I guess there is no hope for this one. Bought it before leafout last spring. Decided to wait until this spring to see if it perhaps was over fertilised. It had two or three leaves with some variegation. So far this year absolutely nothing.
Well, unfortunately, this is one of those situations where variegation can be lost. It’s quite common for plants to revert to their non-variegated form if the variegation isn’t stable. At this point, you really have two options: you can either leave it as it is and see how it develops, or prune it back quite hard—right down to the main trunk. That can sometimes encourage fresh new shoots, and there’s still a chance those new branches might retain the genetic mutation responsible for the variegation and show variegated growth again.
Thank you TY_jmple. I will keep it as an experiment then. First I will do some airlayers and leave the main trunk as you say. If that don’t work, I will try to airlayer the trunk apart from the rootstock and make myself some new bonsai projects.
In support of what you're saying @TY_jmple, I air layered an a.p. Ukigumo that subsequently only produced very large solid green leaves. After several seasons of this same behaviour, I 'chopped it' (as bonsai folks say) and the Ukigumo foliage came back to stay. As unbelievable as it seems. it does indeed happen. Good advice.
Looks pretty healthy with the correct leaf shape. Normally, reverted leaves are totally plain in form, and these should be removed. I have 2 of this cultivar and some years I get a very strong variegation, and not so much in others. I’d definitely not chop it. A bit more sun exposure seems to help for me.
Good point, @dicky5ash. I'll just add that I tried this for at least 2 seasons with my Ukigumo air layer, and ultimately chopped it as a 'last resort'.
I totally appreciate you chopping was a last resort - your very large green leaves sound like true reversion, rather than just a lack of variegation. This year I have one that is showing a really good pink and dark maroon variegation with a few leaves with white added (this one has plenty of dappled sun, the other has been in a bit of a shaded location and is more green/maroon (last photo).
All that's unfortunate to see. What I have seen from Lileeanne's Jewel, it seems very stable compared to the usual "pink on red" type. Chopping indeed, seems the only way forward. I planted mine in ground this year, so far so good, but this will keep me on my toes! Thanks for the cautionary tale. -E
I respect @emery ’s opinion but I would not chop anything where the leaf shape is true, we have time on our side…, I’d let it grow out and see where it takes you..I get the true variegation some years and not in others...buy another one if you want the variegation in a rush…
Picked up a second Lileeanne’s Jewel at a local garden centre today – it was on sale and I thought it would be interesting to compare the two over time, even if they are at very different stages of development now. Some variegation has appeared on a few leaves of my old one. The lower branch on the right side is the only place so far, on about six leaves. I believe that is the same spot that showed a few variegated leaves last year as well. Last year my old one stayed very similar to this spring colour throughout summer. I’m not sure what to make of it – perhaps pointless to read too much into it at this point, but they do look quite different. The bark also seems off, and even where some variegation is present they appear very different. Thank you all for your input. It’s been much like hearing my own inner debate – chop it. No, wait and see. I’ll start by making some air layers for now. Eventually perhaps chop the rest to see what happens
