Are variegated leaves more sensitive to light? Do they need less or more light than a normal leaf? Will variegated leaves burn from the sun easier? I have heard that darker green leaves can handle deeper shade better.
Leave variegation and light levels
I'm no expert by any means, but I would say yes Variegated leaves in general need less intense light. And the more light they get the more the difference will be in the leaves including burn marks. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
I was under the exact opposite impression!! When I bought my Alocasia Mac Albo I was told that since the white parts are lacking Chlorophyll it needed more light to survive. Makes logical sense to me. Having said that I keep mine in part shade afraid of the leaf burn. Go figure.....Maybe LariAnn or BW will chime in with a more better reasoning.
I'm sorry, I didn't really explain what I meant. I was always told the more light they get, the more white you will see and if they get to much light they will burn.
The variegated plants cannot make Chlorophyll in the white sections of the leaf this usualy slows the plant down a bit and it will burn in direct sun if it is a sun loving plant naturally as a green form then it would most likely need to be in a bright area but full sun would burn it. As for dark leaf plants most all tropical dark leaf plants enjoy and need full to part sun to be dark. In most cases dark leaf plants in shaded areas at times will not turn dark but stay green. I have seen this with Colocasias and bananas.
With most white variegated plants you need to give the plant enough light to be healthy but the variegated sections will burn in to much light so finding a bit of shade could help. Of course here in KY the sun is much different than south Florida. Some other things that come to play is moisture variegated plants tend to but less if they are really kept moist during hot days also epson salt will help thicken the leaves and has also helped to keep variegated plants from burning.
Here is a picture of Canna stuttgart in full KY sun for the summer. I did get some leaf burn but it was not so bad it effected the over all look of the plant. Some variegations like Canna Tropicanna and others can take full sun with out any burn at all usually the whites and some yellows are effect most.
Thanks. Sounds like bright light or morning sun would be good for variegated plants.
I love the white variegated cannas! Are var. cannas for sale often and for reasonable prices or are they usually passed friend to friend?
Is there such a thing as red and white variegation?