Pinguicula are a group of carnivorous plants commonly called Butterworts, and Pinguicula emarginata x ‘Weser’ is an easy care one to start with.
Pinguicula are insect eaters and they eat bugs by catching the on sticky leaves that then curl up around the bugs and digest them. These carnivorous plants eat the smaller insects, gnats and fruit flies are examples.
How to Care for your Pinguicula
These are plants that grow well in light shade, different varieties require different temperatures, generally warm to hot summers.
They originally come from central America and in the natural environment it is humid, you can however grow them in a range of climates as long as the root system is kept moist.
- Commonly called Pings, these are plant that grow on mossy rocks, mostly they are grown in pots and kept moist at all times.
- You can use a soil mix, such as a 50/50 mix of peat moss or sphagnum moss and perlite or coarse washed river sand works well.
You can also grow them in an orchid potting mix and sit the pot in a dish or tray with a little water in it. - Watering needs to regular, as soon as the peat moss starts to dry. Like many carnivorous plants, tap water is not recommended.
- You are best to use rainwater or distilled water to prevent any build up of salts.
- Always water from below and avoid watering the rosette of foliage as this can cause fungal problems.
Feeding your Pings
Use insects, no fertilisers and no artificial foods. Small insects are best.
Top Tips
- Keep moist in morning sun position, indoors or porch.
- Great for controlling fungus gnats
- Pet friendly – Yes
Propagation
- Best by division of established clumps. The time to divide them is immediately after flowering.
- Wait until offsets (pups) have reached a good size and seperate them from the parent plant with a sharp knife.
- You can also propagate Pings from leaf cuttings taken just as they come into active growth.
- Propagation is also possible from seed.
