Worth knowing:
The Thai Devil Flower is truly a bizarre plant: it develops “Batman”-bracts that host in its middle the actual blossoms, and up to 50 cm long, beard hair-like filaments. The plant can become up to 120 cm big with elegant, dark-green leaves and is perfectly suited for cultivation as a tub plant. In the Thai ethnomedicine it is used as remedy for blood pressure problems, and the ground powder of the rhizomes are believed to have an aphrodisiac effect.
Natural Location:
The White Bat Flower has its natural habitat in the tropical and subtropical South East Asia. There, it grows in forests, valleys and alongside riverbeds in heights of 200 to 1300 meters.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. Spread the seeds onto moist potting compost and put just a little bit of compost earth on top. Then, cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature around 25° Celsius and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Depending on the propagation temperature, the first seedlings will come up after four to six weeks. You can prick out the seedlings after it developed the second pair of leaves.
Place:
Even though the White Bat Flower is a tropical plant, it prefers half-shaded places without draught, but high temperatures since its natural habitat is the rainforest. During summer it can also be kept outdoors in a wind-protected, warm and half-shaded spot. Initially the plant is rather slow-growing.
Care:
For cultivating a Bat Flower you can use ordinary flower soil mixed with some peat or garden mould for a better water storage. Don’t plant too deep, a small part of the root should always remain above ground. The Tacca prefers temperatures above 17° Celsius. Since it is used to high humidity in its natural habitat, you should spray the plant regularly with lime-deficient water. The White Bat Flower also needs plenty of water. Since your plant is rather sensitive to waterlogging, you should probably create a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot with expanded clay, and avoid excess water standing in the saucer. During the growth period you should also give fertilizer for tub plants every two weeks. Matured plants can be multiplied through rhizome cuttings in spring.
During the winter:
The White Bat Flower needs a minimum temperature of 15° Celsius for hibernation. Water the plant only modest, so that the roots are not drying out. In case it is kept too dry, it will still sprout from the rhizomes next spring. The leaves might welk in late winter, while the plant will keep all its energy in the roots, so it can sprout again from the rhizomes with the first warm spring temperatures.
Picture credits:
- © © Scott from USA - CC-BY-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Scott from USA - CC-BY-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
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