Great Expectations

[Linda P]

Here's a couple leaves of my Great Expectations. I'm trying to decided whether to just twist this shoot out, or to try and get a few roots with it, plant it and see what happens.
I definitely am not going to dig the plant! Don't want to risk setting it back in any way. I kind of think this shoot is just on it's way to all blue. The leaf underneath just has one streak of cream going down the middle, and there's on other mostly blue leaf with some color breaks on it here and there.
What would you do with it?
Linda P

[DBoweMD]

If you get an all blue leaf, remove that leaf to discourage development of a dormant bud beneath it.
Next priority would be to remove a leaf if the color is not in the center, or not on the edge. However I usually leave them on if you don't want to divide it. Revolution does this. You might get a nice sport to settle out eventually.
I would try to pull the whole eye out if almost all the leaves are solid blue. I have done this with June sports to get a Halcyon.

[caliloo]

Oh my gosh that is pretty! I can understand why you don't want to set it back. I would be tempted to remove as much soil as I could right near that eye and carve that eye out with a paring knife (trying to salvage some roots too) and try to move it to another location. IT is quite nice looking!

Alexa

[Seedseller1]

Hi Linda,

I think I would do a combo of what was suggested already. I would give it another year to see what happens. If it's going blue or sporting, the eye that this shoot produces next year will be lost whether you take it out now or next year. The chances that this eye will produce a normal colored eye beyond it is probably slim unless this eye comes back normal next year (my best guess, anyhow). I wouldn't guess that a normal eye would form causing this one to move closer to the center of the plant causing you to remove more than you would like to remove in the future. Is anybody following my reasoning? You would still have the option of twisting it out if this did occur and didn't want to save it. If you want to remove it intact, whether now or later, I would drag out the garden hose with a spray nozzle on it and wash/blow away as much soil around that eye to allow you to disect it off with enough roots to save it without unearthing the whole plant. Depending on the soil underneath it, after that portion of the crown is exposed for dividing, the roots should come out fairly easily once the ground is saturated with minimal effect on the rest of the plant. This is my view but I am open to correction or discussion.

The plant is beautiful. I am one of those that haven't been able to grow GE successfully.

[renaldo75]

WOW!! That's a gorgeous GE, Linda!! And the leaf is interesting but most likely would be all blue by next year. I'd do the most minimally invasive surgery possible. I think there are several good ideas about how to go about it, but I sure wouldn't bother your GE much. It looks extremely happy where it is.

[Linda P]

This is the second year for a streaky eye in this plant. I actually got a streaked scape with a few streaky pods, and had a couple of really weak streaky seed kids from it last year.
There is another all-blue eye on the other side of the plant. I didn't make that too clear in my first post. I am going to twist out the all-blue eye so it doesn't take over the plant.
I think I get your point, Mike. This eye is close to the edge of the plant, and would probably be easier to remove this year than if I waited. The soil there is extremely loose. I've been digging up and moving hostas the last couple of weeks, and most of the time, the soil just falls off of them. (Could be one reason they grow so large here!!!.....)
It's definitely a plant with some morphing in the works. I may just wait til this rain event is over and then see if I can isolate that eye and set it out. If it's half as picky as the rest of the family (other than sieboldiana Elegans) I may be in the nursing home before I know if this is going to settle out to anything, or just go all blue.
Thanks for the opinions!
Linda P

[Noreaster]

Wow, that is absolutely gorgeous!