Red or Green?
People often ask why their traps are red whereas their friends are green. The reason some traps are green is due to a lack of light. Healthy plants exposed to lots of light (which they love) will generally turn red, whereas those in inadequate light will stay green. The more light, the redder the traps will get.
Some varieties of Venus flytrap are more noticeably red than others, in particular:
- Red Dragon
- Colin’s Red Sunset
- Red Piranha
Whereas some varieties such as Justina Davis have little or no red colouring at all, no matter how much light they get.
In general, the more red colouring a Venus flytrap has, the slower it will grow as it isn’t able to photosynthesise as effectively (photosynthesis requires chlorophyll which is what makes plants green).
Red Dragon photo courtesy of Cobalt Crow.
john ang responded on 02 Feb 2008 at 7:00 am #
Im here in the Phillipines i leave my plant outdoor with water at the bottom about 1cm my problem is the leaves wither in the sun how come i thought they like plenty of sun
Ryan responded on 03 Feb 2008 at 2:36 am #
John – yes they do like plenty of water.
Perhaps it is so dry there that the leaves are withering due to the lack of humidity? You could try placing the plant in a terrarium to increase the humidity if you think this may be the problem. Although if the plant is receiving lots of light it may be too hot inside the terrarium.
Actually … you are heading into winter at the moment. Is it possible your plant is entering dormancy? This would explain some withering of your leaves at this time of year.
Here is an article about dormancy … http://flytrapgrowing.info/dormancy-my-plant-died-during-winter-what-did-i-do-wrong/
Shane responded on 28 Nov 2008 at 9:42 am #
I live in an apartment so it is difficult to get rain water but I do live near a canal – will water from there be ok?
bill responded on 15 Jan 2009 at 12:01 pm #
do u whant them red or green?
Jack responded on 29 Jun 2009 at 4:04 pm #
How long will a healthy robust green venus flytrap live without water before completely dying? If dead or dying, is it possible to revive it?