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chinchette

neo pups different color than mother plant

chinchette
11 years ago

Hi. I am really new to neos. I have one that was green with a bit of pink on the tips for a couple of years. Then it turned hot pink and bloomed. Before it bloomed it threw off about a dozen pups, but almost every one of them was green with no pink. There is one that has some pink. Could you tell me why this happens? Will the green ones always be just plain green? Thanks so much!

Comments (8)

  • olddude
    11 years ago

    The colors of neo's can be variable. Color can be affected by fertilization, light levels and anthesis(blooming). Occasionally a plant will sport and throw a pup that either has varigation that the mother plant doesn't have or the opposite, no varigation(refered to as novar).
    The odds are that your pups will color up as time goes by but watching to see what will happen is part of the fun growing these guys.
    Enjoy, Scott

  • chinchette
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank for the explanation. Should I be fertilizing? If so, with what? What type of medium?

  • olddude
    11 years ago

    Well, many brom growers never fertilize prefering to grow their plants 'hard'which lend itself to better color but slightly smaller plants. If you choose to fertilize use a low N- high K formula. High nitrogen tends to keep plants greener and can produce 'strappy' leaves. The growing medium should have very good drainage. I use a soiless mix of 1/3 promix, 1/3 pine bark, 1/3 cypress mulch. Every grower has their own preference but universally they are not a soggy dense mix.

  • chinchette
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks! Oh, that might be why some of mine are strappy leaves. My soil probably had fertilizer already in it. So if my soil is the wrong kind, will it hurt the plant to take it out and repot it?

  • olddude
    11 years ago

    Nope, repotting won't hurt a bit. Broms are some of the toughest plants around. Have at it!
    Scott

  • splinter1804
    11 years ago

    Hi chinchette

    As well as the plants you speak of, you can also get what's known as an "unstable" plant where the colours will vary from year to year. This usually happens in the variegated plants and there's really nothing much you can do about it because it's to do with the mixture of the genes within the plant.

    I have a small Neo Meyendorffii variegated which demonstrates exactly what I'm talking about and although it is worthless (money wise) it's still a very interesting plant as you don't know what each year will bring.

    The plants pictured below were all pieces from the plant I am talikng about, and even in the same pot there are many differences as you can see in the picture.

    {{gwi:450012}}

    All the best, Nev.

  • chinchette
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Interesting! Thanks for showing me this.

  • chinchette
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Okay, am I hallucinating? Some of the pups from my neo do not have any teeth on the edges ie: not rough. They are completely smooth. I thought neos have the teeth type edge. The mother plant has them.

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