed leaves and then progressed to the near solid white that this one shows. The other one is much smaller and only has two leaves in the center that are pale like this, but they are both just as pale as this. I've tried moving them to the low light shelf for several weeks, but there has been no change. They are being lightly fertilized with an organic plant food.



Any ideas?

Comments (11)

  • 8 years ago

    Kinda typical crown variegated coloration. I find the plants grow much better if they are above the rim, not below.

    I picked the variety on our Council sale, it bloomed for me... I do not like it - the colors are kind of subdued, even under the lights they do not pop up. Seems to be a good plant - but a little on a boring side.

  • 8 years ago

    You're right -- even in the photo on LL the colors are quite subdued. I hemmed and hawed about getting this one in the first place, but thus far it's been a peach in regards to growth and hardiness compared to some of the other variegated varieties that I've separated from the mother leaves. If nothing else the leaves are beautiful.

    I have several little plants that need adjusting in their new wick pots. I'm getting better at getting them not so far down in the cup. In the beginning I did it on purpose in (perhaps misguided) thinking that I could cover the rim of the cup with a clear lid to increase humidity while the newly separated plantlets were adjusting to solo life. I did not find this to be even remotely successful, and only caused more problems with broken leaves, damaged leaf tips, and crowded growth as the plant got bigger. Learned my lesson!

  • 8 years ago

    I think they look just fine for champion foliage. It will probably start looking more appealing once it has gotten a little bigger, with the lighter crown contrasting with the greener lower leaves. Looks like it has a little pink variegation in with the white, which will add a little more interest, along with the blooms.

  • 8 years ago

    Mesmmerizing Pink LLG - Single and semidouble coral pink pansies with blue fantasy streaks and flecks throughout each flower. Good bloom count. Champion variegation on medium green foliage. Semiminiature



  • 8 years ago

    Oops typo. Anyway - there is no white in the description. The pic from LLG site has white and it makes all the difference - but if it blooms according to description - without white - it gets gloomy. Mine bloomed without white - about like the center of the blossom from LLG site.

  • 8 years ago

    It is surprising how many plants' descriptions call for something that they don't exhibit. I was helping with classification for our annual show and there were so many that were supposed to have "edges" of some type and didn't. You expect that in a young plant, but these were of course more mature.

  • 8 years ago

    One issue - plants are variable - and off one leaf you get starters with little bit different blossoms. And sometimes very different. Should be culled out as sports.

    Second issue - some AVs are registered as variable fantasy or edge - it comes and goes depending on the season.

    Recommendation - you need to know your plants to judge them right. Try different varieties, pass them on next year - knowledge stays with you - and you have fun.

  • 8 years ago

    I'm not normally a 'pink' gal, but single and semi-double pansies are my jam in regards to bloom shape. It'll be interesting to see how it blooms for me. It has NOT been a strong grower from leaves, at least not in my environment. I got one plant each from the two leaves I had. The plantlets that come from it, once they come from it, are healthy and strong, but getting to that point has been S L O W. The girls at work are absolutely drooling over the white center leaves though, so if I end up hating it I doubt it'll be hard to get rid of.

  • 8 years ago

    That's the life of variegated plants - slow... blooming less... propagation is a pain. Usually after they reach a decent size - they do well.

    I do not think you will hate it - it has its subtle charm.

    Love exaggerated pansies - with very wide lower petals.

  • 8 years ago

    I think if nothing else it will be an interesting parent plant. I'd like to try my hand at crossing some varieties, just for fun. I'd started last summer before I nuked everything, but we saw how that turned out, haha! It seems like you'd want to avoid using the heavily variegated plant as the "mother" if you were crossing with something that grows more quickly...or does growth rate of foliage not really translate to seed pod maturity?

  • 8 years ago

    Variegated mother passes variegation to progeny, Not sure if 100% of seedlings come variegated.

    The seeds mature slowly - 4-9 months, I think minis can mature earlier - but not totally sure. Someway it is tied to the beginning of the wet season in the area of Africa where Sainpaulias come from . Makes sense - the seed pods crack and rain carries away the seeds to their new locations.