FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Ginormous is my favorite cultivar currently. Yours is putting up many more traps than mine but mine has more red. I believe both of ours are getting sun for most of the day. I use peat/sand, wonder if that could be the difference.

None of my plants show much color until September. I don't know exactly why. They receive roughly 12 hours of direct sun.

Fieldofscreams wrote:None of my plants show much color until September. I don't know exactly why. They receive roughly 12 hours of direct sun.

Same here in Northern California. They started showing hints of red a week ago, but September is the month.


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salty wrote:I use peat/sand, wonder if that could be the difference.

That's exactly the reason IMO. It isn't popular to say but NZLFSM and white pots make all the difference. Peat/sand or perlite and a dark pot is the wrong way to go. That's been my experience so far.

Mine is definitely a younger plant as well but there’s a reason FTS switched to LFSM. Not sure I’m ready to make the switch yet.

Some nutrients in the soil, re: Maxsea, helps vfts to have redder traps. I also think soil is better for vfts overall, rather than lfsm. But lfsm is just easier to deal with, less messy.
I think the heat in the summer causes my fly traps to lose color. I don't think it's the pot color. what is left of my Ginormous after winter storm Grayson

The reason I recommend using white pots is to keep the soil temps down. It makes a huge difference.

You guys could do a simple experiment. Fill a white pot with NZLFSM and then fill a black pot with a dark soil like peat/perlite.

Set them both in the sun.

You can feel the difference just by touching them. You will also notice a difference in how fast the dark pot/soil dries out compared to the other pot.

As far as why flytraps tend to lose color in height of the growing season I don't really know, could be heat, could be more sun, could be more intense sun or a combination of all those. I've never really cared since they all grow like weeds and become super colorful when fall comes anyways.

Fieldofscreams wrote:The reason I recommend using white pots is to keep the soil temps down. It makes a huge difference.

You guys could do a simple experiment. Fill a white pot with NZLFSM and then fill a black pot with a dark soil like peat/perlite.

Set them both in the sun.

You can feel the difference just by touching them. You will also notice a difference in how fast the dark pot/soil dries out compared to the other pot.

As far as why flytraps tend to lose color in height of the growing season I don't really know, could be heat, could be more sun, could be more intense sun or a combination of all those. I've never really cared since they all grow like weeds and become super colorful when fall comes anyways.

I will agree with you that white pots are more ideal for growing fly traps or anything else - if cooler roots are better.
I just think as long as there's enough soil around the roots and they don't dry out you will be fine. The problem is shallow pots and roots wrapping around the bottom. If they dry out or get super heated up, they will go into shock.
I have to replace white pots every 6 months. I can reuse the black pots. It's just not practical for me to use the white with this sun here.
My fly traps only get 5-6 hours of direct sunlight: sunrise to 1 to 2pm
I am actually working on shading them for the 2 afternoon hours, at least while it's almost 100°