Problem with that is that the energy is coming from the green part,and if you keep removing the food factories I suspect all you are going to accomplish is that encouragement of more all green growth. Variegation typically(I think) occurs where there is enough light that the food factories aren't mandatory because there is more than enough of it.

We've been discussing this issue with specifically the Krimson Princess. For some reason it seems no matter how much light they get, they have a very high reversion rate and the green stuff grows towards the sun, eventually engulfing the variegated part to the very bottom of the shady part of the plant. I wish I could find the thread.

So I'm going to try a different approach. Lots of light and "eat" those greenies! The variegated leaves have enough chlorophyll to make food for the plant I believe.

I think mine gets enough sun since the variegation on the new growth is pink. <That should have been a question mark!

That's one I removed and rooted in the pot. So much green. Here's the plant today.

When I said "I think" above,that was because I suspect that this is not always the case. Variegation is still a bit of a mystery to me.

I have a tradescantia fluminensis that has reverted completely,and a few years ago it would occasionally put of a spurt of pin-striping that I would cut and root separately to start the whole thing over. Today I can't find any of the variegated stuff(guess it all died),but I still have a pot full of the reverted stuff.

Good luck with your experiment...I'd be curious to see how it goes. :)

Well...poisonous plants and camouflaged plants had some sort of pressure pushing them to resort to their means of defense!

I think other animals eating them is one of those stimuli.

And even though I didn't want ANY carnosas, I now have three types. Reverted green KP, KQ (also known as tricolor, correct?) And the regular variegated KP.

Umm....for science!

And I think you ARE curious. "Would be" psssh....just admit you wish you could take the idea for your own.

I hope I'm getting *lulz* here and not torches and pitchforks.

Edit: maybe I'll find the cure for something on accident or something.

"just admit you wish you could take the idea for your own."

Never! ;)

Okay, so I'm pretty sure that if anything amazing comes up, I'll make a thread about it. Otherwise, you guys just gotta remind me.

P.s. I am a flora and fauna nerd. Scientific names? Genetics? COUNT ME IN....well....to a point, then I'm like...."can we get ice cream?" Even though I don't really like ice cream.

@Bethany

Have you put that poor vine in a bath of water yet? Leaves and all!

Don't like ice cream?!!

What human doesn't like ice cream?!! lol

Bethany,if you find a way to increase the humidity to something closer to 100% it will perk up as well(if you REALLY don't want to pull it out and immerse it).

Mind you,once it's used to that high humidity after rooting,it will need to be weened off gradually. I usually keep these guys in a terrarium,but it's muggy outside right now so I can get away with it.

*goes to check the freezer for ice cream*

Here's that tradescantia fluminensis I was talking about-

Methinks I will have to take a pair of scissors to the leaves on my benjamina cutting. Really should have done that the other day. Grrrr.

My plan is to cut 'em all in half.

Here's the sad state they are in at the moment. -

...wilting big time! :(

Asleep, I spotted your anthurium in the group pictures. It seems to be growing and starting to recover. I usually keep a group of the smaller plants together in a pot, i think they benefit somehow, maybe a slightly bigger pot or maybe the just like to socialize. Actually, i keep the larger plants two or three in a pot.

Did you get any ice cream, asleep?

isn't that the cutest little two inch pot you've ever seen?

But it appears that maybe this variety "russo" does not sprout true to its form and reverts back to the heart-shaped species-type. I'm not complaining...now I just gotta find that species name. I've just been telling people to look up "peperomia russo" since the species looks totally different.

Barb,..I've got new growth on one that did it outside without being rushed back indoors to a terrarium like last time. That little leaf has my full attention everytime I go out front. The two that I had left indoors I moved out a few days ago...terrarium and all. I figured this way I would get the best of both worlds. It's kinda windy out there and the temps are dropping into the low 60s and extended forecast says high 50s. I hope they don't freak out.

Laticauda,..generic chocolate...twas yummy. I recommend it highly to any and all.

That IS a cute pot!

I used to start pep scandens like that all the time in terrariums. Dib a little hole,insert petiole,off she goes! Ters would soon be overrun with the stuff. Had so much I took it for granted,and now I don't think I have it anymore. That same kind of devil may care neglect has cost me various tradescants as well. You figure they are so easy,why bother...and then one day you look up and omg they're gone! lol

That's easy enough to solve. That just means you have to propagate a new tradescantia every year, because new plants need more attention and are less likely to be forgotten. As for what to do with all of that greenery? Do you have chickens? They'll eat it. I think it's safe for rabbits too(would have to check on that one and even if so, only adult rabbits, and only a small amount if the animal is not used to eating fresh greens. It could kill them to switch over quickly like that.)

The cool thing about the peperomias is that even though it's in that tiny pot and I forget to water it a lot...it's still going. I have succulents who are way harder to get going than that! If their roots dry too much, you gotta start all over again!

No chickens. Doubt that I would be allowed to keep any here in rochopolis. Out in the county,sure...but not here.

Most of my plants are started from cuttings. For the most part,I don't buy plants...way too limited a budget. Income is fixed...neutered...spayed!

Not too sure how well it shows in this pic but the terminal tip on the cutting isn't as red as the tip on a side shoot seen in the upper right hand corner...it's darker-

I'm guessing this means that the cutting is devoting the energy to root making and not focusing on opening that leaf up at the moment.

Day ten and looking good! :)

Barb,..here's a shot of the (now outdoor)terrarium-

Ahhhh! Sorry, I have been MIA. I did move those very sulky leaves to water, I haven't checked on them yet. :/ I guess I need to.

Life itself has been giving me the run around, I hear you about the income thing, Asleep. I'm limited too (9 kids and hubby just hasn't had the big paying contracts we are used to), so when I get cuttings, if they don't make it, it's a real bummer. :(

Seeing that picture, asleep...makes me really think my fittonias are going to hate me come winter.

Bethany...NINE kids??? Good heavens you must be tired! I have no children,no wife,..not even a girlfriend. I have a roommate that shares the apartment with me but for the most part we stay out of each other's hair. Solitude. Autonomy suits me pretty well so far...I've gotten rather used to it. :)

Laticauda,..the fittonias that I have(pink and white veined) would shrivel up fast if I didn't keep them under glass...I've tried. They are among the worst of my humidity junkies,and as they grow they take up more and more space that could be going to use for other plants that pout without their "fix".

If you were to set up a tank and spot it with florescent lighting,yours would make it through winter easy as pie. Only thing to worry about in a sealed environment is fungus...the white webby kind. My pinks have required a bit of attention for that,and my usual tactic is to dust it with cinnamon when it's actually ON that plant,and a little dusting after I've scraped as much as I can off of the soil's surface can help to prevent it growing back. My white veined one hasn't been problematic thus far(knocks wood). It's still inside in a tank filling up a six inch pot.

Here's an older pic of it(my camera is out of order 'til I get my phone turned back on). ---

This is a close up shot...from then and it's a LOT fuller now. Takes up like a whole third of a ten gallon tank. I'm willing to put up with that though. It's pretty enough that it's worth it. ;)

Also here's an update of sorts(without a pic I'm afraid)...

My benjamina cutting got the better of my worry-wartedness and I took it back out and put it in water. Just about every leaf has dried up even after cutting 'em in half,but on the bright side,I noticed white specks indicative of the start of water roots just this morning while inspecting it(and removing the dried up leaves). I've since moved it into a tiny little plastic pot which I filled in with pea gravel and returned it to the water which is high enough that the new roots can adapt to a less watery environment as the level drops. So far so good!

Benjamina was pouting pretty good, eh? I'm sure it'll be just fine though, with you watching over!

Yeah, I have 9 children, and when people meet me face to face for the 1st time, I always get "you don't look like you have 9 kids"...whatever that means. Lol My kids (and everyone else I know) say I look like a Barbie doll. Which I'm not fond of. Lol

Yeah, buying into the beauty myth is a scam.

Well Bethany,I'm never so sure of myself,at least not at 100%. I'm doing what I can. I moved it again and it's been getting too much fiddling with from me so there is the risk that I will love it to death. It's no longer in the set up that I had it in...it's in one of my piggyback terrariums now-

Meanwhile back out front,the host tree is looking okay without the cutting nestled in with it...at least I'm getting used to it anyway-

Here's a closer look at the stump that got left-

...no real signs of new growth there,but it's still alive and should do something eventually...so long as I'm patient.

The next pic is blurry but is a close up of a tiny little red spot that will eventually be a new leader on the rubber tree. It's been slow in coming on,but it IS showing progress-

As far as looking like a barbie,you should get it in the kid's heads that they need to get you a dream house some day. ;)

Haha, actually, Asleep, I need some dream vacations :)

Laticauda, I never really did think Barbie was the epitome of beauty, on the contrary, my daughter, with her exotic darker skin and dark, curly hair is what I always thought was the epitome of beauty, even years before she was born! Although, I will say that I got a laugh out of co-workers who called me the Barbie Doll Bit$# when I was their boss. :) I thought it was quite endearing. Hehehe

As far as Benjamina, I hear you, Asleep, that's my biggest problem...I tend to live my plants too much, too. Then, I go into recovery mode trying to fix what I overdid. I did that with my croton, which I decided to split into 2 because the leaves between the two didn't have enough room to grow, they were getting smooshed. So, I separated them and then the kids knocked over BOTH OF THEM because I put them in the wrong spot...I'm pretty sure they were knocked over more than once each...then I moved them outside. Direct sun, no leaves left...and believe it or not, there are sprouts coming out of every single node that was above a leaf...and they are tiny, but it LOOKS LIKE instead of growing a leaf from the nodes, each one is growing a branch with three new leaves to each branch! Could it be?

*not live my plants...love my plants... (autocorrect)

Yes, Bethany, sometimes an unscheduled disaster is the perfect thing!

Looking good, Asleep!

Everyone is beautiful, unless they're an a-hole, in which case no amount of colorful spackle &/or face-goop can hide or fix that.

Glad to hear the croton is all the better for what it's been through Bethany. :)

Thanks Purp! The benji cutting is outside at the moment,..which is to say that ummmm yeah....I'm still fiddling around with it. If I keep this up,I may just kill the poor thing. It was starting to get fungal growth in a few spots after a short while in the terrarium,so I got it the heck back out of there and put it out front in the container with the pea gravel and water I had it in before,but it DOES get a tad windy out there so I'm debating taking it back inside and setting it under a lamp near my bedroom window.

The wind out front is likely a touch harsh on the rubber tree cutting too. It dropped an older leaf sometime back(which was totally expected),but now the next oldest leaf is turning color on me so it's obviously going to be the next to go. My guess is that the cutting is losing too much water through transpiration and it doesn't have enough rootmass yet to compensate,..so in an effort to hold on to the water in it's living tissue,it's throwing off the older leaves.

Alternatively, it doesn't have the stored carbohydrates to support the plant's photosynthesis, also water uptake and transpiration.

Maybe this way is better because it can use the carbohydrates and chlorophyll in those leaves to put into root production?

Whatever's happening,..I gave it a little tug and it wasn't budging. Fairly certain that there are some stout little roots down there now...which after just over three weeks,I would hope there would be! :)

YaaaaaaY

LOL

Hence the meaning of loving something to death...hahahha. I truly hope benjamina is on the upswing, what with roots seemingly growing.

Lol, I think I'm managing to kill a couple of spider plants with love...how, is beyond me...spider plants are supposed to be some of the hardiest plants! Everything else seems to be doing great, including the poor, maimed crotons, but these baby spiders...I guess they could be called teenagers...they've been up and down.

My mistake was taking them out of the bathroom. They were babies when I got them, just 2 babies in each pot, 4 leaves sprouting from each baby in 4" pots. They were growing great in my high humidity bathroom (traffic - showers, baths, etc. of 11 people) that gets a TON OF indirect southerly window sunshine. Then, after seeing an amazing spider plant outside at a greenhouse in direct sun, I moved them outside in the shade. From there, they met their demise. :( I really want a nice, full spider plant that's making babies so I can give them to friends and the kids teachers and stuff, but I just about killed them.

They're looking a tad better after brining them back inside with my other plants in the computer room, but I'm thinking they may need to go back to the bathroom, where they were thriving.

How can one kill a spider plant, while everything else is doing so good? Lol

Make that 2 spider plants...

Normally they just need enough water to sit in the shade during the heat for a few days. Check them daily. They may even need water daily outside with the heat.

My succulents are getting daily water. Outside.

What just happened......pictures, text, everything......gone.....I may need to have a good cry.

*hands you a tissue*

Bethany...I sympathize with you as well...

I learned this year that rabbits eat spider plants. =/

Which leads me to believe they may be edible in a survival situation as with Alsobia. (It was birds and not rabbits though.) Good source of vitamins and water, fiber...to keep you regular?

Their visits were regular enough.

Damage was extensive before I noticed one up on tip toe taking down babies hanging from the one planter that was actually out of reach.

The benji cutting lost all it's leaves and after getting a chunk of roots,regrew the new ones seen above.

The host tree has had the tallest growth pulled down with some hooks fashioned out of coat hangers.

Reintroduced the cutting this morning. :)

These are now in dirt, same pot, same 3 plants; waiting their turn to come inside.

Nice stuff Fred!