Pinguicula calderoniae

Product Description

This Pinguicula calderoniae is an easy to grow butterwort, red/purple flowers. Butterwort calderoniae is a tropical heterophyllous species. Pinguicula calderoniae has a winter rosette with an onion like appearance and consists of up to 30 leaves. The winter leaves are succulent, up to 1,5 cm long, pointed and show a dark red to brown-red colour. Often the winter rosettes are growing below the surface. In spring the plants form long lanceolate summer leaves. The size is spectacular as they can reach up ton 25 cm in length. Depending if the plants are exposed to direct sunlight or not, the leaf colour is pure green or reddish. An indivudual plant does produce only 5 to 6 summer leaves. Then at the end of August the plants begin to form winter leaves again. It makes a great houseplant.

Pinguicula or Butterworts can be found worldwide, on all continents. They stand out with their large colourful flowers. We sell easy to grow, Mexican varieties, and our native and hardy Pinguicula varieties.  Apart from the native and hardy Butterworts, they all need protection from the frost, and do well on windowsills, in sun or semi-shade.

Butterworts are a brilliant addition to a windowsill which has lots of other plants, to deal with fungus gnats and other small insects, while not requiring as much sun as a sundew

How they feed:

The leaves of the butterwort are coated in a sweet sticky ‘dew’. This (as well as their colour) attracts the insects, who are then trapped on the leaves. The plant then produces an enzyme to digest the insect.

How to care for your plant:

• A position on a windowsill, heated greenhouse or conservatory, where they get a lot of light, semi-shade.
• Rainwater on a saucer (so the plants are standing in water).
• The plants will have a dormancy period, when their leaves become non-carnivorous.
• During the dormancy period, the main risk to the plant is rotting caused by fungal diseases. It is therefore important to reduce the watering, just keeping the plant damp, but not to let the plant dry out completely.
• Repotting: these plants have very shallow roots. Repot with care, once it has outgrown the pot, in the right, gritty compost
• Native and hardy sundews do best outdoors, especially in winter