unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

[Marlon Machado]

I crossed one of my 'Kelly's Blue' with two other blue/red plants which were flowering at the time, 'Sunset' and a plant that I think is 'Dental Work'.

Fruits from both crosses formed, and at first they were green and normal. Then last week I noticed the fruits started to become yellowish. I was quite worried that I would lose the seeds, I thought it was sunburn:

yellowish fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

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yellowish fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

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Then, while inspecting the fruits today, I noticed this:

green and yellow fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

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green and yellow fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

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Some of the fruits were green and yellow!

It suddenly dawned on me that the fruits were in fact variegated

[Spination]

Wow, that's so weird, and cool. Is it because the plant itself has unseen variegation (I know that doesn't make sense )? A spontaneous mutation where and while the fruits were developing? It would have had to be in the stem of the inflorescence since multiple fruits are affected. I wonder if you'll get anything interesting out of the seeds? I mean, I'm sure the cross will yield great potential, but perhaps some variegated seedlings?
Keep us posted!

[Marlon Machado]

Yes Tom, the plant is variegated

Below are pictures of my variegated plant of Aloe 'Kelly's Blue':

Aloe 'Kelly's Blue' variegated

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Aloe 'Kelly's Blue' variegated

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Aloe 'Kelly's Blue' variegated

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I think it was a strike of luck to get this variegated one. I ordered two plants from the site succulent gardening, and when they arrived I did not notice any difference between them. It was only after some new leaves produced in both, that I noticed one of the plants had faint yellow lines on the leaves, while the other had not. Now each new leaf has a better pattern of yellow stripes

Now, I really look forward to see the seedlings grow. I hope to get at least some variegated seedlings, and not too many albinos!

[Spination]

Aha! Now that makes sense. That's awesome - great score! Yes, I think chances of variegated seedlings increase a great deal if the seed parent is itself variegated. Hope you get some!

[Marlon Machado]

It took me a while to sow these seeds, and I was worried they would no longer germinate, but fortunately germination was quite good, and better yet, a high percentage of the seedlings are variegated

Variegated seedlings

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Variegated seedlings

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Variegated seedlings

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Variegated seedlings

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[Spination]

Wow! That's awesome!

[Azuleja]

Very cool!

[Marlon Machado]

Thanks! Seeds were sown January 29, and germination started two weeks later. So seedlings are not even a month old, and still with their cotyledon leaves. I hope I can manage to make most survive the next months, until they are out of the more difficult phase of growing the first few leaves. I will keep you updated of progress.

[Spination]

I am amazed at how obvious the variegation is already, and the numbers of them. It turns my whole understanding of how this all happens among seedlings upside-down. I think the fact that the very seed pods were
variegated too plays a large part in the outcome. Not sure if there is any known precedent for this. I'm also wondering if the inflorescence had emerged from the rosette from a non-variegated tissue section, if the outcome wouldn't have been quite different? Very, very interesting and eye-opening.
Big congrats to you!

[Steph115]

Wow. That is the teeniest tiniest variegation I've ever seen! Thank you for sharing - I have certainly never seen variegated seed pods before.

[boylejake]

WOW! I've never seen anything like that before. It looks very minimalist and cute. I think these wild berries would prove very suitable for a summer greenhouse. What season do they appear in? I've been growing aloe for years but have never seen anything appear on this flower. I think you have to be more careful with them because it can happen that you discover a new species and become a world-famous horticulturist. This medal suits me, and I would be very happy about it, wouldn't you?

[abborean]

Wonder what those seedlings look like now?

[Aeonium2003]

I heard, that the seeds from a variegated seedpod will often result in a variegated offspring. The person who told me that is actually a member here, but hasn't posted...