Variegation

If you’ve found yourself beginning to dive into the world of rare and uncommon plants, you’ve probably seen a good chunk of them labeled as variegated, or maybe albo, or sport variegated, etc. But what is that? And why are so many of the plants with this quality so high dollar? Let's get into it!

What is variegation?

In order to understand the high cost, you’ll need to know a little bit more about variegation. There's a lot of debate amongst the plant community about why these plants are labeled rare or uncommon. There's lots of these plants in this world after all. You might think that the price tag would put off most buyers from following through with a purchase. After all, who would spend hundreds even thousands on a plant? Well the answer is, a lot of people. Many collectors want these incredible specimens in their collection, and they will pay the high costs to get them. But what makes them so expensive? Really it is just supply and demand. These plants can be very difficult and slow growing. A big part of that (for some) comes from the variegation. Variegation is a genetic mutation that results in the plant lacking chlorophyll. Plants need chlorophyll to photosynthesize. So when a plant is variegated it takes longer to grow. The high demand for these plants combined with the slow growth, makes it very difficult to keep them in stock. And of course if people are willing to pay the high price, they will continue to sell for that price. Ironically, variegation isn’t necessarily good for a plant, it is afterall a mutation. So people are spending hundreds on unhealthy plants? Kinda. At certain levels variegation will not harm the plant. It results in beautiful coloration, another reason it's so sought after. 

What’s too much variegation?

There is such a thing as too much variegation. As stated plants need chlorophyll to grow. So if a plant has too much variegation, it can not sustain itself. An all white leaf for example, that leaf would have no chlorophyll at all. If given the perfect environment, it may last a couple months, but it will inevitably die off. All foliage has a life cycle, but one with a high amount of variegation would be much shorter. You’ll also notice even on plants with a healthy amount of variegation, sometimes the variegated portions of that leaf will begin to brown. The same concept applies. There's really nothing that can be done, even providing the plant with the perfect growing environment is not 100% guaranteed to prevent browning. At the end of the day it is a mutation that is not intended for the plants. The stem is usually a good indicator of how much a plant will produce. You want more green than white. It's purely based on genetics.

Sport Variegation

Variegation is a naturally occurring thing, it's not just cooked up in a lab. Sometimes you’ll see plants listed as Sport variegated. This is when there's a very small amount of variegation, you might even see it on some of your own collection. This isn't something to go crazy over. A lot of people think seeing even a single fleck of variegation on their plant will make its value skyrocket. That’s not always the case. You want to make sure the variegation is stable. It's possible your plant could just have a couple specks on a few leaves, this is common. Once you begin to notice a pattern, variegation recurring on each new leaf or so, that's when you may have a variegated plant. Nonetheless even sport variegated plants can sell for slightly more than the green form. All because there's a chance. 

Some terms you might hear to describe certain variegation patterns are sectoral, galaxy, splash, albo, and marbled. Technically these are the same plant most times, but the better the variegation the higher the value. You’ll often see “low variegated” in the descriptions of some of these plants that are priced lower. Again, this all bounces back to the plant's genetics. Is the mother plant highly variegated? Was it grown from a cutting that has almost no variegation on the stem? All factors in determining the price of a plant of this kind. It’s best to be educated not only on the plant care when making a purchase, but seeing clear photos, etc, of the exact plant you’ll be purchasing. Transparency is key. Most sellers will be very forthcoming about the genetics of the plant they’re selling. Be smart with your purchases and happy planting!