Penny's thread on Russelia equisetiformus got me inspecting my plant for striped flowers and sure enough today I found one;





I've got a red flowering and a white flowering plant in the same hanging basket;






The weird thing is, there are plain white flowers on the SAME STALK as the "candycane."






Can anyone tell me what's going on here?

Lizette, New Orleans, La.
USDA Zone 9

I haven't a clue...

Joan Garvey - Metairie, LA Zone 9

How come kid number 3 has red hair and all the rest of them have.... It is the oldest question in the world: was it the milkman or was it the breadman? Some plants just have odd flower sports. I used to have a Manettia Vine that did much the same thing and still have an Azalea that does it. It might be odd close breeding among a small population of various colors or it could just be a character of the species: most likely it is something none of us have thought of. Hell, lets call it hanky-panky, a good story can be made of that.

Ward, I don't think it's a characteristic of the species cause it didn't start happening til I put a pup from a red plant in with the white one.
I thought maybe a hummer cross pollinated them and a seed fell into the pot and germinated. But if that was the case, shouldn't all the flowers on that plant be alike?
Another weird thing....all summer long only the white plant bloomed. I actually thought the smaller red plant had expired, but after recent heavy rains a few red flowers appeared. A little while after that, the "candycane" showed up. I wonder if plant roots emit chemical signals that can affect bloom color?

Lizette, New Orleans, La.
USDA Zone 9

I think I see a story line for a soap opera for the "garden club"

Karen
Southern California

While not in the same pot, both varieties are planted 'side-by-side' very close together, in my garden, with no striped babies, so far....