Pinguicula Butterwort

What type of plant is a mean, green, fungus-gnat-eating machine. A butterwort Pinguicula! A must-have for anyone who loves flowers, hates bugs, and already has a good grasp on plant care. They’re an easy-to-grow carnivorous plant provided you give them good light and pure water (low salt/mineral content of less than 20ppms)—as a perk, if they’re happy they’ll flower once or twice a year too.

About Pinguiculas / Pings

Pings come from Mexico and central America where they grow on mossy limestone rocks and exposed outcrops. They grow best in high humidity and moderately-bright light; however, despite what you might read, many species can thrive at lower humidity (provided you keep their roots consistently moist and avoid severe desiccation/drying out). Their natural habitat also follows an annual wet and dry season, so many of the species have distinct growth and dormancy cycles—but I have found regardless of season, their care is the same.

Butterwort Care – Growing Pings as Houseplants

1. Peatmoss blend with perlite (or sand) – about 50/50 ratio. If using a peatmoss blend, the plants can be watered on a regular basis, watering as the peatmoss approaches dryness but never letting it become bone dry.

2. Pure Sphagnum – I have even seen people just use pure sphagnum moss (though this may stay too wet or too acidic for some species of ping). The pot can sit in a shallow try of water, but should be allowed to dry out every 3-4 weeks for a short period to ensure oxygenation of the root zone. With the peatmoss and sphagnum options, the roots and plant stay moist longer because those media hold more water than rock — this may be a better choice for growers in dry climates.

3. Orchid Potting Mix (my preference) – a blend of bark, pumice and perlite in the lower half of the pot and a top-layer of sphagnum moss. If using the orchid bark or rock options, the pots can sit constantly in a shallow tray of water.

4. ‘Ping Pot’ with Live Moss and a Rock-Blend for a “Natural Look” – using stones like turface, limestone, granite, pumice and perlite the grower can create a natural scape similar to where the pings grow in nature. Live moss can be placed with tweasers and if conditions are right, it should grow along with the pings. Pings can either be placed directly on the rock or on the live moss. Note: The pot must sit in a tray of water at all times in order to keep the rocks moist and you may need to be more diligent in offering high humidity (50%+). Rock will dry quickly and if too dry could set the plant back.

Pinguicula Humidity

Many sites say pings need high humidity and in general offering high humidity is more ideal—provided you also offer good airflow. High humidity and stagnant conditions though, often cause leaf and root rot. Even though I grow many plants, the humidity in my place is awful (averaging 18-45%); however, most of the pings I’ve tried growing have done fine. I have found as long as you give the plants good light and keep their roots moist, then low humidity isn’t a problem. I have even grown mini species pings and seedlings in my low humidity…so my *opinion* is that humidity really isn’t a huge deal—provided you don’t let the plants dry out too hard. The biggest challenge I’ve had growing pings in general, is that live moss tends to overgrow small species.

Water Quality & Watering Pinguiculas

Don’t use tap water. Like most carnivorous plants, pings do best with pure water that isn’t going to burn the roots or cause issues as the water evaporates. If your water is high in minerals, those salts can/will concentrate over time as you water and the water evaporates—this can lead to conditions that pings just aren’t able to mitigate. For my plants, I use bottled water (Aquafina or SmartWater), but you can use any brand that has less than 20ppms. Typically, water bottles will say the total ppms (which means parts per million or 1mg per 1L of water) and as close to 0 you can get is ideal. Distilled or RO water will also work—it’s pure water without minerals.

Don’t water the rosettes from above: or rather, avoid showering pings from above and allowing water to collect on the leaves. It CAN be done, and I have done it a few times to clean leaves which have accrued lots of dead bugs. However, smaller plants tend to be more susceptible to leaf and crown rot if water pools and stays in the rosette and any time I’ve done a “top-down shower”, I’ve lost at least one or two small seedlings. Instead either water from the bottom or water around the rosettes using a water bottle that has a single hole melted in the lid – this will allow you to target moisten around the plant without actually getting water all over the leaves.

The “Pure Water” Exception – Some Butterworts Need Calcium & Alkalinity

Some Mexican pinguicula species (typically the smaller type) come from limestone habitats. Limestone is an alkaline rock which is made up of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). Some pings seem to suffer if their water is too pure and they don’t have access to some calcium. I suspect this is a result of their adaptation to survive in soils that have a lot of calcium—they likely rely a bit on that calcium to grow well. To remedy this, you might want to add a small amount of oyster shell or eggshells to your potting media if you have found your pings don’t seem to grow well. You really don’t need much (less than 1/16th of a tsp in a small pot), just a light application to help offer some additional calcium. You should still continue using distilled or bottled water.

To be transparent, I don’t put limestone or eggshells in the pots of my plants; our tap water is very alkaline, so 2-3 times per year, I add about 1/4 ratio of tap water to bottled water and that adds the calcium I believe the plants need. Oyster shells and eggshells are common amendments with orchids from limestone regions (such as phrag kovachii) which is why I recommend that

Light Requirements for Pinguicula

Pings do well with moderately-bright light. Near an East or west window where they get direct sun for the early or late hours of the day. Direct sun in mid-day may be too hot and could scorch the leaves. They also do very well under LED grow lights where the light intensity is more consistent throughout the day. If you’re using LED lights, opt for about 18-24w of LED light per square foot at about 12″ from the light. If the plants are closer to the light, opt for lower wattage (12-18w); and if they’re further, opt for higher wattage because you’ll lose light intensity to dispersion.

Seasonality & Butterwort Leaf Changes

Pings can be seasonal and depending on the type you have, they may go through seasonal changes which are queued by photoperiod (how long the daylight hours are). In the winter when the days are slightly shorter and cooler, the leaves may get smaller and more succulent (and they may stop catching bugs). In the summer when the days are longer, the leaves will get bigger, fuller, and produce more dew for catching insects. If you’re growing under artificial lights, it’s good to adjust your light hours to match your seasonal variation slightly (on for 10h in the winter and on for 14h in the summer). Doing this will help your plant follow it’s circadian rhythm and annual changes.

Some people cut back watering during dormancy—I don’t because my humidity is already so low and going bone dry could risk killing the plant all together if the small roots were destroyed (which keep the plant hydrated). I mentioned above that I treat them the same year-round, that holds true even in dormancy and the pot sits in a shallow tray of water that I fill every week or two.

Fertilizing & Feeding Carnivorous Pings

Don’t use chemical fertilizers—opt for insects. If you don’t have a fungus gnat problem (like I clearly do), then lucky you! You can still generally get away with not having to feed your plant as the bulk of the “food” comes from light. Pings will feed off tiny soil insects (like mites, springtails, etc) and things that are naturally already in your pots—this is why they make good companions for people who already have a lot of plants! Any other questions or concerns about caring for your plant? Send an email to info@crazyplantsindia.com and I’ll be happy to help! Thank you again for your purchase and happy.

*Note: I share my growing experience of these plants Under my climatic conditions. So we are not legible for any damage if u follow these instructions and ur plants got damaged.