Colorful Alternatives
If you want color in your yard but are tired of endlessly searching for long-bloomers, try plants that have multicolored foliage instead.
These variegated plants are low-maintenance and “brighten things up,” said Brita Lemmon, owner of Brita’s Old Town Gardens in Seal Beach, which carries a wide variety of variegated plants. “If you combine them--such as licorice plant, salvias, glechoma and heuchera--you can create a stunning garden without any flowers.”
Multicolored foliage plants--typically with cream, white and yellow markings--also work well in night gardens, Lemmon said. “Many plants with variegated foliage have accents in light colors, which show up well at night,” she said. “Because most of us work during the day, it’s nice to have plants that light up the garden at dusk when we can enjoy our outdoor landscape.”
Rick Nowakowski, owner of Nature’s Curiosity Shop in Vista, which specializes in variegated plants, agrees that they highlight and accent gardens.
“They look especially good as splashes of color against a backdrop of green foliage,” he said. “There are a wide variety of plants with variegated forms, including succulents, which can be very colorful.”
Variegated plants also help diversify a garden. “If you’re a collector of a specific type of plant, being able to find that plant in a variegated form is a wonderful perk,” Lemmon said.
There are two basic types of variegations in plants, said John Kabashima, environmental horticulture advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension, South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.
“True variegated plants get their variegation from the female side of their parentage. There are also variegations that are caused by viruses. Generally, today’s plant propagators avoid the latter type of variegations because viruses can potentially be passed on to other plants in the same family.
“Variegated plants with viruses are also dependent on environmental conditions and may lose their coloring when the weather becomes hot or cold.”
When they are discovered by plant propagators, variegated plants are reproduced from stem cuttings, and if they grow well, they make it into the nursery trade.
“Propagating variegated plants is a hit-or-miss venture,” said Nowakowski, who has propagated many of the variegated plants available at his nursery over the last 30 years. “Sometimes I get a really nice plant, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out well.”
When growing variegated plants, watch for a color change, Lemmon warned.
“Sometimes variegated plants will revert to a solid color,” she said. “You can prevent this by pruning out any new growth that is solid in color.”
* Nature’s Curiosity Shop, 1388 Sunset Drive, Vista. (760) 726-1488.
* Brita’s Old Town Gardens, 225 Main St., Seal Beach. (562) 430-5019.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Consider Color, Texture, Size
These variegated plants make a striking addition to Orange County gardens. When choosing multicolored foliage plants to accent landscape, consider not only colors, but also leaf textures and sizes.
* Aeonium arborescens marginata. Succulent with apple-green leaves margined with creamy yellow. The plant is attractive, forming many rosettes.
* Aloe ‘Hummel’s Cup of Gold.’ Wide, bright-green leaves are heavily striped with golden yellow. In bright light, the plant turns orange red and gold.
* Aspidistra. Also known as the cast-iron plant for its ability to survive most conditions, the variegated form has creamy white leaves with green edging or green leaves with cream-white edging. Grows in any light, including deep shade.
* Canna ‘Pretoria.’ Large, wide green leaves striped with yellow. Foliage especially striking against the plant’s orange flowers.
* Canna ‘Stutgart.’ Long, wide, green leaves splashed with pure white and silver. Grows to 8 feet high.
* Euphorbia ingens monstrosa. Contorted, twisted glossy black stems of this plant are mottled with silver green.
* Felicia ‘Blue Marguerite.’ Foliage is yellow and green and daisy-like flowers are a sky blue with yellow centers. Grows to about 1 1/2 feet tall and spreads 4 to 5 feet, unless pinched or pruned back.
* Glechoma. The variegated variety of this trailing-ground ivy has green and white scalloped leaves. It can be used as a ground cover or in a hanging basket. It grows to 3 inches tall with stems trailing to 1 1/2 feet.
* Heuchera ‘Amethyst Mist.’ Perfect for lighting up a shade garden, this plant has leaves that are purple on the underside and mottled purple with silver on the top. It looks stunning next to plants with yellow leaves.
* Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Lemon Wave.’ This eye-catcher has foliage in four colors on established plants: gray-green, green, cream and yellow leaves. Each opening has a different variegated pattern.
* Licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare ‘Variegatum’). This green-and-white-leaved plant has trailing stems to 4 feet. It can be grown in beds, large pots or hanging baskets.
* Pittosporum tenuifolium. The variegated variety of this easy-to-grow shrub has gray-green leaves with white edges and dark brown stems.
* Rose-scented geranium. This plant makes a good accent in mixed pots with its serrated foliage that is a combination of a gray-green, white and yellow. It also lightens up any green corner of the yard.
* Salvia officinalis ‘Icterina.’ A popular culinary herb, this salvia has lime-green leaves that are edged in yellow. It grows to about 2 feet.
* Salvia officinalis ‘Tricolor.’ This unusual salvia has purple leaves with white borders that turn pink when temperatures drop. It has an open growth habit, reaching about 2 feet. It is also a culinary herb.
* Sedum ‘Frosty Morn.’ A striking plant with soft green foliage edged in white; stems are also slightly white. It has light pink flowers with pink centers and white petals.
* Sisyrinchium striatum ‘Aunt May.’ This iris-like perennial has light green and yellow leaves. It grows to about 2 feet.
* Swedish Ivy (Plectranthus australis). This easy-to-grow plant has shiny dark-green leaves with white markings. It can grow as a ground cover but does especially well as a trailer, spilling out over pots or over the edge of a planter or raised bed.
