Quote:
Originally Posted by varig8
This problem isnt an unusual one with variegated plants, but it isnt chronic. The distorted tissue is caused by the rate of growth between the normal green tissue with chlorophyll and the mutant tissue which lacks it. The normal tissue in some cases will grow at a much faster rate than the white tissue therefore causing it to constrict. Sorry it took me so long to offer an explanation for you!
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Thanks. I have seen this come and go in the past on a 'florida'. As I recall, the only difference at the time was that it was directly under a porch light that sometimes stayed on all night. This lead me to an interesting theory. Since chlorophyll deficient tissue does not photosynthesize, it must rely on the green tissue for energy for growth. So during the day, the green tissue grows faster and at night the white cells have to catch up. If the day-length is too short due to artificial lighting, the green tissue will outgrow the white.
I'm going to try an experiment. I will obtain two similar manini. I will isolate them in a dark box and give one 8hrs/day of light and the other 20 and see what happens.