The Butterwort Pinguicula plant is a seemingly harmless little plant with its delicate little blue, pink or red flowers that appear in summer.
However, the flowers are held on long, thin stems above a rosette of lime green leaves, which are coated with a sticky mucilage.
This sticky mucilage attracts and traps unsuspecting insects such as flies and fungus gnats.
An enzyme in the leaves then digests the prey of this innocent looking plant.
In terms of height and spread, the plant will grow to 6’’H x 4” W (15cm x 10cm).
Butterwort Care
Given the right conditions, the butterwort plant is definitely an easy to care for carnivorous plant. Just follow these simple tips and you should have a happy, long lasting indoor plant.
Planting
Plant in a pot measuring between 4-6 inches in height, filling with a specialist carnivorous potting mix, or create your own mix of silica sand, sphagnum moss and perlite at a ratio of 3:1:1.
[Important: Never use potting mix.]
Light
Set in a bright filtered light out of direct summer sun.
Temperature
Butterworts will do best in temperatures ranging from 65-85 F (18 – 29 C).
Watering
Keep moist by watering from above with rainwater or distilled water.
If the plant becomes dormant, usually during winter, reduce watering and allow the top of the soil to dry out before re-watering.
Feeding
No need to feed a Butterwort, as it should be able to attract 2-3 insects per month in order to thrive.
Other Tips
Plants can become dormant any time of year when they will grow small fleshy leaves. It’s a good idea to repot the plant when dormant.
Types of Butterwort Plants
Common Butterwort
Mexican Butterwort
Primrose Butterwort
Mexican Butterwort for Sale
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