variegated cherokee purple?

[phantom_white]

I work at a local nursery, and while going through the new plants that came in while was off work I came across a Cherokee Purple plant with variegated leaves on it. Besides the off coloration, it was identical in every way to the other CP plants. One of the "Master Gardner's" that works there said something was wrong with it (thus the cream colored leaves) and she wouldn't buy it. I like oddities, so I saved it back and plan on planting it along with my other tomatoes when it warms up. Has anyone else had trouble with tomatoes that had variegated leaves?

Abby

[delltraveller]

Last year I purchased a Cherokee Purple tomato plant that had two plants in the pot and one of them was variegated. I separated them and planted both. I didn't have a very good location ready for the variegated one, but I tried it anyway. It got kind of a late start. The plant started to do okay, the foliage stayed variegated and it started to set some fruit, but it got cool and I never got it to the point of having any seeds to save, which was my hope.

[carolyn137]

Quite a few folks have reported different varieties with variegated foliage, but then there's never much followup except one person determined what he thought was variegation was pigeon poop.

To date the only variegated variety I know of that comes true with seed is the variety Variegata, aka Variegated which is said to have arisen in Ireland.

Someone sent me seeds of Green Zebra Cherry that she got from my seed offer last year and said that the foliage was variegated and she took cuttings and they also gave rise to variegated foliage. What isn't known is if seeds from those variegated Green Zebra Cherry plants will give rise to variegated plants.

So there are I think two of us who will have those plants from the seed sent to look at this summer. Variegation is more apparent in somewhat cooler areas than the south b'c when it warms up it goes away, but comes back when the temps cool down.

If you look at my growout list in that thread here you'll see that I added it at the last minute b'c when the seeds came in I put them in a special place and it was so special I forgot they were there.

So Abby, do grow it out, be sure it's Cherokee purple, and save seeds to sow for next year to see if it does come true. If you want to you can also take vegetative cuttings and grow them out a bit to see if it carries through with vegetative propagation.

[phantom_white]

I will at the very least save seeds. Maybe I can grow a few seeds during the winter to see if they still throw variegated plants. As of now, the whole plant isn't variegated- it's only the newer leaves that have stripes. It's about 5 inches tall and very healthy looking... I almost think the place that grows them roots cuttings instead of starting seeds. I know that even when my starts are that size they don't look the same as the "Papa Joe's" plants.

Abby

[Wi-sunflower]

the whole plant isn't variegated- it's only the newer leaves

That may be your clue.

I will often get a plant or 2 of many types of plants that will occasionally show that white mottling on new growth, but they always outgrow it.

I know what you are saying about how the plants in general look too.

I was at my local greenhouse supplier Wed morning when they have a "plug day" of plant sales from a big greenhouse supplier. They had several varieties of tomatoes in the 512 plug flats. The plants were rather reddish purple which indicated they were kept in cool to cold conditions.

I didn't check the date on the tomatoes, as I didn't need any of there varieties, but the peppers I got were only 5 weeks from seeding. That's about normal for the plugs. But all the plants were short and stocky and all the same, just like the tomatoes. I know mine wouldn't look anything like that.

My guess is that they are using a PGR on everything. Plant Growth Regulator. I don't know about the newer chemicals, but the older PGRs weren't labeled for vegies, but some places would use them anyway. They figured that the plants were long enough away from fruiting that it wouldn't matter.

Carol

[carolyn137]

Carol, since I had posted about growth regulators above I thought I'd take a look at some info via Google and it was worth it.

http://ipm.ncsu.edu/agchem/9-toc.pdf

The above link indicates which growth regulators should be used for what purpose and as I expected, about 90% of the data is for flowers. But near the end there was some info about processing tomatoes and only one regulator was listed and from what was said in the directions about the timing and mention of fruits I thought it might have something to do with ripening. So I found a list of all the various kinds of regulators:

http://www.alanwood.net/pesticides/c...egulators.html

And it indicates that the regulator suggested for tomatoes accelerates ethylene synthesis within the fruits. Ethylene is normally produced by fruits as part of the ripening process and those anemic looking tomatoes we see in the winter have been gassed with ethylene to color them up, but this regulator does it in the field.

I saw no references in the first link for using regulators for any purpose on any edibles other than the one used on processing tomatoes to hasten ripening.

As I said above, none of the commercial farmers I know use regulators on edibles, and I'd like to think that the plug plants you referred to were short and stocky either b'c they'd been cold treated or just plain raised correctly, and I think I'd lean towrds the latter.

I could have Googled more to find out if growth regs used on edibles led to untoward events, how long the regs stayed in the plant, could they be transported to the fruits, but I didn't, b'c I just didn't knowing that growth retarding regs are not, or should not be used on edibles.

So I learned something this AM, and that's good, I learned that you don't have to gas green tomatoes in huge chambers, you can up their ethylene gas production right in the field.

And the same thing is accomplished by home gardeners when they read that they can haasten ripening by putting fruits in a paper bag with an apple slice. The bag concentrates the normal ethylene produced and that apple slices add more. The same obtains when folks run out there at the first killing frost and wrap the unripe fruits in newspapers, and I used to do that myself.

But who wants artificially ripened tomatoes obtained by upping the ehtylene content. You may be coloring them up but since they're off the vines what about all the compounds that are associated with TASTE?

For me there is a season and when the season is over that's it. Yes, I buy tomatoes off season, usually th hybdroponic on the vine ones from Canada.

[phantom_white]

I don't know if the plant growth hormone is "natural" or not, but one of the main selling points for the producers of these plants (Wenke's greenhouse in Michigan) is "naturally grown." Most of them are short, stocky, and purpley colored even after being kept in our warm greenhouse for a few weeks. I've never had any problems with these plants being weak or being the wrong type. I can't wait until it gets warm so I can plant them all!

Abby

[organichris]

I saw some tomatoes being sold at Home Depot under the name Cherokee Purple. The leaves weren't variegated, but they were more sharply serrated than mine and stockier. I was tempted to buy one, but I already have too many plants as it is.

[dice]

I sprayed a burn-down herbicide whose active ingredient
is pelargonic acid on some weeds around the end of a
raspberry patch one year. The raspberry plants on one corner
of the patch at that end developed striped leaves. The effect
persisted for the whole summer and the next year on those
plants, and then it was gone (the canes that grow from those
plants die after the summer in which they produce fruit, while
the plant grows new canes each year that produce the next
summer's fruit; so after 2 years, there were no more live canes
on the plant that had been growing when I sprayed the herbicide
around the base).

That herbicide is entirely organic and not systemic, so it was
safe to spray there as far as not poisoning anyone via the
fruit on the raspberry plants, which had not even set yet.
I had not thought it could damage something as large and
hardy as a raspberry plant unless you drenched the plant
with that herbicide, which would kill all of the foliage.

The variegated leaves on your Cherokee Purple plant could be
the result of some chemical damage like that to that one plant,
or it could be the result of some mutation that produces a
similar appearance.

[phantom_white]

Here's a bit of an update for the striped plant:
The plant is growing a little slower than the other plants it is close to. The older leaves are still striped and the newer leaves are as well. I'm debating on whether or not to dig it up and bring it home with me instead of leaving it at my grandparent's house where it is currently. It's not getting as much sun or care as it needs...

[delltraveller]

I just picked up a variegated Cherokee Purple plant, from the same source as last year, the HY VEE Drugstore, formerly Drug Town. The tag in the plant identifies the source as "Michigan West Shore Nursery" and I believe the tag is identical to the one I had last year.

[delltraveller]

An update on the variegated Cherokee Purple I bought. It is currently starting to flower. It has grown some, but remains small. The new growth continues to be variegated. The stem is very thick. The leaves may be rugose--they're definitely very ridged and textured. The variegation is sort of throwing off my perception of them. I'm calling it "stunted" for now, but it may have some dwarf characteristics. I'll see what develops. I'm pretty sure it isn't going to require the amount of space I allotted for it, nor the large cage I put on it.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by delltraveller

An update on the variegated Cherokee Purple I bought. It is currently starting to flower. It has grown some, but remains small. The new growth continues to be variegated. The stem is very thick. The leaves may be rugose--they're definitely very ridged and textured. The variegation is sort of throwing off my perception of them. I'm calling it "stunted" for now, but it may have some dwarf characteristics. I'll see what develops. I'm pretty sure it isn't going to require the amount of space I allotted for it, nor the large cage I put on it.

And I'm wondering, after reading your description, if it's going to turn out to be Cherokee Purple.

So please be sure to let us know.

[delltraveller]

I feel a little awkward calling it a variegated Cherokee Purple, but until it reveals more about itself I guess that will have to do. It seems to be in with the seeds of Cherokee Purple that this company grows from, and they don't cull out the plants that look like this.

I wonder if the "slowness" that Abby is experiencing with her's at her grandparents house is not due to lack of sun or care, as she thought, but due to some characteristics that it has in common with the one I have.

Abby, how is your "VCP" doing now?

[delltraveller]

Last night I discovered a little green fruit on the plant.