Getting started with Pinguicula (butterworts)

If you have never grown a carnivorous plant, start with a Pinguicula. They are called butterworts for their greasy-feeling leaves, covered in tiny sticky droplets that trap insects.

They have neither snapping jaws nor spectacular pitchers — but they are by far the easiest to succeed with indoors, and they flower generously, often in purple or pink, on long stems.

Two families, two ways of growing

Mexican Pinguicula are the ones you will meet most often in cultivation. They come from the limestone cliffs of Mexico and alternate between two forms depending on the season. They are what this guide describes.

Temperate Pinguicula, European or North American, need a genuine cold dormancy. More demanding — keep them for later.

The mix: mineral, and definitely not potting soil

This is the mistake that kills the most butterworts. Commercial potting soil rots them: too rich, too water-retentive, and loaded with fertiliser that burns their fine roots.

They grow on barely covered rock. Reproduce that: a very mineral mix of silica sand, perlite and vermiculite, with at most a third of blond peat. Some growers add a little pumice or fine limestone gravel — the Mexican species appreciate it.

Water: pure, without exception

This is non-negotiable. Rainwater, reverse-osmosis or distilled water only. The mineral salts in tap water build up in the mix and kill the plant over weeks to months — slowly, which makes the diagnosis difficult.

Water from below: stand the pot in a saucer with one or two centimetres of water, let the plant drink, then empty what is left. Never wet the leaves: you would wash away the sticky droplets that are the whole point.

Light

Bright, but not the burning midday sun through glass. An east-facing window suits them very well. Under artificial light, they respond remarkably well.

A plant getting enough light often takes on pinkish tints along the leaf edges — a good sign.

Winter rest: the second key

This is what throws beginners. In autumn, a Mexican Pinguicula changes appearance completely: it drops its large sticky leaves and forms a compact rosette of small fleshy, non-carnivorous leaves. It then looks like a tiny succulent.

This is not a disease. It is its dry season.

During that period — autumn to spring — cut watering back to almost nothing: just enough that the mix is not bone dry, once every two or three weeks. Carrying on watering normally at this stage rots the plant. It is the number one cause of death.

Come spring, it will resume its carnivorous leaves on its own.

Should you feed them?

Generally no. A butterwort in a house catches fungus gnats and small flies by itself — which is a genuine service if you keep other plants.

If you do want to feed it, sprinkle a pinch of crushed fish-food flakes on a few leaves. Never fertiliser in the water, and never an insect that is too large: an overloaded leaf blackens and dies.

Propagating

Gently detach a leaf from the winter rosette, taking care to bring its base with it, and lay it flat on a damp mix. A plantlet appears within a few weeks. It is the simplest method in the whole carnivorous world.

Three mistakes to avoid

Ordinary potting soil — the plant declines for no visible reason within a month or two.

Tap water — the same effect, more slowly, sometimes with a whitish crust on the surface.

Watering normally in winter — the compact rosette rots from the centre.

Avoid those three and the plant will outlive you without effort.

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