It's Not Easy Being Variegated

So add perennials with variegated leaves to your garden

By Rose Rodriguez Published May 29, 2019 Updated June 29, 2022

It’s not easy being variegated. No, we didn’t change it to keep from being sued by Disney. If you’re a plant being green is easy, but having variegated leaves reduces the amount of photosynthesis it can perform, reducing its fitness; therefore it’s not easy. However, we humans like the pattern, variation, and color it adds to a plant. We think variegated leaves are prettier. I can attest to this fact since both variegated kudzu and poison Ivy have been planted here in the garden. No we’re (probably) not crazy, we just like variegation. It can add complexity and beauty to just about any plant, we’ve even spotted variegated crabgrass in the garden (that we didn’t plant, we’re not that crazy). You can add beauty and complexity to your garden by buying one of the countless variegated plants from Plant Delights Nursery.

To know how much we like variegation you only have to look at one of our favorite plants; the hosta. Hostas are known for their variegation, and the many many patterns it comes in. Many of the patterns on those variegated leaves have been introduced by us and our hosta breeding program. If you try growing hostas, we know you’ll like variegated leaves as well.

Don’t care for hostas? If you said no we’re going to pretend you didn’t, but there are no worries. We have a large variety of plants with variegated leaves, to fit any conditions. For those who need drought tolerance or xeriscape plants we have a wide selection of agaves and yuccas with variegation. If you want a classy spin on tropicals we have a number of elephant ears (Colocasias, Alocasias), gingers (zingiber, curcuma, hedychium), and cannas with variegation.

The tree ivies (Fatsia and x Fatshedera) make for stunning variegated specimen plants. The large lobed leaves are stunning with splashes of color and pattern. It definitely adds focus to the shade or Asian garden. These and many more wonders of variegation are available online. It may not be easy being variegated, but it’s very easy to find plants that are by shopping at Plant Delights Nursery.

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