Tacca Integrifolia or bat plant

[JennS]

Does anybody grow bat plants? I have one that i got right before the blooming period and it sent out three total blooms. They were gorgeous... I will dig up the picures. Anyway, my mom gave it to me and kep another division of the plant. Hers bloomed twice, but only lasted for a day and when she got home they were limp and started dying off. Mine each lasted a week or more. Any ideas what could have caused this? I try to keep mine moist but not damp and hit it with some fertilizer when doing the orchids. Besides the orchid fetilizer and mine being in a clay pot versus hers in plastic, everything seemed about the same. Any thoughts, opinions, anything? Thanks!!!

[cowboy51278]

I just started some seeds last December. I started 40 of the White Taccas and 3 of the Green Taccas. After 3 months one of the greens came up and after 5 months a second green one. Just this past week I tossed the plug tray they were in. They are supposed to take up to 9 months to germinate but I needed the room for orchids . From everything that I've read and heard about them they tend to be very very sensative to fertilizer, light and humidity. If any of those are not to they're liking they will have a little planty temper tantrum. I failed to mist my second seedling when it was about a month old and the little guy shriveled right up and was dead by the next morning. They other one is now about 4 or 5 inches tall and growing quickly. I keep him in the middle of a humidity try under taller plants. He doesn't get a lot of light and tons of humidity and I haven't fertilized him once yet. Im def no expert on growing these guys, in fact I think Ive just told you everything I know

[Faerygirl]

I live a little ways above you in Florida. I grow both Black and White taccas. I have been growing them for about 10 years and have no problems with them at all. I don't find them finicky in the least. Mine are planted into the ground inside my greenhouse. They are only in there because we frost here, but, I have had friends in more southern FL locales tell me that they have had taccas in their yards in protected locations for years that have taken isolated temps into the high 20's without batting an eye so I am trialing 2 large white tacca outside for this winter. I took 2 offsets off the plant in the photo and planted them in 2 different outdoor locations as tests.

Your mom's plant may not have died. Black bats sometimes go dormant if they are unhappy. Whites don't seem to do this. Black ones will also go semi-dormant for me in winter when the days are shorter. White bats don't.

Mine in the greenhouse are growing in full "greenhouse" sun (probably about 86% light transmission through the glazing). The outdoor ones are growing in dappled shade under oak trees. They all get watered daily and I fertilize them every week. I use whatever I have on hand...Miracle Grow, 20-20-20, 10-50-10, orchid fertilizer, it has never mattered to them at all.

Black bats are much smaller in stature than white bats. White bats get huge and hold their flowers up very high. Black ones stay small and their flowers can get lost close to the ground.

In Orlando you might be able to get away with planting yours out.

[cowboy51278]

That is absolutley stunning!!!! nice job!

[Dorothy]

I don't grow this but I do remember that we have had past threads about the infamous bat plant -
Tacca chanterii (Bat flower)
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...halloween.html
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...nt-blooms.html
Variegated Phaius

[JennS]

Can someone please help me? I can't see what pictures you guys are talking about! This keeps happening to me and I can't figure out why.

As for the plants...they are both white bat plants. As for my mom's plant, the plant itself looks fine, it looks quite good actually, it was just that the flowers didn't last more then one day and mine lasted closer to a week or more. I didn't know if there might be some reason for this. We both have ours in a pot under dappled light (actually mine might get more light then hers, might be the problem).

I would love to plant it in the yard, but I want to wait until I have more then one plant. I think it would survive, but I would like to have a backup.

How big are your white bats?

[(..._...)]

This plant looks very cool! These plants take waay too long to germinate lol

[Faerygirl]

I didn't grow mine from seed so germination time doesn't matter to me. I make it a practise never to grow from seed if I can get a vegetative division because I need instant gratification, LOL. The only time I break that rule is when its a plant that's just otherwise impossible to get, like the Bauhinia yunnanensis vine I wanted (out of 10 seeds only one germinated so I am taking extra special care of that plant, LOL)

Jenn, my stand of White Tacca is over 6 years old. There are approximately 8 plants in the stand. Shen it grows too large for the space, I remove some of the offsets and either trade them away or plant them in the yard (like I am doing with these trials this winter). The whole clump has a spread of about 5 feet, individual leaves are over 3 ft in length and the plants are about 3.5 ft tall.

My black tacca set seed and spilled it on the greenhouse floor last 2 seasons ago and I had them coming up everyhere. I didn;t even know that's what they were until they got larger. I didn;t make any special effort to germinate them, they just went on their own. I eventually had to pull out about 10 plants. I think the key to germination with Tacca is extremely EXTREMELY fresh seed. The funny thing is, if I had actually COLLECTED the seed (even though I didnlt even KNOW about the seed, LOL) and tried to actually germinate it, none would have germinated for me. But left to their own devices, they all germinated. I am so NOT Miss Seed.

[JennS]

Your plant is beautiful!!! I can't wait for mine to get that big. I got mine as a division from my mom's so I am thinking hers must just need a little more light and fertilizer and maybe that will keep the blooms longer. I will post a picture of mine tomorrow (made a copy of pics and left it at home!).