Why I Needed a Carnivorous Butterwort ... and you might too

Hello friends. I've had a providential experience over the past two months and I want to share with you while it's fresh.

As a urban homesteader, I rely on my grow lights to get a head start on the growing season. Space is at a premium and every plant is precious. My indoor lights and trays are hard at work all spring.

And so, it seems, are the little flying insects. Every year.

I didn't know what they were. I just knew that once they started appearing the seedlings did not thrive. I had losses for no obvious reason. Aphids? Fruit flies? Didn't look like it, but I made a home recipe essential oil spray anyway. That definitely helped, but didn't stop the problem.

Finally I found out that they are fungus or compost gnats. Adult fungus gnats don't damage plants or bite people. They are just a nuisance. But their larvae can damage the roots and stunt the growth of seedlings.

Happily it turns out they have a natural enemy - an adorable, carnivorous, succulent houseplant that catches gnats and eats them.

Pinguicula

It took me two days to learn to pronounce the name without stumbling over the sounds. No wonder people call them pings. I read up on their culture. They are easy. The roots are shallow so they don't need much of a pot. They want sunshine, don't take up much space, and would be quite content in a little corner of my grow light system. Just don't overwater and never use tap water. They should do fine.

Now the questions was how to find one.

I started my search, but carnivorous butterworts proved to be elusive. Then I posted in my Garden Swap group. A kind member responded right away. She had only joined a few weeks before and there she was, offering me one of her pings. We had an enjoyable, kindred spirit chat at her front door and I came away with two pots, one a gift and one that I purchased to try my luck at raising them. Also I received the surprising news that pings will flower, probably in a year or two.

Back home, I repotted my gift ping then started the task of dividing the pot I bought for propagation. It was a ticklish task that resulted in two miniature plants and a dozen or so leaves which had detached from the base. The method of reproduction is that each of those lower petals will grow roots and a new plant. That explains why the plants get so congested over time.

In a small, covered "greenhouse" I laid down a damp paper towel, placed the leaves in a row and covered them with the bottom edge of the paper towel. A few more sprays of not-tap-water, then I put on the lid to keep them moist, and waited. For weeks.

The Milestones Begin

I adopted my pings at the beginning of February. Four weeks later I discovered our first gnat capture. And on March 10, I discovered that this happy little pinguicula had decided to flower.

Meanwhile, back at the propagation project, the greenhouse and damp paper towel conditions seemed to be just right. Roots were growing from some the leaves, and then tiny new plants began to form. I kept the best four. The next photo shows the two plants from my division and four entirely new plants from leaf starts. This photo, and one of the pinguicula in full flower, are from March 20. That's pretty good progress for a month and a half.

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That's all for this week, friends. I hope the days ahead of you are filled with joy. ~ Karen

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