The regenerated plantlets, about 1–2 cm in height, were transferred to vermiculite in cell
trays (cell size 5.0 cm × 5.0 cm × 7.0 cm; 50 cells/1 tray) and kept in a mist house for
hardening for 1 month. When reaching 2–3 cm in height, all the regenerated plantlets were
transferred to vermiculite in 12 cmplastic pots and the liquid fertilizerN–P–K(5–10–5) were
applied at the concentration of 2ml l−1 once a week. The regenerated plants were grown
in a glasshouse for about 3 months to evaluate leaf colour characteristics. The leaf-colour
variants were determined by visual assessments in comparison with mother plants. The
plants with distinct leaf-colour variants such as vein colour, the percentage of red, green
and grey colour area was considered during data collection.