Observations in MG mutation

I had such an interesting year (2009) growing two Diluted Fuji no Muraski vines. The constant change of the blooms on both vines was just astonishing. I thought I would start a thread here showing photos of this special cultivar that I originally received from Sarah (quaintcharm).

I started my first seed from Sarah in March 2009. That vine grew and bloomed and was just amazing! I managed to get a few seeds from the first vine. So I then grew one of those seeds (F1) in August. I was not disappointed.

Here are some photos of the original vine and it's blooms. The blooms started out as typical Muraski blooms. As this vine aged, the flowers got very interesting!

Starting to show mutation.

A bloom showing how beautiful the bloom mutations are!

Some of the blooms just took my breath away!

And look at how the white spread all over some of the blooms ... Just amazing!

Look at this lovely pair!

Here is the child seed (F1) that I grew from the first vine. Started out the same way looking like the usual Fuji no Muraski cultivar.

And then a few days later this flower bloomed.

And the blooms continued to come. Each one just as unique as the previous one!

Each one different!

Incredible!

Lots of blooms ...

As this vine aged, some of the blooms reverted back to looking more typical and less diluted.

But others really changed to look like a totally different cultivar of I. nil.

And then they finally looked like this before the vine expired.

wow! I would have had a problem leaving them all summer.. I wouldn't have wanted to miss anything!

Wow, they are truly beautiful! It won't be able to pick a favourite....

Thanks Debra and Elsa!

Elsa - No favorite here for me! I liked them all. Fortunately, all these blooms were on a total of 2 vines! LOL! It became an adventure to check the blooms every day to see what the blooms would look like! I never ceased to be amazed! :-)

Aren't MGs just amazing? I can't think of many plants actually producing different looking flowers on the same plant.
I have Mirabilis and a dahlia that has variegated flowers, but the thrill just isn't the same as with MG. I just can't imagine my garden without them, even though I have been waiting for ages this year to see them flower. Luckily the plants seem to have taken off, and I can't wait for all the surprises in the near future...

oooo Elsa you have new plants going there?? oh that is so wonderful!!! I am hoping you will post them as they bloom please?
I just got an envie from Africa, with 5 african species seeds.. Is it spring there now?

Beckygardener,

Those are exceptional. They seem to have a progressive pattern that morphs and changes as the plant matures and possibly there is more than one thing going on at the same time too! They are lively and quite lovely to say the least! Karen

Thanks, Karen! I think it is a combination of the genetics in the vine, the fertilizer, and the growing conditions. It is fascinating what that cultivar created in the way of blooms. Mauve Splash and Sazanami are two other ones that produced some very interesting blooms as the vines grew and aged. Such a shame that they are annuals. I wished they were more like Clematis that come back year after year producing a bigger flush of blooms every year! (sigh)

Hi Debra,

We are in the middle of summer (supposedly), but we have been experiencing the coolest summer in 25 years (according to me and my plants...) My MG took forever to germinate, and just as long to grow into bud producing vines (except for the purpureas) I have already taken them out, as they tend to be quite a problem here. I usually let go to flower for a while, and then, as soon as I've been able to harvest a few seeds, I pull them out. otherwise my other pants just can't compete...
I will see what is in flower today, and post some photos. Not much though- so far only three different vines has produced flowers, and only one or two at a time.

Elsa, MG are also "left handed" in the southern hemisfere?
That is to say that when they grow on a support they naturally turn always to the left.

I am planning a new thread.

Dany, ours turn to the right (counter clockwise). When draining water from a basin, it moves clockwise in the southern hemisphere, and counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere...

Wikipedia's explanation(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect) "Perhaps the most commonly encountered rotating reference frame is the Earth. Moving objects on the surface of the Earth experience a Coriolis force, and appear to veer to the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in the southern. "

I never really thought about it. Just one of those things "happening". One is never too old to learn, they say...

Oh my! I just learned something new! I had no idea. I guess it is like hurricane rotation depending on location. Cool!!!

I was looking at my photos of Sazanami and Mauve Splash and am going to post them here too so everyone can see the way the blooms changed for probably the same reasons as the DFNM vine.

I'll start with Mauve Splash.

Here is an early bloom.

This message was edited Jan 24, 2010 12:54 PM

Another bloom on the same vine on the same day. You can see the bee butt showing! LOL!

Interesting white streak. :-)

A week later. Blooms are showing some morphing ...

And they get more interesting with each passing day! :-)

And of course, you still get the more usual blooms as well during that time frame. :-)

And then more of the "stardust" blooms appear. Always a pleasure to see first thing in the mornings! :-)

Here's a photo showing a variety of bloom mutations (or whatever you want to call it!). :-)

A month later I started seeing the stripes show up. Way cool!

More white on the petals.

Until it produced blooms that looked totally reverse in color.

Along with the amazing blizzard pattern! Very pretty!

One vine with so many diverse blooms! Beautiful!

And this is Sazanami. My absolute favorite vine last year!

Early bloom. Notice the white streak.

In the days following the first bloom, things started to become VERY interesting! :-)