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Seedlings starting to show colours-when???

17 years ago

Neophyte here.I have several dozen seedlings ready to be transplanted into their own pots.If any are going to have blue leaves or an interesting leaf shape, how long must I grow them before they show their true selves? Pods came from Guacamole,Blue Mouse Ears,PeeDee Gold Flash, and another mini whose name escapes me at the moment. Will this take years?

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Comments (7)

jspece
17 years ago
To see their true characteristics (especially size, leaf texture, shape), yes, it will likely take several years. Some will show hints of certain traits early, though. These are definite keepers to grow on and evaluate.

Color is tricky, because it is so dependent on light, among other factors. You won't see the plant's true colors under artificial light, but you should be able to get a general idea if it will be green, gold...blue may be harder to see. Once the seedlings are good sized (4-6" tall???), look at them under natural sunlight. The blues will be more noticeable.
highjack
17 years ago
Green and gold are easy, they are what they are. I can tell if the leaf is blue better under flourescent lights than natural light. Tip your seed tray so you view the leaves with the light glancing off the leaf and you can see the wax coating. I hope that makes sense - looking straight down on the leaf hides the wax coating.

I've done seeds from Blue Mouse Ears and it will produce some blue and PeeDee Gold Flash will produce golds. No experience with Guac seeds.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
17 years ago
IMHO .... it is all there at birth .... IF YOU CAN SEE IT ....

wavy, puckering, color, streaks, waxiness .... etc ....

blue is indicated by blueness... lol ...

they are not going to magically morph into something else in the future ..... though, of course.. puckering does increase in a decade or so ....

all of your seed is from stable parents ... ergo ... i will guess 90% green, 5% blue, 5% yellow .....

odds of a edge or streaker from stable parents is maybe one in a million ...

but you are on a learning curve... experiment with these this year ... and then next year get some seed from a streaker... or buy the plant in spring.. and hope it blooms in fall ...

guac is fragrant.. so has plantiginea ... which i was told is dominant [the fragrance part]... if you can get it to live for 3 years to get a bloom .... but it will probably be a green plant like plantiginea ....

have fun .. who cares what they look like.. its winter therapy ... ken
hostajim1
17 years ago
Ken, I'm starting my hybrid seeds and my yellow splash, splashed leather seedlings are showing streaks on the first leaf. I'm throwing green seedlings away right away. any gold, streaked, variagated, I'm growing on. I have other seeds that are OP and crossed just to see what I get. of the almost 600 crosses i did, I have 20% that set seed pods. Jim
susanan_gw
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the much needed advice.I think I see signs of blueness, but maybe it is simlpy wishful thinking. I DO hope that Ken is wrong though; "it is all there at birth." I arrived into this world a bald, fat and naked female.Is this what I have to look forward to?Egads!!!I think I am starting to pucker around the edges.
esther_opal
17 years ago
When does H. 'Pauls Glory' show its color or when does H.'Whirlwind' lose its color?
giboosi_alttara
17 years ago
Ken, I beg to differ; most blues don't show up as blue immediately even when they unfurl in spring. Neither do blue seedlings.

If the plant emerges yellow, it'll be yellow from "birth" but some plants only turn yellow after they've gotten some light. Likewise, some red pets don't show up until they've been exposed to light for a while. Maya Kingsnake throws amazing red petioles in her seedlings, but they commonly don't show up until they are at the 4-leaf stage.

Streaks shuld be immediately apparent.

Ripples and serrations take time. Years, sometimes, although usually there'll be some kind of waviness to the leaf edge when they're tiny, although some seedlings come up rippled and lose serrations.

If you're going for color, first cull the shiny greens. The bloomy/matte greens might go blue when they get bigger, especially if they're dark.

Don't cull unless and until you have to.

Also, yellow is dominant over blue; you'll get mostly green seedlings, then yellow, fewer blues.

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