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unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:27 pm
by 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'
yellowish fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'
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yellowish fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'
yellowish fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'
SAM_8047.JPG (63.84 KiB) Viewed 2594 times
Then, while inspecting the fruits today, I noticed this:
green and yellow fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'
green and yellow fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'
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green and yellow fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'
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 :D

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:38 pm
by Spination
Wow, that's so weird, and cool. Is it because the plant itself has unseen variegation (I know that doesn't make sense :lol: )? 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? :huh:
Keep us posted!

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:42 pm
by Marlon Machado
Yes Tom, the plant is variegated D))

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

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

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 4:07 pm
by 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!

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:47 am
by 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 :D
Variegated seedlings
Variegated seedlings
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Variegated seedlings
Variegated seedlings
IMG_20190221_173949962.jpg (79.4 KiB) Viewed 2465 times
Variegated seedlings
Variegated seedlings
IMG_20190221_174014041.jpg (79.05 KiB) Viewed 2465 times
Variegated seedlings
Variegated seedlings
IMG_20190221_174141525.jpg (79.85 KiB) Viewed 2465 times

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:53 am
by Spination
Wow! That's awesome! :U :U :U

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 2:43 pm
by Azuleja
Very cool!

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:59 am
by 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.

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 9:17 am
by 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!

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:57 pm
by Steph115
Wow. That is the teeniest tiniest variegation I've ever seen! :lol: Thank you for sharing - I have certainly never seen variegated seed pods before.

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 6:34 pm
by 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?

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 9:48 am
by abborean
Wonder what those seedlings look like now?

Re: unnusual fruits in Aloe 'Kelly's Blue'

Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 1:40 pm
by 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...