The Garden Fanatic -- Steve Kawaratani

“There is nothing exempt from the peril of mutation; the earth,

heavens and whole world is thereunto subject.”

-- Sir Walter Raleigh

“Turn and face the strange cha-cha changes. . . .”

-- David Bowie

“Isn’t Winchester Cathedral a white flowered version of Mary Rose?”

asked Catharine.

Well, sorta I replied. It’s a sport -- a spontaneous and random

mutation that occurs on an established variety. Sports resemble their

parent, but often have radically different flowers and/or growth habits.

Plant hybridizers examine thousands of wild and cultivated species

yearly in search of variations or “off-types” of a given plant. In a bed

of seedlings, just one out of 10,000 may have a distinctive new

characteristic: blue flower instead of white, yellow leaves rather than

green, wavy flower petals, dramatic change in leaf or flower shape, an

increased flowering period, greater disease resistance and so on. By

saving and cultivating the characteristic(s), a new variety comes into

being.

A mutation may occur within every type of plant trait. Size, color,

flavor, yield and odor are just a few examples. Their appearance is

totally unpredictable.

Although a sport occurs more commonly among seedlings, there are many

examples of bud mutations -- variations in which a part of the plant,

such as a branch, differs noticeably from the parent plant.

The “Starking” sport of the “Delicious” apple is a spurred variety

that was mutated and provides an earlier and richer red coloring of the

fruit. It first appeared as a branch of an ordinary “Delicious” tree. New

varieties of camellias have been propagated from branches that displayed

color or form mutations. Similar flower-color bud sports often occur on

dahlias, chrysanthemums and azaleas.

The “New Dawn” rose is another interesting bud sport. The

June-flowering “Dr. van Fleet” climbing rose produced a branch that

flowers almost continuously through the summer and fall. Cuttings from

this sport became the variety “New Dawn.”

Roses sport in different ways. Changes in petal color are relatively

common in an uncommon occurrence, as in our example of the white

“Winchester Cathedral” sporting from it’s pink parent and “Chicago

Peace,” a sport of “Peace.” Other examples include change from a bush to

a climbing habit, change in the number of flower petals and development

of moss on flower stems.

Mutants have been experimentally produced through the use of X-rays

and radiation, changes in temperature, aging of seed and the use of

colchicine. Some of these forced mutations yield new changes, while

others are similar to those that occur naturally and often more rapidly.

“Time won’t change me.” Words I have lived by, but it is also true,

“I can’t change time.” I share an upcoming birthday week with my sweet

Catharine. Happy Birthday, darling! By the way, I finally figured out why

you call me a good sport. See you next time.

* Steve Kawaratani is the owner of Landscapes by Laguna Nursery, 1540

S. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach. He is married to local artist,

Catharine Cooper, and has three cats. He can be reached at 949 497 2438,

or E-mail to [email protected].