diff --git a/inc/cvc/gl/SceneGraph.h b/inc/cvc/gl/SceneGraph.h
index 4dc6e91..10077d0 100644
--- a/inc/cvc/gl/SceneGraph.h
+++ b/inc/cvc/gl/SceneGraph.h
@@ -73,6 +73,15 @@ class SceneGraph {
   // Check if a render is needed and reset the flag
   bool checkAndResetRenderNeeded();
 
+  // Mark the scene as needing a render, WITHOUT rendering. The host's frame
+  // loop picks it up via checkAndResetRenderNeeded(). Nodes reacting to state
+  // changes must use this rather than calling vtkRenderWindow::Render()
+  // themselves: a synchronous render per state change turns N per-frame
+  // property updates into N full scene renders per displayed frame (measured
+  // in VolRover3: ~5 ms per update on a city-scale scene — 63 animated nodes
+  // dragged the app from 60 FPS to under 3).
+  void requestRender();
+
   // Multi-object graphics management (unified for both geometry and volumes)
   std::shared_ptr<GraphicsNode> addGraphics(const std::string &name, const cvc::geometry &geom);
   std::shared_ptr<VolumeNode> addGraphics(const std::string &name, const cvc::volume &vol);
diff --git a/src/cvcGL/GeometryNode.cpp b/src/cvcGL/GeometryNode.cpp
index ed16e91..61e5b91 100644
--- a/src/cvcGL/GeometryNode.cpp
+++ b/src/cvcGL/GeometryNode.cpp
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <cvc/geometry/geometry.h>
 #include <cvc/gl/GeometryNode.h>
 #include <cvc/gl/NullGraphicNode.h>
+#include <cvc/gl/SceneGraph.h>
 #include <cvc/gl/context.h>
 #include <cvc/image/image.h>
 #include <set>
@@ -254,8 +255,12 @@ void GeometryNode::updateRenderModeVTK() {
   if (m_actor)
     m_actor->Modified();
 
-  // Request a render update (if we have a renderer with a render window)
-  if (m_renderer && m_renderer->GetRenderWindow()) {
+  // Request a render update — flag-only; see GraphicsNode::handleStateChanged
+  // for why a synchronous Render() here is catastrophic under per-frame
+  // property animation (setColor alone writes three state keys).
+  if (m_sceneGraph) {
+    m_sceneGraph->requestRender();
+  } else if (m_renderer && m_renderer->GetRenderWindow()) {
     m_renderer->GetRenderWindow()->Render();
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/cvcGL/GraphicsNode.cpp b/src/cvcGL/GraphicsNode.cpp
index 34a09fa..b244f9d 100644
--- a/src/cvcGL/GraphicsNode.cpp
+++ b/src/cvcGL/GraphicsNode.cpp
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include <cvc/gl/BBoxNode.h>
 #include <cvc/gl/GraphicsNode.h>
 #include <cvc/gl/NullGraphicNode.h>
+#include <cvc/gl/SceneGraph.h>
 #include <vtkActor2D.h>
 #include <vtkMapper.h>
 #include <vtkMatrix4x4.h>
@@ -451,8 +452,18 @@ void GraphicsNode::handleStateChanged(const std::string &childState) {
       SceneNode::handleStateChanged(childState);
     }
 
-    // Request render after any state change
-    if (m_renderer && m_renderer->GetRenderWindow()) {
+    // Request render after any state change. NEVER render synchronously here:
+    // this handler runs once per changed state key, and per-frame animation
+    // (setTransform/setColor on many nodes) writes many keys per frame — a
+    // synchronous Render() per key turns each displayed frame into dozens of
+    // full scene renders (measured: 63 animated nodes at ~5 ms per render
+    // dragged VolRover3 from 60 FPS to under 3). The host's frame loop renders
+    // once per frame via checkAndResetRenderNeeded(). The synchronous fallback
+    // remains only for a node used without a SceneGraph, where nothing drains
+    // the flag.
+    if (m_sceneGraph) {
+      m_sceneGraph->requestRender();
+    } else if (m_renderer && m_renderer->GetRenderWindow()) {
       m_renderer->GetRenderWindow()->Render();
     }
   });
diff --git a/src/cvcGL/SceneGraph.cpp b/src/cvcGL/SceneGraph.cpp
index 7e0915b..f2213ae 100644
--- a/src/cvcGL/SceneGraph.cpp
+++ b/src/cvcGL/SceneGraph.cpp
@@ -92,6 +92,11 @@ void SceneGraph::processEvents() {
   }
 }
 
+void SceneGraph::requestRender() {
+  std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(m_eventQueueMutex);
+  m_renderNeeded = true;
+}
+
 bool SceneGraph::checkAndResetRenderNeeded() {
   std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(m_eventQueueMutex);
   bool needed = m_renderNeeded;