Pinguicula Esseriana (Butterwort)

Looking for a funky and uncommon plant to add to your collection? Or maybe you’re in need of a solution for those pesky gnats and other flying insects that seem to be an inherent part of growing houseplants? Here is a great plant for you.

Pinguicula Esseriana, a Mexican butterwort, is a small carnivorous plant that uses its sticky leaves to catch bugs small bugs. The perfect tiny addition to any (carnivorous) plant collection. And useful too! Plant would be shipped bare root.

Plant size: Approx 1 inch

Difficulty level – Medium
Lighting – Bright Light
Water – Keep lightly moist
Soil type – Nutrient free

Pinguicula Esseriana light & temperature

Light:
Pinguicula Esseriana is native to Mexico, where it’s used to receiving plenty of light. In your home it will appreciate full sun during the morning or evenings; just make sure it doesn’t burn up in intense afternoon sun during summer.

If you can’t provide enough light you’ll have to consider using some artificial lighting to grow your Ping, as it won’t do too well in darker environments.

Temperature

Although this is a tropical plant that is used to dealing with high temperatures and humidity during summer it won’t mind lows too much either. It handles wintertime chill and drought by going dormant, shedding its carnivorous leaves and replacing them with succulent foliage.

So yes: this plant is both a carnivore and a succulent!

Pinguicula Esseriana soil & planting

Soil

The natural habitat of Pinguicula esseriana can be quite inhospitable. Many Pinguiculas grow in places that most other plants won’t, like attached to rocks or on steep hillsides. Obviously these environments don’t exactly offer nutrient-rich soil, which is why the species has evolved to obtain what it needs by catching it itself.

Because Pinguicula roots haven’t evolved to absorb nutrients, Pinguicula needs a sandy well draining soil.

Planting

• A soil mixture consisting a blend of perlite, peat, sand, pumice.
• Your Pinguicula Esseriana’s pot should have drainage holes at the bottom to avoid fungus due to overwatering.

Watering Pinguicula Esseriana

• How often and how much you should be watering your Pinguicula esseriana depends mostly on the season.
• As mentioned earlier the area this carnivore naturally occurs in has warm and humid summers. During this time the medium it grows in is almost always at least lightly moist. You can imitate this in your home by watering your Pinguicula esseriana frequently or even placing the pot in a tray that always contains water so it can hydrate through the drainage holes on the bottom.
• When winter rolls around and things start to cool down you’ll notice Pinguicula esseriana growing different leaves than before: it’s preparing for dormancy by getting its succulent foliage ready.
• As soon as this smaller and non-sticky foliage pops up you can start to reduce waterings. The plant will still need a drink now and then but you can let the soil dry out fully between waterings.
• Unlike many other carnivorous plants which can only be watered using distilled/demineralized water, Pinguicula can handle some water hardness. RO Water works well.

Pinguicula Esseriana fertilizer

Because Pinguiculas have evolved to catch their own ‘fertilizer’ they won’t respond well to regular houseplant food at all. In fact, using most fertilizers will quickly kill your Pinguicula esseriana and using any at all is something best left to expert carnivorous plant growers.

Carnivorous plants don’t have to catch as many bugs as most plant growers think. A Pinguicula Esseriana surrounded by other plants in a normal home environment or outside will usually have no problems catching enough gnats and other little creatures to thrive.