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So I ordered a batch of red venus fly trap seeds (seeds to grow completely red fly traps, not green fly traps with some red inside of them) from the fly trap store and started sowing them about 4.5 weeks ago. So far I have seen 14 of the 15 seeds sprout, so that is awesome (they are currently green). From what I understand, because I have seeds and not a clone, there is a small chance they might not be red. That fact aside, hypothetically if the seeds are to turn red, does anyone have a guess as to when I can start seeing the sprouts/plants turn red? And when cloning from a leaf pulling (of a red venus fly trap) do the new leaves grow in red or do they also start green and then turn red?

ejderuby
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TheBlindSpring
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1 Answers1

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I would certainly question the statement 'there is a small chance they might not be red' - nearer the truth is the statement 'you have no idea what you're going to get'. Each seedling will be genetically different from all the others, so you need to decide which ones are worth keeping and which aren't, as they grow on. Although you say they've germinated, you haven't said whether they still just have cotyledons or have developed a second pair of leaves - the second pair of leaves should be showing colour quite quickly if its a genuinely red plant.

As for the cloning (growing from a leaf pulled from a plant), I'm unable to say whether they'll show red immediately they start growing, or whether they become red within a short space of time - in theory, produced in such a way, they should be red immediately or within a week or so from when they start growing.

UPDATED ANSWER:

You certainly don't have to choose between the ones you grow, and certainly not at this stage. But you might, when they're much bigger and proper plants, decide some aren't worth the effort, or are weak, spindly or otherwise displeasing to you.

The appearance of the first set of true leaves cannot be predicted - should be within a week or so, but it depends on the growing conditions.

Regarding the variability of seed, if you click on the link below and scroll right to the bottom, last paragraph, statement of fact there!

http://venusflytrap.info/how-grow-venus-fly-trap-seed/

And if you're interested, there's more information here about the naming of fly trap varieties - its a sketchy area, even if you order a named cultivar...

http://venusflytrap.info/venus-fly-trap-clones-varieties-cultivars/

Bamboo
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  • They have not developed their second pair of leaves yet, any idea how long it takes after you see the cotyledons to see the second pair? Why must I decide which ones are worth keeping and not keeping? So you are saying even in a heavily controlled environment, cross pollination of strictly red venus fly traps would yield completely random coloration of the plants at best? Curious to know if the place I bought them from is full of it. – TheBlindSpring Jun 17 '15 at 18:34
  • @TheBlindSpring- see updated answer – Bamboo Jun 17 '15 at 19:12
  • I understand that seed grown fly traps are unique, but are you saying there is an equal chance of producing a red fly trap from a seed coming from two green fly traps and producing a red fly trap from a seed coming from two red fly traps? I understand that in both circumstances a red fly trap MAY be produced, but wouldn't having a seed from two red fly traps increase your chance that seed growing to be red? – TheBlindSpring Jun 17 '15 at 20:49
  • seeds from controlled crosses should increase your odds of getting more red in the resulting plants but because you have not controlled back beyond the two parents you won't know for sure the results. the more times you cross with known parents the better your results will be. – flowerbug Apr 25 '20 at 14:31