How to Propagate Pinguicula from Leaf Pullings

Leaf pullings are how most Mexican butterworts in cultivation get multiplied, and it is how we bulk up some of ours. One healthy rosette can give you several new plants a year, and a leaf that comes loose in shipping will often root on its own. This is the method we use.

Why a leaf becomes a plant

New plantlets form at the very base of a pulled leaf, on the pale, slightly thickened section that was tucked against the crown. Given moisture, warmth and light, that tissue produces a bud. The bud grows leaves and then roots, while the old leaf feeds it and withers once the plantlet can support itself.

That is why the base matters more than the rest of the leaf. A big, healthy leaf torn off above its base has nothing to grow from and rots. A small, scruffy leaf that came away cleanly with its base will usually strike.

When to take them

The best time is when the plant is in, or moving into, its compact winter rosette. Those small, thick, non-sticky leaves root far more reliably than the thin carnivorous summer leaves, which hold less reserve and rot more easily. For most Mexican species that means late fall through early spring.

Repotting is the other natural moment, since the lower leaves are already loose and exposed. Take a few leaves at most from any one plant and leave the center alone. A rosette stripped hard will stall for a season.

What you need

• A shallow pot or container with drainage.
• Carnivorous plant mix, or a 1:1 blend of peat moss and perlite. Straight perlite, or a mix with pumice or coarse sand, also works.
• Distilled or rainwater.
• A bright spot out of direct sun, with some air movement.

You do not need rooting hormone, a heat mat or a sealed propagator. Butterwort leaves strike readily enough that extra equipment mostly adds ways for them to rot.

Step by step

1. Take hold of a lower, healthy leaf close to the crown and pull down and sideways with a gentle rocking motion. You want the whole leaf, pale base included. A leaf that snaps rather than releases will not strike.
2. Lay it flat on top of damp mix. Do not bury it. Press the base into light contact with the surface so it cannot dry out, and leave the rest of the leaf lying on top.
3. Keep the container bright, out of direct sun and lightly humid. A loosely covered container with some airflow is enough. A sealed box invites rot.
4. Keep the mix barely moist with distilled or rainwater. Slightly dry is safer than wet.
5. Leave it alone. Do not lift the leaf to check underneath.

What happens, and when

In about three to six weeks a plantlet forms at the base of the leaf, usually as a cluster of leaves no bigger than a grain of rice. Roots follow a week or two after the first leaves. The parent leaf yellows and shrivels as it is used up, which is the process working.

Timing depends on warmth and light. Pullings taken in late winter under grow lights can strike in three weeks. The same leaves on a cool windowsill in a dim month can take two months. Not every leaf takes, so set several at once.

Potting on

Once a plantlet has three or four leaves of its own and visible roots, it can go into its own 2 to 3 inch pot. If the parent leaf is still attached and firm, leave it; it will let go on its own. If it has gone soft, remove it so it does not rot against the new plant.

From there, treat the young plant like an adult: bright light, distilled or rainwater, the same fast-draining mix. It stays small for a while. Most reach a recognizable rosette within a season and flowering size in a year or two, depending on the cultivar and the light. The full routine is in the care guide.

Why pullings fail

• No base. The leaf snapped instead of pulling free. Grip lower and rock it rather than tugging.
• Rot. The mix was too wet or the container was sealed. Barely moist, with airflow.
• Dried out. A pulling left in direct sun or on dry mix crisps before it can root.
• Summer leaves. Thin carnivorous leaves strike far less often than winter succulent ones. If a whole batch fails, check what phase the parent was in.
• Impatience. Nothing visible for three weeks is normal.

Good plants to practice on

Vigorous hybrids strike easiest. Pinguicula 'Pirouette' is the classic easy one, and 'Johanna' is nearly as reliable. Pinguicula agnata 'El Lobo' propagates readily from its winter leaves, and since it is a locality clone, pullings are the only way to keep it true to name. All three are beginner plants in every other respect. Our first-butterwort guide compares them.

Common questions

How many leaves can I take from one plant?

A few at a time from a healthy, established rosette, so that it still looks like a plant afterwards. Stripping the lower leaves hard will stall growth for a season.

Do I need rooting hormone?

No. Butterwort leaves strike on damp mix with no treatment, and hormone powder adds a rot risk for no gain.

Can I root pullings in water?

Not reliably. They rot far more often than they root. Damp mix with airflow is the method that works.

My pulling made a plantlet but no roots. What went wrong?

Usually the mix dried out at the wrong moment, or the leaf base lost contact with the surface. Press the base gently back down, keep the mix barely moist, and roots usually follow.

Will the new plants match the parent?

Yes. Leaf pullings are clones. A plantlet from a named cultivar is that cultivar, with the same color and habit under the same conditions.

Can I propagate a sundew the same way?

Not by pulling leaves. Drosera capensis is easiest from seed, which it sets on its own, and it also grows from root cuttings and from leaf cuttings floated on distilled water. The method on this page is specific to butterworts.

Where to go next

If you are still deciding what to start with, our guide to choosing your first Mexican butterwort compares the easy cultivars. Once you have a shelf of them, they also do useful work as fungus gnat control.

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