A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Shrubs and Trees Rose of sharon producing many albino seedlings!

One particular rose of sharon on my property is producing multiple albino seedlings, i'm talking 30 possibly! I think i've found a partial albino seedling too, might be worth saving since I find hundreds of seedlings each year. Anyway, this seems very rare and besides this 1 plant none others have ever even produced albino seedlings. This is the type that is producing.

What do you mean by "albino seedlings" Keith? Do you mean the leaves are white? Stems? I've not heard of this before - do you have a picture of the albino seedlings?

That is a very pretty flower - is it a double? My rose of sharon flowers all look like hibiscus flowers - white with red centers, or pink with darker pink centers. I, too, get tons of babies each year. I have let a few grow over the years and now have some plants I am giving to a couple of friends and family members. I've tried to pull out all the others popping up.

I am not sure what variety the rose of Sharon is, but the seedlings have white leaves with white stems. The normal seedlings have green leaves and stems. I'll try to get a pic soon.

Here is normal seedlings


Albino seedlings, pure white!

I posted the pictures can anyone help?

WOW - that is very odd! It would be interesting to see what develops - they seem to be healthy other than white! Is there anything different in the soil there?

The plants are old they were very young in 1985, so mabye with age this happens? The soil is very loose and rich with nutrients, and hardly any rocks or sand.

I'll keep them and see if anything happens, I have been putting a few drops of sugar water on the leaves, mabye they will absorb this and live being they cant make chlorphyll?

I believe it is called chlorophyll photobleaching, but I have no idea how to correct it.

Wanted to update, the albino seedlings all died, but the variegated ones are doing great! Here is an example of one.
[img]http://lh4.ggpht.com/pfgXeCnX9IbZJZ...-t-hoiXOJH2bVHG_MU1z_fHEV2KuEcIFNA=s1200[/img]

That's close to the color of our rose of Sharon. Where are the photos now, of the albino ones?

I'm familiar with Albino redwoods coming from seed. And the albino redwoods that grow from seed do not live. And the variegated survive.

If an albino redwood produces seeds, some plants become green too.

Virtually all albino redwoods of any size seem to be basal sprouts from green redwoods, that became large enough to be small trees near the base.

The albino seedlings all died. The variegated seedlings are alive though they grow a bit slower. Mine only have 1 variegated leaf on the plant right now, not fully variegated.

Hmmmmmm I have a "baby" rose of sharon that I've been growing for 2 years now - a seedling of my other 2 that I think cross pollinated. It's about 4 feet tall now, but the deer have eaten the branches back twice this summer so far.

Anywho... the once green leaves are now partly white. They didn't grow this way, they turned that way. They look otherwise healthy, but similar to the white in Keith's picture. I have no idea what is going on, other than maybe deer spit caused them to turn this white?

It might be disease got to the leaves, but it shouldn't kill the plant. My leaves however sprouted white on their own, they have been that color since they sprouted from seeds.

I have seen white seedlings every so often. They don't usually last long since they can't make enough chlorophyll. You could try grafting a seedling onto a green seedling (if you get more) so the green parts will take in enough sunlight to keep the albino part alive. Very interesting that one tree does this often for you.

I never tried grafting before, but I did think about that. I'm giving away free rose of sharon seeds, and some seeds are from this particular plant and mixed with other rose of sharon, by any chance would you want some free seeds if they will grow in your area?

Not right now. Maybe you will share later? I'll keep you in mind if I want to try albino plants with hybridizing. Just as I'm trying to pull yellow to syriacus (ROS) I'm also trying to pull a more blue to rosa-sinensis so overwhelmed with seeds. Thanks though for the offer.

I dont think it would be the age because i just moved into my late great grangmothers house and she had a rose of sharon and its been there for about sixty years.