I'm not a fan of sickly looking plants so i dont understand why anyone would spend thousands for one, to each their own. The Shangri-la pothos for example(altho not high$) looks deformed from pest issues to me, imho. So give it a catchy name lol
I am in total agreement...and many are slow to grow and struggle to size-up - and down-right ugly. I gets me hot that cultivators perpetuate variegation that behaves that way, but, of course, it boils down to profit. They know there are those that will purchase something because its new and different. Not me; its got to be lush and healthy-looking for me to spend money.
I accidentally got a cutting of that pothos (plant seller sent me the wrong box...), it's... Not as bad as bad looking in person... But yea, I don't really like sick looking plants. Unless it makes it look really sick in the cool sense.
@CarbonKevin I think because so many plants just have yellowish leaves naturally I have never associated it with death. That said, there are definitely some mutant plants with yellow that do look sick and dying to me.
You seem to be the best person to ask this, I have a philodendron brandtianum with a half Pink leaf. Do you think it could be a mutation, or is it possibly a virus?
Cacti also display a ton of mutations. That’s why I grow them from seed despite their unbearably slow growth. Most of the time you have just regular plants, but once in a while they display mutations to their apical meristem, which can be truly spectacular. A lot of the species popular on social media like the boo-bie cactus or the spiral cactus are rare mutations that are now being traded as cuttings, hence their high price compared to regular cacti, which tend to be really cheap.
Cactus people aren't obsessed with mutations the way most aroid people are. The goal for many is to get them to grow like they would in the wild. The very sought after cacti are mostly wild forms like Copiapoa or Ariocarpus for example.
@@Tony.795I think it depends where you are; cactus and succulent people here love the crested and mutated forms, and then there’s all the people that love the “albino” ones that cannot survive without being grafted.
This content is PERFECT!!!! Could you dive into the new pothos popping up? I’ve got a neon queen coming. Just got a variegated jade satin. What have we got to look forward to? I want to see mutated versions of our boring ol pothos.
Oh wow it didn’t occur to me that some of these crazy mutations are brought about by experimentation. Sounds obvious now that I hear it though! Thanks for the info and all the reference pictures too
I find it very interesting that when plants mutate we all chase after them and want to collect them but when humans have mutations, society puts some in a subclass of not being as equal.
...because they aren't. Stunted and restarded (yes, typo) people are not natural nor healthy and our instincts tell us how we feel about them, just like any other animal in nature. You should see how animals deal with it though.
I'm a little surprised that people can pay a fortune for mutations where the plant's leaves look like they've had a massive attack of thrips or are undeveloped as if it had some type of virus. While I think that many variegations bring out a lot more beauty in a plant, some of them reach a certain extreme. The plants are neither pretty nor look healthy.
I'm not a fan of variegations that look like bird poop on leaves. Cebu Blue is still way way way more beautiful than Cebu Blue Variegata or Cebu Blue Ghost.
Ever since getting my Sierrana, I've been having a hard time believing it's actually a deliciosa because it's growing twice as fast as all my other deliciosas. It isn't maturing as fast as it's growing though... can't wait for it to get splits and fenestrations!
I find it sad and cruel somehow to do this to plants. Like someday we're going to realize plants have been suffering at our hands for generations, and they want revenge, lol.
A lot of the mutations we are seeing in house plants result from tissue culture. In breeding, sports are usually kept while plants with issues are thrown out. In my opinion, a lot of the leaf shapes are not worth putting on the market.
When I first got into plants I had an albo that was healthy and only produced contorted leaves. I propagated it and those produced contorted babies. I actually threw it away because I thought it was ugly. Now I know I should have kept it because it might have worth a lot of money but 🤷🏻♀️
I’m sorry but all those plants look very sick and ugly! The Thai is the only one that looks normal and pleasant looking. They really need to calm down on mutating such ugly plants and charging huge prices on them. I think it’s ridiculous.
