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Carnivorous Plants/Red spots on flytraps

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Expert: - 6/4/2009


Question

Red spots on flytraps
I asked this question and they told me to send pictures, you have been very helpful in the past, maybe you can tell me what this is. I thought a fungal disease or possibly sunburn. On on of the leaves it looks like it is being eaten away. Please help........Thanks.......Scott Clark p.s. I live in Seattle they said it would help. Ihave this on a crested pestioles,paradisia and fang, all bought from the same person in the last three weeks and this was on them when I got them.

Answer
Hello Scott,

From the photo it seems that the plant has been in low light and was then suddenly placed in full sun. The small number of leaves indicating low light growing conditions for a period of time while the slight deformity on each petiole, along with the red blotches in uniform areas on each petiole indicate that the new young leaves were exposed to sudden, bright light as they developed and were burned by ultraviolet radiation that they were not yet prepered for. This is born out by the open traps with little redness within. Keep the plants in intense light for best results. If you have them in indirect or partial light now I would suggest placing them in more direct light for a week or two at a time progressively until the plants are back in full sun. In other words, if they are inside in an east window now, you would want to place them in a south window for a week or two, then out on a bright patio with partial sunlight for a week or two, then out in full sun eventually. Once in intense enough light they should develop redness in the traps (if they are not of a fully green subspecies) and not experience burning on the petioles or deformity from ultraviolet radiation if they have enough time to build up a sun tan so to speak.

Christopher

Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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