FlyTrapCare Forums

Ok, so i know that VFTs turn red with lots of sunlght. But this got me confused,when i Received this plant in my mystery box from VFT store back in March it was all green,then after a while its traps turned dark red. I know this happens wen the plants receive lots of sunlight, But about a month ago,it is like the entire plant became a color changer,cause now the entire plant is red/purple. All of the other plants are the same color as when i received them,cept for this one,its funny looking at the plant one week and it is green,then bout 2 weeks later it is completely red/purple.I mean it has been green for 8 months,but now all of a sudden it is red/purple. Wuld this have anything to do with dormancy? Is it natural? Or just something rare with the plant to make it keep changing colors?
Thanks for the help.
I forgot to mention i live in Pennsylvania,and all my plants are groing outsie. I know its not good cause t is freezing here,but the still ook petty goodit has some new growth coming up,but it has not opened yet,and it been a few weeks since it starte growing.Is this abad sign?

Well, my best guess if its completely red, that it is not a typical, but al "all red" variant

it will be nice to have some pictures, probably a before / after

Where is it currently growing? Sometimes even green flytraps that have a lot of anthocyanin in their leaves can turn completely red in the winter months.

What is anthocyanin? And is it a good or bad thing? I have them growing outside on my back porch,and i only cover them up at night,and i take the cover off during the day for them to get sunlight. It seems to be working pretty good,i guess ill find out if they survive in a month or 2. But im guessing they will as they look pretty darn healthy. Im not sure if i have a before picture but i can get a picture of it now. If it will help.
Thanks for the help

munchie16201 wrote:What is anthocyanin?

From here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (also anthocyans; from Greek: ἀνθός (anthos) = flower + κυανός (kyanos) = blue) are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that may appear red, purple, or blue depending on the pH.

In flytraps, anthocyanin is what gives them the reddish coloration.

munchie16201 wrote:And is it a good or bad thing?

That's not a simple question to answer. In flytraps, heavy anthocyanin production creates deep red coloration, which is visually appealing to many growers (and many insects for that matter). But it also filters out a lot of the photosynthesizable light spectrum usually resulting in noticeably slower growth for plants with a lot of anthocyanin.

The reason it is produced under bright light is to keep the plant from burning. It is like sunscreen for the plant.
Also, many plants lose their chlorophyll in cold weather, leaving only the other pigments it had produced to show.
Most of the time, the chlorophyll masks these other pigments.

This is what makes leaves turn yellow or red in the fall.

Maybe the same thing is in effect here?

Thanks for the help. It does make this plant look nicer,but will it go back to being all green?

At times of the year when they're growing quickly, most flytraps will appear mostly green in color, even some of the "all red" varieties...

Thanks. I just hope i did not kill my plants by leaving them outside during the cold months. The LFS has frozen solid like a rock. They have been this way for the past 5 days to a week,and buried under snow for a day or 2. But i removed them from the snow and they are still outside looking like they are healthy. The new growth is growing really slowly, I have seen 2 new growths starting about a month ago,and 1 hasx ust finally started to open,and the other is still really small. Is this what dormant VFT are suppose to do?

You may wish to put them somewhere protected (like a cool porch or garage) instead of leaving them outside to freeze.

And yes, dormant VFT grow, but very slowly.

@ Matt,

I had a question, due to my recent internship that involves algae i learned about the Xanthopyll cycle, i was wondering, due to high light, is that also a factor in colorization? Is there any reading on what biochemical markers are behind the colorization etc?

Sander wrote:@ Matt,

I had a question, due to my recent internship that involves algae i learned about the Xanthopyll cycle, i was wondering, due to high light, is that also a factor in colorization?

No idea. I've never even heard about the Xanthopyll cycle.

Sander wrote:Is there any reading on what biochemical markers are behind the colorization etc?

What do you mean by "the colorization?" Do you mean to ask if there is something written on the subject of what causes Venus fly traps to become colorful? I don't know that I've ever read any publication that went into detail about what biological and chemical actions are taking place to cause coloration in flytraps, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was something published in a book or ICPS newsletter. Most of what I have read is simply something along the lines of "Anthocyanin production causes the red coloration." And that anthocyanin production is affected by soil pH, temperature, type and intensity of light, soil nutrients, among many other things.

Hi, new to the site, kinda experienced grower of VTFs, drosera binata, and sarracennia purpurea. Been growing successfully 3 growing seasons, this is my third dormancy period, and im anxious on repotting and watchen them take off! May try to allow some flowers to pollenize and create seeds and grow them.

But any how, I just purchased some new varieties of fly traps, an akiu ryu, bohemion garnet, and pink venus. these will be my first "all red" variaties. And i was looking for ways to get them nice and red.

I normally grow outdoors in north carolina (pretty much perfect for most VTFs!) I am thinking about making a shelter for them this year, I'm thinking a domed canopy of white plastic tarp (mainly to shade them from noon sun) with some red plastic chicken wire (looks like red plastic lattice) inside the dome to give an artificial red light affect. My thoughts are that the red light will create more red in the traps since i have noticed that my traps get more red closer to fall. (though this is far from a controlled experiment, since it also gets cooler in the fall i am able to leave the traps in full sun even at noon which could be part of the reason) But i think this experiment is worth trying, and i was wondering if anyone has done this, or knows if it will affect the grow cycle of the plant by mimicking fall light with less blue spectrum?

thanks

Matt wrote:

Sander wrote:@ Matt,

I had a question, due to my recent internship that involves algae i learned about the Xanthopyll cycle, i was wondering, due to high light, is that also a factor in colorization?

No idea. I've never even heard about the Xanthopyll cycle.

Sander wrote:Is there any reading on what biochemical markers are behind the colorization etc?

What do you mean by "the colorization?" Do you mean to ask if there is something written on the subject of what causes Venus fly traps to become colorful? I don't know that I've ever read any publication that went into detail about what biological and chemical actions are taking place to cause coloration in flytraps, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was something published in a book or ICPS newsletter. Most of what I have read is simply something along the lines of "Anthocyanin production causes the red coloration." And that anthocyanin production is affected by soil pH, temperature, type and intensity of light, soil nutrients, among many other things.

Hey matt, missed your reply.

what i ment to say, the xantophyll cycle is a system in plants which they use when there is to much sunlight.
They form a molecule which costs energy and store the molecule, and revert the molecule back when there is not enough light (after dawn) which produces energy.
And im gonna try and find some info on the anthocyanin if i have some spare time.

flytrapinterest wrote:Hi, new to the site, kinda experienced grower of VTFs, drosera binata, and sarracennia purpurea. Been growing successfully 3 growing seasons, this is my third dormancy period, and im anxious on repotting and watchen them take off! May try to allow some flowers to pollenize and create seeds and grow them.

But any how, I just purchased some new varieties of fly traps, an akiu ryu, bohemion garnet, and pink venus. these will be my first "all red" variaties. And i was looking for ways to get them nice and red.

I normally grow outdoors in north carolina (pretty much perfect for most VTFs!) I am thinking about making a shelter for them this year, I'm thinking a domed canopy of white plastic tarp (mainly to shade them from noon sun) with some red plastic chicken wire (looks like red plastic lattice) inside the dome to give an artificial red light affect. My thoughts are that the red light will create more red in the traps since i have noticed that my traps get more red closer to fall. (though this is far from a controlled experiment, since it also gets cooler in the fall i am able to leave the traps in full sun even at noon which could be part of the reason) But i think this experiment is worth trying, and i was wondering if anyone has done this, or knows if it will affect the grow cycle of the plant by mimicking fall light with less blue spectrum?

thanks

As far as i am aware, making it red does not help, it will only filter out green light.
The main reason they get more red (in theory, at least), is because the angle of the earth changes, and therefor the way that light reaches the earth which mostly effects red, and infrared light.