Butterworts (Pinguicula) Care Sheet

The Butterwort (Pinguicula) grow in a variety of habitats and have 2 groupings. They are made up of Temperate Butterworts and Mexican Butterworts. It can be one of the easiest carnivorous plants there are to care for once your care is dialed in. Here are some key tips for providing top notch care to your traps:

Light

Pinguiculas can range in needs, but the majority of ours sold, like Pinguicula Primuliflora can thrive in full sun, but I've found they do best in a pool screen with sun on them all day (filtered sun).

Water

Moist soil: Most temperate butterworts crave consistently moist soil, but can tolerate a few days of dryness. To water, use a tray method: place the pot in a tray filled with rainwater, distilled water, or reverse osmosis water. Keep the tray about 1 inch full.

Watering: Use rainwater, distilled water, or reverse osmosis. Tap water over 50 PPM TDS is usually harmful to carnivorous plants. You can water the plant using the tray method and if it has dried out, water from the top, but avoid pouring too hard as you want to avoid accidental trap activation.

Humidity: While not essential, higher humidity (50-70%) is recommended during the growing months.

Soil

Carnivorous mix: Use a specially formulated carnivorous plant mix, pure sphagnum moss, or a peat:sand mixture. Never use regular potting soil (even the peat from MiracleGro is tainted with fertilizers) as it contains nutrients that harm these low-nutrient soil demanding plants. Any fertilizers that are in the pre-mixed soil will likely kill the plant.

Drainage: Good drainage is crucial to prevent root rot. Choose a pot with drainage holes and keep the plant in a water tray that keeps the plant wet at all times.

Feeding/Fertilizer

For feeding, they will typically catch fungus gnats and other small insects whether flying or crawling. They can even catch mosquitoes, though they don't actively attract them. I typically don't fertilize these as they catch plenty of food naturally indoors or outdoors.

Temperatures

These plants do very well outdoors with warmer weather and are native to various parts of the Southeastern United States. They can often handle temperatures below freezing for brief periods (as low as 20F, though they will go dormant around 35-50 degrees).