Let’s hear it for variegated foliage
It’s not for everyone, but if you’re a fan here are a few plants to add to your collection
Some people shun variegated foliage completely, but I like to look at individual varieties and judge them on their own merits. I love Tradescantia fluminensis, however I’m not so fond of the variegated Impatiens niamniamensis (golden cockatoo). I find the combination of colours in the cream/green foliage and the red/yellow of the flowers a bit like sensory overload.
A variegated change in a leaf represents the amount of chlorophyll. White and cream areas have limited or no chlorophyll and, therefore, aren't producing energy for the plant and
helping it to grow. Variegation in nature is a negative feature as it reduces a plant’s growth and makes it less competitive with its greener and quicker-growing neighbours. Variegation can be a mutation in the plant’s genes and, therefore, reasonably stable in subsequent generations of plants propagated by vegetative cuttings. The simplest form of variegation is a white band around the edge of a green leaf as in Plectranthus madagascariensis ‘Lynne’. This plectranthus has a semiprostrate habit and makes it suitable to grow around the circumference of a pot below a taller-growing plant. Plectranthus ‘Easy Gold’ is also semiprostrate in habit with yellow variegation on its foliage. Plectranthus like a bright position and if the stems start getting too long, just pinch out the growing tips to encourage more sideshoots.
Chlorophytum (spider plant) is another excellent example of white variegation, and it's a very adaptable and forgiving plant. Grow next to Begonia luxurians for a strong visual contrast; the lance shaped leaves of both plants complement each other. Begonia luxurians likes more sunshine than the chlorophytum so position the begonia nearest the light source with the chlorophytum growing in its shade. Both plants are quick growing and will need watering about once or twice a week in the summer and feed both fortnightly with a feed high in nitrogen. During the winter reduce the watering to about once a fortnight and stop feeding.
Many tradescantia have variegated foliage, Tradescantia fluminensis has white and green streaked foliage while the variety ‘Maiden's Blush’ has pink and green foliage – the pink gets darker, the brighter the light it receives. Tradescantia are an easy plant to multiply as they;ll readily root from a 10-12cm (4-5in) long cutting if placed in a small pot of damp houseplant compost. Place the pot into a heated
propagator and the cutting will root into the compost within two or three weeks.
T. zebrina ‘Purpusii’ has silver and purple variegated foliage. It’s a trailing plant and grows quickly if positioned on an east or west-facing windowsill. If you get the conditions right for this plant it'll reward you with leaves that shimmer in the sunlight. The flowers are small but are a beautiful rich purple. During the summer, tradescantia prefer to have damp compost and fortnightly feeding with a high nitrogen-based feed.
I like to arrange strong colour contrasts in my displays at flower shows. A white or gold variegated plant can brighten up a display, especially when you have a lot of dark-foliaged plants.