Bat Plant

[miss_corerupted]

Hi,
I have bought a few Bat Plant seeds. They sound quite hard work to grow. does anyone have advice for me before i begin??

Going to start off with them in small pots and put plastic bag over the top, appaernetly they can take up to 9 months to propagate!!

[zazen999]

Hey - what you doing over here!

Have you sown any purple carrots yet?

[miss_corerupted]

haha that made me laugh!! don't know why

No not yet i thought we had to wait until about april.
i'm going to plant them in an old bath to keep the carrot fly off

small world!

what is moon planting??

[lynda66]

the only thing i can say about bat plants is don't stick them outdoors, windowsills don't seem to work, and i had no luck till i put them on top of the boiler. they have been up there for 4 months, and so far i have 3 plants, from 12 seeds.

This plant comes from monsoon rain forests, it will need a warm humid position to do well.

Flowers: In summer, 2-3 years from seed

Height: 120cm (48”)

Position: Partial Shade

Germination: Challenging

Aftercare: Particular Care Required





Tacca nivea is the rare white form of the ever popular “Bat Flower” offers magnificent white, green veined blooms with long tentacles. These marvellous tropical plants are also known as “Cats Whiskers” after the long bracts that emanate from the flower scape.



The flowers, which open in summer and are carried in racemes of up to 30 blooms. Cloaking the flowers from above are several broad and showy bracts (modified leaves), the flowers hang in umbels underneath. Its peculiar “whiskers” are actually filiform bracteoles or small bracts which hang down from the flowers and are up to 35cm (14”) long.



It bears lustrous, lance shaped leaves with a wonderful corrugated patterning that grow to 25cm (10”) wide and 60cm (24") long. The leaves superficially resemble those of some Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum), but the resemblance ends when the flowers begin to appear.







Tacca is a long-lived, short stemmed, rhizomatous or tuberous herbaceous perennial that is native to the tropics of the Old World and the Pacific Islands. It can be observed elsewhere in the world where it is popular among conservatories and hobby horticulturists. In the wild, it grows in the understory of rain forests in deep shade, but in a diversity of soil types, often growing in accumulations of decayed organic matter. This is one perennial that is always in demand.



The White Bat Flower was first described sometime in the early 1800s. And there appears to be some confusion over the botanist who found it. Was it John Bellenden Ker, John Ker Bellenden, or maybe John Gawler? Perhaps, it does not matter. The plant is bizarrely spectacular and we can thank him for his discovery.





Growing Tacca

Tacca is not particularly demanding once it is given everything it needs to succeed, humidity and protection from strong winds. But Tacca will not adapt to you - you must provide Bat Flowers with what they require. When they like the conditions, they grow, flower a lot and even produce seeds, otherwise they slowly decline and eventually die.

You may wish to do your own research on how to care for these beautiful plants. Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to know if you can provide them the right conditions is by trying.



Environment

Most of these oddities thrive on the moist soils of the forest floor and are not tolerant of cool temperatures, drying out, or wet roots. These frost-tender plants can be grown outdoors in tropics and subtropics, but elsewhere require the protection of a greenhouse. They need a humid atmosphere, some shade and a peaty soil.

The plants thrive in 70-80% shade with good air circulation. They don't like too much heat or air that is too dry



Soil

The soil is one of the most important things for success with Taccas. The mixture needs to be light, very porous, something that drains well. Use something like: 60% Canadian peat moss, 30% perlite, 10% vermiculite. The soil should be a little bit acid, so use something like a "Miracid" occasionally as a fertilizer



Sowing: Sow seeds as soon as possible

Soak the seeds 24 hours in warm water (you can put the water in a thermos to keep it warm) Sow 1.5mm (1/16in) deep in trays or pots containing good moist seed compost and seal the container inside a polythene bag or cover with a plastic dome to keep moisture in. Place in a propagator, on a heating mat or warm place to maintain an optimum temperature of 27-29*C (80-85*F). It is essential that the soil temperature is high and kept steady.

Germination can take from 1-9 months so be patient. Don't toss out your seed beds thinking they won't germinate!

Tacca's are known for damping off. Remember to use a good seed starting mix that has been treated for damp-off.



Care of Seedlings:

Transplant seedlings when large enough to handle into 7.5cm (3in) pots of good free draining compost, preferably a peat or peat substitute compost with 10% added grit.

During the growing season (late spring to late summer) the plants will need to be watered very regularly. (Water from below) They don't like to be root bound, so pot on as required into 13cm (5in) and finally 25cm (10in) pots.

Give very little water through the winter and provide a temperature of 15-18*C (60-65*F) through the winter and 25-29*C (75-85*F) through the summer. Re-pot in February/March, shade from strong sun and give the occasional mist spray through the summer.

The seedlings benefit from frequent dilute applications of soluble fertilizer. When small, they pass through a stage of almost chronic chlorosis, even with regular fertilization, but overcome this in a few weeks.



Flowering:

Flowering seems to begin when the plants have produced 2-3 full-size leaves. Each plant produces at least 6 and up to 12 flower stems during the warm months of the year.

The leathery capsules (about 1.5" long) require up to a year to ripen. When they split along their sides, numerous 1/4" seeds are revealed embedded in a sticky pulp. The seeds should be cleaned of the pulp and air dried.

[zazen999]

that looks like alotta work; good luck.

Moon gardening is sowing, planting out and harvesting on the days when the moon is drawing water up or down...so doing root veg on a day when the water is being drawn down will apparently encourage bigger and better roots [aka carrots, beetroot, onions etc].

[lynda66]

it's been a pain in the bum so far, but i currently have 3 1 inch plants, and they have to be worth the effort they are gorgeous

[miss_corerupted]

they sound like hard work hmmmm, might have bitten for more than i can chew.
Got no central heating atm so might put them in living room by the woodburner.
I didn't turn the comp on when i got home so i planted 2 seeds in b+q compost and clear plastic bags over top.
Will have to get the special compost for the others
I hope it works they are gorgeous flowers. I have black ones

[kentvegplot]

Just been to Wisley to see them in flower in the Glasshouse - they are amazing. Good luck with them.

[miss_corerupted]

i will tell you in about 9 months lol