The other morning when pulling into the parking lot at work, I noticed a broad leafed evergreen tree, growing on the edge of Tony and Anita’s private garden, that had a bright yellow spot near the top. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a bright gold-leaf branch sport on Machilus thunbergii ‘Ulleung Island’. Machilus is an evergreen tree from eastern Asia that is in the laurel family, Lauraceae, and related to avocado.
I showed this to Tony and he had the garden crew take cuttings with a pole saw and deliver them to the propagation shed to get the cuttings stuck. They were able to get about 8 cuttings and hopefully they will root. Once rooted, we will trial these in the garden and further evaluate their future garden potential.
Thanks for the article. I always find it fascinating that a genetic anomaly could possibly lead to a new variety.