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Re: getting the red out



> Tom Barr said:
> 
>  > Try letting the NO3 drop down a bit more.
>  > Plants will redden up.
> 
> Yes, that does seem to make sense, now that you mention it.
> The Nitrates 
> would encourage lush GREEN growth for photosynthesis, and the
> red, at 
> least to some extent, is a lack of green. I think that is what
> I heard 
> about tree leaves turning orange and red in the fall. Is that
> right?

Well this is not the same as a seasonal thing.
Trees remove most of the "goodies" out of the leaves and have
some active "choice" in allocation. Then they lose and drop the
leaves. Most conifers don't. It's worth it for some plants to
lose the leaves each year while others attempt a different
strategy(avoid cold, drought, light etc). Our plants are simply
reacting to the nutrient levels which also happens in
terrestrial system. But our plants hopefully don't lose their
leaves each year:-)

Generally, redder growth means less Chl a in some plants(like
the color variable species we often keep).
While it might be generalized, Rotala, Ludwigia and a few others
such as Ammannia certain respond very well to this. Other
species might not be so noticeable. 
 
> Also, would any particular colour spectrums help in
> encouraging reds? I 
> was wondering in particular about adding more blue light, like
> an actinic.

No, not much IME. I think this was marketed by Bulb makers.
5000-6700K range is just fine.
Trying to get a plant to produce a certain pigment is holistic. 
IME, lower light and good nutrient supply will give the best
color overall. It's also much easier to keep plants at low NO3
since uptake is slower also. Some plants seem to make more
assessory pigments when there's less light so they can catch all
of the spectrum.... but that's just my opinion...I can support
it in some regards but not specifically here except through what
I speculate.
  
> In any case, I will certainly try lowering the nitrates and
> watch the 
> effect.

Just don't stunt the plants in the process. That worse than a
green plant:-)

You can search the APD for more discussion some years back on
red plants and PO4, NO3 etc.
Also see the low light and high light leaf/plants differences I
posted. It gives a run down of the generalized difference
between high/low light leaves.
Regards, 
Tom Barr


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