Butterwort

I have heard that this plant is great for controlling gnats. Do any of you have experience with this? And, do you know a good source for the plant?

Try here - these folks are great:

www.cobraplants.com

A Drosera binata might be the plant for you this time around. Try to get a mature plant.

yes! my butterwort is splattered with gnats. LOL.

I also tried a few sundews - the grower picked out some easier ones which he thought would do ok with my gesneriads and orchids. But.... I have about one left - they did not do too well. I think part of the problem is that I repotted them - I'll be giving them another try. In the meantime, the butterwort is easy and effective.

I agree with both sundews and butterworts for taking out fungus gnats. My plants are slaying the adult fly populations in my sunroom.

Joseph

Thank you all for confirming what I had been told. I followed the link above, but did not see any butterwort. Does it have another name?

They are Pingula. You could also check GardenWatchdog for carnivorous plants.

This page gives you a very quick overview of the different types - temperate, tropical etc. http://www.californiacarnivores.com/butterworts.shtml

Search using this spelling- Pinguicula

oops lol sorry.

Great info. Thanks a million.

Wow! There are so many varieties. Which is considered the best for gnat catching?

Pinguicula have thousands of little hairs on the surface of their leaves that are each topped with a little dab of glue for lack of a better term. When prey lands on the leaf, it becomes "stuck". When the prey struggles to free itself, glands on the leaf begin to secrete digestive enzymes to "soften" up the prey. After the prey is softened up and broken down it is then that the prey is absorbed back into the leaf.

There are some species of Pinguicula that are very small. P. lusitanica comes to mind. If you want a Ping to "work" to earn its keep, best to consider a species that has more surface area. I'd go with a Mexican Ping such as P. agnata because it is readily available for purchase on line and you can move it outside part of the year and bring it back in for the rest of the year or you could basically just grow it inside year round. Overall, Pings are basically small plants. The photos we see of them on line make them appear to be quite substantial and they really aren't. My largest Ping is about 12" across and it is a P. gigantea. Pings can also be a little fussy until you get the hang of caring for them and I hate to see people get frustrated and throw in the towel.

Drosera binata grows upwards as well as outwards and many people use it as a hanging plant because it has a very bushy growth form and is very attractive particularly when the sun shines on the dew. I find this plant superior in catching prey because it is a tangly labyrinth of glands all waiting to get stimulated. I also find this plant to be "bombproof" and a great first plant for any one interested in trying their hand at carnivorous plants.

Here's some info on CPs-
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/healing/261/carivor.htm

I think it depends on your growing conditions too. I was told that the warm temperate species are easiest for growing in the open in a house...?

Much depends upon growing conditions. Either that which you create or that which is readily available. I don't know what you mean by warm temperate species. I'm not familiar with the term warm temperate. Temperate species can be very difficult to grow inside a home because they require a dormancy. Usually that means they have to be barerooted and placed in your refrigerator, set outside in a cool garage, picked up and placed in a root cellar pot and all, or planted outside if your region if conducive to same for around 90 days.

I'm not so sure what "warm temperate" means, either, but my local grower used the term for primuliflora, and California Carnivores does as well. Apparently it doesn't require dormancy...? I seem to have misplaced my copy of Savage Garden or I would look up what Cal Carn. means by it.

Warm-temperate usually refers to such species as Pinguicula primuliflora that are native to the southeastern USA. They can be ridiculously easy for some people and croak for others at the drop of a hat for no apparent reason. I myself tend not to mess with them too much since the Mexican species and hybrids are much easier and much more reliable and, to my mind at least, much more attractive. I find them to be easier and much more rewarding than African violets, and they thrive in similar light, temperature and humidity levels. They can easily be grown on a windowsill without any special humidity controls or terrariums of any kind. And they are a joy to propagate; truly one of the wonders of nature!

I think most people who have problems with Mexican pings are unaware of how they grow in the wild. They (and most books as well) assume that since most carniverous plants and most other Pinguicula are bog plants, then the Mexican species must be bog plants as well. Wrong. Tropical Pinguicula grow as semi-epiphytes or even as lithophytes on moss-covered rock faces and cliffs. They love airy, nutrient-poor mixes (I am having great success with 2 parts New Zealand long-fibered sphagnum moss and one part coarse sponge rock). And they love regular moisture but do not like to be swamped with water all the time. If light levels are high enough and steady enough (such as under fluorescents), then they could probably adapt to being constantly soggy, but on most windowsills, it is enough to keep them evenly moist while actively growing.

I find most of my pings are great gnat catchers with the trophies going to those species and hybrids that have a slight yellowish tinge to the foliage (i.e., P. gigantea, P. 'Tina', P. 'Gina', P. agnata (True Blue) and some clones of P. moranensis). I have never found a live fungus gnat flying around my house since I started collected Mexican Pinguicula. The only ones I see now are trapped on sticky foliage and are being slowly dissolved for nutrients. In fact, they have been so effective at controlling fungus gnats that there is rarely one up for the catch anymore and I must supplement my plants' diets with powdered, freeze-dried bloodworms if I want to see the leaves happy and glistening with digestive fluids. That image may sound disturbing to some, but these plants really have to be observed in action up close in order to be appreciated.

I also agree that some sundews are great at controlling both fungus gnats and houseflies alike. My beautiful Drosera regia 'Big Easy' has also caught its fair share of gnats and it has the distinction of having trapped and digested the only housefly I have seen in my house all summer. This plant definitely sulked in the summer heat and lost its dew for several weeks during the worst of it (I do not air condition), but it has perked up beautifully now that the temperatures have moderated. The new growth is coming in larger and longer and more colorful than ever and roots are slithering out of the drainage holes like crazy. I love this species and it has been very rewarding for me, but I have not been so lucky with other sundews. They do not seem to like my growing conditions.

Based on that definition of warm temperate, that would then include P. caerulea or P. pumila. Those still require a dormancy. A reduction in photoperiod may be enough for some of those but they sure do seem to "croak at the drop of a hat" particularly when grown indoors year round. They are still temperate species.

I am so glad that Ispahan mentioned this as pertains to Mexican Pings, "grow as semi-epiphytes or even as lithophytes on moss-covered rock faces and cliffs." Not all but many and toss in many Central and South American Pings into that category also.

Great point, "these plants really have to be observed in action up close in order to be appreciated".

I'd love to see a photo of your D. regia "Big Easy'.

hmm this is very helpful. I can now lump the primulifolia with some of the orchids that get a "winter" - sort of.

I was under the impression that mexican pings go through a winter phase when they are non-carnivorous and want less water? This is main reason I was hesitating to get any at this time of year.

You are correct to the best of my knowledge, Most Mexican Pings do have a non-carnivorous winter phase. It is triggered by the reduction in light (photoperiod) as well as other factors. My Mexican Pings are just now beginning to produce "winter leaves". They will be nice neat little compact rosettes in no time flat. I'll be moving them inside real soon and I already began reducing water.

My temperate Pings are pretty much all reduced to nothing but dormant little turions and have been for a bit. Seems as if those are always the first to go soon follwed by temperate Drosera which is down to hibernacula already. Sarrs will be reduced to phylodia withing the next 6 weeks or so. Everything is preparing for rest. I'm ready too!