Acanthus mollis 'Variegatus'

Head wreathed with acanthus leaves
Mosaic from Tuscolo
Museo Nazionale Romano

Acanthus mollis showing leaf variegation

This summer one of my Acanthus plants started to throw up a few variegated leaves. While variegated forms of garden plants can be quite attractive and worth preserving, this one just did not look right. The white sections of the leaf immediately burned and turned brown and the rest of the leaf looked a bit patchy. When Acanthus finish flowering I usually cut them off at ground level, leaves and all. It will be interesting to see whether the variegated leaves return when the plants regrow this autumn.