Am I doing something wrong?

[flozzywozzy 1]

Hello,

I have a relatively large collection of Venus Flytraps - probably somewhere in the 200 - 300 range, but I can't help but think they don't look as good as they should. 

Two of the photos below are mine, one is from google images of a beautiful collection. Is there a reason why the ones in the google image photo look really nice, healthy red colour whereas mine look........less good? It has been suggested that mine are perhaps lacking sunlight, but they're in a greenhouse that is a pretty good sunspot.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you. 

[Alexis 181]

Starve them! In my experience the more they catch the less red the traps get. I can't see a single closed trap in the bottom photo.

I suspect that once they have an optimum level of nutrition it's more advantageous to maximise photosynthesis, and open traps are more efficient for that. So they produce less red pigment so there is more chance of a trap remaining open.

Also try repotting over winter if they haven't had fresh peat for a while.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Alexis

[Dunc 66]

Yours look good so I would not worry. Depends on the clone and conditions how red they get and it can vary year to year. This year has not been the most consistently hot and sunny!

[Trev 56]

Darkest colors I've ever seen on my VFT's this year, and also the least amount of insects around, so Alexis' theory seems to hold true.

 

[Steve.g 1]

Your traps look colourful enough. It's like that picture of a burger in McDonalds.  The example is hardly ever a reality. The top two pictures look nice