How to Care for Butterworts (Pinguicula)
Butterworts (Pinguicula) are elegant, low-growing carnivorous plants with glistening leaves that passively trap small insects and fungus gnats. Easy to care for and compact in size, they make wonderful windowsill plants. Here's how to grow them successfully in South Africa.
Water
Always use reverse osmosis, rain, or distilled water only — tap water minerals are harmful to butterworts. During active growth, keep the soil consistently moist. In winter, if your plant forms small, succulent non-carnivorous leaves (see Dormancy below), reduce watering and keep the soil just barely moist to prevent rot.
Light
Butterworts prefer bright, indirect light. Indoors, a sunny windowsill works well, as does a quality grow light. Unlike many other carnivorous plants, they don't need harsh direct midday sun — filtered or diffused bright light is ideal.
Temperature
Butterworts grow well at 15–30°C, making them well-suited to most South African homes year-round.
Dormancy
Many Mexican Pinguicula species go through a winter dormancy during which they shed their carnivorous leaves and form a compact rosette of small, succulent-like non-carnivorous leaves. This is completely normal. During this period, reduce watering significantly and keep the soil just barely moist. The plant will resume producing carnivorous leaves again in spring as temperatures and light levels increase.
Feeding
Butterworts catch small insects — especially fungus gnats — on their sticky leaves and generally feed themselves without any help. Manual feeding is optional; if you'd like to supplement, place very small insects onto the leaves occasionally.
Soil
Butterworts do best in a loose, sandy, free-draining mix. A good blend is 2 parts coarse sand or perlite to 1 part peat moss — the key is excellent drainage to prevent crown and root rot. Repot once a year to keep the soil fresh. We stock a Sandy Carnivorous Plant mix that works perfectly for Pinguicula.
Shop Butterworts
Browse our range of Pinguicula butterworts — available in a variety of species, grown with care at Botanic Bites.