I’m noticing more oddities mutations [please see discussion in comments about mutations versus deformations] in the garden this year. I’m not yet certain if I am noticing more because there ARE more, or because I’ve developed a deeper interest in them and am more observant. I documented a few oddities last summer over here. Most of the mutations I have observed this year occurred in the blooms, like this nasturtium flower [pictured above]. Two flowers formed on the same stem like a conjoined twin; two separate individuals sharing the same body.
Plant deformations can occur for various reasons, but many seem to be caused by environmental factors such as pests, disease, and weather. We’ve experienced plummeting night time temperatures this summer and I suspect that’s the cause for the freaky flowers that are showing up in my garden. In addition to the nasturtiums, I have also noticed this happening with zucchini and anise-hyssop flowers, all plants that bloom late in the summer season when day and night time temperatures are usually much higher than they have been this year.
In the very early spring I noticed that many of the self-seeded ‘Giant Red’ mustard seedlings were coming up in my garden (all over, not just in one isolated bed) with 3 seed leaves rather than 2. These sorts of deformations are fascinating to observe, but they come with consequences. The mutated mustard plants contracted some sort of virus that I am yet to identify. I tried to keep it in check by pulling first the leaves, then the plants, but it eventually spread and I found it on the ‘Green Wave’ mustard as well. I’ve never seen this on any mustard in all of the years I’ve been growing it, and while it could also be a result of strange springtime weather, I think those plants were probably lacking disease resilience to begin with.
Needless to say I’ll be watching the next crop of self seeded mustards that come up. I’ll also keep my eye on the other plants that have put out freaky flowers. Anise-hyssop is another self-seeder. However, the nasturtium was a plant I bought, not one that I grew from seed and the zucchini was also from first generation seed that I grew last year that did not present with twin flowers (although another variety did). It’s fascinating stuff and another reason why gardening is never, ever dull! So many years in and I am still flooded each year with more new experiences and learning than I ever imagined possible.
Have you noticed any oddities in your garden this year?
Yes! I actually saw a rose bud growing right out of a dead bloom! It was very cool to see it popping out.
This may be obnoxiously nitpicky, but technically these aren’t (almost certainly) mutations, but deformations. The word mutation refers specifically to changes in DNA, rather than one-off developmental screw ups or symptoms of virus infection.
Not nit-picky. If I’m using the wrong word I want/need to know. I just pulled out my handy copy of “Botany for Gardeners” and it defines Mutation as “… a radical mode of genetic change occurring when the chemical structure of genes is permanently reorganized.” Nothing so far that I can find on deformations. So yes. Permanent. Although, I am curious about the mustards that had 3 seed leaves and if that differs i.e if that is permanent and/or which came first, the virus or the deformation?
At some point, if I want to understand this more clearly, I will have to buy a general botany book that is newer than the 1960s. My other older books have nothing on either and only deal in basic plant anatomy, etc. So much to know. The more I know, the more I realize just how much I don’t know.
Thanks for weighing in.
We have noticed several odd growth happenings-shape, color, weird flowers, too. I’ve wondered (as you mentioned) if we are just paying closer attention to our tiny part of the universe? My wife suggested that some of it may be residual from the last two cycles of die offs that we have had (tomato, impatients). We get our seeds/soil/fertilizers from reliable organic sources, and our neighbors don’t spray…hmmm. Let’s see what those botany books can tell us.
I have seen unusual and unexpected variegations on foliage for several years. The latest is on Boneset, Eupatorium. It’s not complete, just partial. There were many others I failed to note mentally, just shrugging it off, until it seemed like a wave of things were showing up with mottling, or striping or whole branches getting new markings of whites and yellows on the foliage. I saw this on Privet, Ligustrum, last summer. No clue as to the cause.
Your double Nasturtium seems to be fasciated, which is how Celosia grows and also the Fantail Pussy Willow. Stems connect to each other and it causes tension or curving in addition to the extra floriferous tops.
What about those dandelions that grow with double flowers? I’ve tried planting the seeds from those, and they grew double, too. Four-leaf clovers? I notice they grow in clumps, so it seems to be genetic…