Are you looking for a carnivorous plant that looks beautiful, catches insects and is still super easy to care for? Then you should definitely take a look at the butterwort, also known as Pinguicula 🛒 called Pinguicula. This enchanting carnivore is perfect for beginners and will spoil you not only with its fascinating sticky traps, but also with its pretty flowers. To help you care for it effortlessly, you can find all the important tips about butterwort here – from choosing a location to propagation.

The right location is crucial

Pinguicula loves bright, but not too sunny places. The Mexican species in particular thrive on a windowsill with plenty of light but no draughts. You can recognize the ideal spot by the fact that the leaves turn a beautiful green and are covered with shiny sticky drops. These not only serve to catch prey, but also show that your butterwort is completely happy. Some species can even cope with chalky tap water – a real advantage over many other carnivores.

How to water Pinguicula correctly

Watering pinguicula works differently to normal houseplants. Simply place the pot in a saucer with 1-2 cm of water so that the substrate can soak up water from below. Allow the water to disappear completely before topping up. Rain or distilled water is ideal, but tap water is actually permitted for this plant.

Butterwort in winter: Observe the dormant period

Not every Pinguicula grows the same throughout the year. Many species, especially those from Europe, retreat in winter and form so-called hibernacula – a kind of hibernating bud. During this time, water less and ensure cooler temperatures. Tropical species, on the other hand, continue to grow and enjoy a constant climate on the windowsill.

Repotting and propagating

Butterwort grows slowly, so it is sufficient to repot the plant every few years. If a root breaks off, it’s no problem – the plant quickly forms new roots in moist substrate. You can even propagate your butterwort very easily: Break off a leaf with a base and place it on slightly moist substrate. Small offspring will soon sprout from the break.

How to keep your butterwort healthy

Butterworts are considered to be particularly uncomplicated if you keep a few things in mind: a bright location, mineral substrate and not too much moisture in winter. You will be rewarded with numerous pretty flowers in white, purple or pink – all year round. Whether you want to get rid of fungus gnats or are simply looking for an unusual plant, it’s definitely worth buying a butterwort plant.

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Do you want an easy-care, decorative and useful houseplant? Then the butterwort is just the thing. With a little light, the right watering technique and a suitable location, you will be able to enjoy your Pinguicula have – without any green fingers.

Source: Green Jaws

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You may have come across the following call at a glass container: “Please do not throw any unwashed honey jars into the glass container!” Is someone being particularly clean here, or is there a specific reason for this request? Yes, there is! American foulbrood can wipe out entire bee colonies in this country! You can read here how the simple act of washing out empty honey jars can prevent this.

Why you should always rinse honey jars

Recycling used glass is a matter of honor. When the honey jar is empty, it goes into the glass container. However, beekeepers have been warning for several years about the devastating consequences that honey residue in jars can have on the local bee population. They ask people to put honey jars in the dishwasher or wash them thoroughly by hand before disposing of them. The reason: the spread of American foulbrood.

American foulbrood – bee disease on the rise

American foulbrood is a disease that is completely harmless to humans. However, it poses a serious threat to bees. In the worst case, it can wipe out entire bee colonies. This is why the disease is also known as bee plague.

American foulbrood is a bacterial blood disease. The spores of the bacterium enter healthy bee colonies with contaminated honey. If the bee colony is weakened, the combs are taken over by other bee colonies, which in turn become infected. The disease can affect huge areas in this way.

The name American foulbrood is not an indication of the origin of the disease. It occurs worldwide. A beekeepers’ association estimates that 80 to 90 % of imported honey contains American foulbrood spores. This is due to the fact that infected bee colonies in non-European countries are usually treated with antibiotics. Although this keeps the bees healthy, the spores of the pathogen are not combated.

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In Germany and other European countries, for example, American foulbrood repeatedly spreads via honey residues in used glass containers. The disease is particularly common near glass containers, landfill sites and highway service stations. Bees love to collect the finished honey – especially in summer when the flowers have faded.

Which honey jars should I rinse?

If you buy imported honey from non-EU countries, which is usually cheaper, you should actually rinse your empty honey jars thoroughly before disposing of them (or donating them to a beekeeper). The same applies to honey in plastic bottles or jars. The better alternative, of course, is to use local honey. Perhaps even in a refill jar from a local beekeeper? This saves long transportation routes and CO₂.

Sources: tipps.computerbild, quarks

Do you have kitchen roll in your fridge? The absorbent and tear-resistant paper is usually stored under the sink or in a special holder 🛒. But there are a few tangible advantages to storing it in the fridge. Here you can find out how to use kitchen paper not only to keep food fresher, but also to keep your fridge clean.

Kitchen roll in the fridge has these advantages

Kitchen roll or kitchen paper is indispensable for many people in the kitchen – whether it’s for wiping up spilt milk or dabbing meat. But kitchen roll is also really useful in the fridge.

Vegetables keep longer

Vegetables and salad quickly become mushy or moldy in the fridge due to condensation. If you place kitchen paper in the vegetable drawer in the fridge, the moisture is absorbed and the food stays fresh and crisp for longer.

Kitchen roll is also a good help for foods that should not come into contact with certain other foods during storage. This applies to mushrooms, for example, which should be stored separately from leafy vegetables (lettuce, parsley, white cabbage, etc.). To protect them, you can simply wrap the food in question in a piece of kitchen roll.

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The fridge gets clean faster

Another advantage of kitchen paper in the fridge is that it absorbs dirt. Instead of wiping out the fridge again and again or struggling with stubborn encrustations on the shelves, you can simply use the kitchen paper as a base, dispose of it once it is dirty and replace it with new paper.

However, if you want to use kitchen roll in the fridge, you should bear the following in mind:

1. According to Ökotest, not all kitchen rolls are suitable for contact with food as they contain the potentially carcinogenic substance chlorpropanol 3-MCPD.
2. To protect the environment, you should buy kitchen rolls made from recycled paper. Alternatively, you can of course also use tea towels.

Despite all the enthusiasm for this versatile household helper, you should also know that there are 5 things for which kitchen roll is unsuitable. There are also alternatives to kitchen roll for many household tasks.

Sources: familyhandyman, br

The links marked with the shopping cart 🛒 are affiliate links. The products are researched to the best of our authors’ knowledge and some are also recommended from personal experience. If you click on such an affiliate link and buy something through it, our editorial team will receive a small commission from the online store in question. For you as a user, the price does not change and there are no additional costs. The income helps us to offer you high-quality, entertaining journalism free of charge.