FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I am building a new setup for my CPs in garage. What is the best light for bright colors in your plants? I am talking about Cephs Heliamphora sundews and so on. Thanks.

I'm sure there's a lot of info on the web (and on this forum) beyond "blue for growth" and "red for flowering". I've got no argument with the red+blue rule. The thing is, when I view my plants under an unbalanced spectrum, the colors of the plants seem "off" in a hard-to-describe way. I use only full-spectrum (sunlight) bulbs and the colors look right. I can't talk about Helis - I don't have any - but I can say that with my full-spectrum tubes my VFTs get very colorful. The reds are as deep and dark as any pictures I've seen. And my sole baby Ceph is coloring up quite well, too.

To me, full-spectrum gives the best color.

Evenwind, where do you get full spectrum bulbs?

@killerplants4realz, I find that a mix of bulbs works best. My flytraps do not grow as fast under all warm bulbs, and they do not color up as well under cool bulbs.

Thank you even wind and katya_dog1. I have a mix of bulbs Led and T12 and T5? I just can't get that pop of color like when they are outside in the real sun? Maybe they cant? Where do you get full spectrum bulbs good one katya. Are you talking like all around florescent grow bulbs? Thanks again.

katya_dog1 wrote:Evenwind, where do you get full spectrum bulbs?

I've been buying from these folks for at least a decade. The tubes are certainly more expensive than some but they put out more light and can last over 5 years at full strength:

http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/fu ... 33_ctg.htm

edit:
Just as an example of the color depth, this was taken last year. The one in the forground is Bohemian Garnet and the out-of-focus one behind it is Paradisia:

Is the plant in the back really a paradisia?? The all red one? I didn't even know they colored up that well!

I don't have much input in terms of light, (see lights in signature), but after mixing in warmer range bulbs with my usual 6500k I have seen a nice increase in color.

Definitely a Paradisia. Here's a better pic of it and the same plant as it is now. (Okay, I'm not sure which one it is but it's one of them.) They've been out of the refrigerator for around 3 weeks. So far, only the traps have developed real color but you can see the beginnings of a red blush in the rest of the leaf...

Wow, they all look so nice! Trichterfalle has a lot of fused traps!
Must...resist..urge..to buy plants i dont have room for! lol

Plants look weird under the red and blue lights because there is no green light for the plants to reflect into your eyes so they just look black. Plants do not need green light, hence they reflect it. The red blue lights are a bit more energy efficient, but results will should end up the same. The only difference I have noticed, which might just be the light setup and not an actual difference, is that white full spectrum lights seem to color the plants up more while red and blue lights grow the plant faster and larger.

I've read all sorts of detailed and scientific explanation on the choice of spectrum of light to use. Believe me, which ever common ones you decide on, they all work!

The last setup on LED, i've decided on what pleases my eyes and me. I've went with 6500 and 3000 kelvins.

Wow wow wow. That paradisia has some absolutely excellent coloration. I'll buy those full spectrum bulbs, they actually aren't that much more expensive than what I was going to buy.