Herself's Houseplants

I have been lusting after one of these plants for almost a year.  The first one I saw in a store was $100 and I wasn’t ready to part with that much money.  This time I found one at Smith and Hawkins for $50.  That’s a price I can live with, so home it came.

There are 10 known species of Tacca plant, all very similar. They range in height from 6″ to 6′ tall.  The plants with white flowers tend to be larger than the plants with the dark purple/black flowers.  As well as the common name bat flower, tacca is also known as cat’s whiskers and devil’s tongue.  These are found through out the tropical regions of Asia and India.

Leaves can reach 2′ long The flower is on a tall spike at least 2′ tall.  The brach behind the flowers is about 5″ across.  The flowers are about 1″ across.  Flowers appear in the summer and there may be as many as 30 on the plant.  Some plants will happily bloom most of the year for you. The long filaments are about 6″ long here, but can be as long as 8″.

I’m told it needs the soil to be constantly moist but well drained, except in the winter when you should let it come close to dry before watering again.

Bright filtered light is best, keep from direct sunlight.

The higher the humidity the better.

Keep from cold drafts and from frost these are tropical plants.  55′F is the minimum temperature for this plant.

Plant in a potting soil/peat moss mixture using at least 1/2 peat moss.

To propagate divide in the early spring when new growth is appearing.  You can also propagate by seed.  Seeds take 1-9 months to germinate and are very prone to damping off.

If the leaves start to brown it needs more humidity.  Stick it in the shower and let it enjoy the humidity if leaves start to brown, grow crinkled or lay down rather than standing upright.

Sometimes with out warning they can go dormant and play dead.  Go easy on the leaves and watering and be patient.  Often they will start making new leaves in an few months.

The root tubers are used in some native cultures for food and medicine.

( or any other non-bulb plant )

The number one reason plants do not bloom indoors is they need more light. More light should always be the first thing you think of when ever a house plant has a problem.

So first try to find a sunnier location or put a fluorescent light over the plant several hours a day.

If the plant is still being difficult about blooming, try a balanced fertilizer, say 10-10-10 or so.

The second number is phosphorus and this is usually what is needed when a plant doesn’t bloom because of a nutritional problem. If you can find a fertilizer that has a higher middle number than the other two numbers try that. Because so much phosphorus is out in the environment and because of the harm it does most fertilizer companies don’t sell high phosphorus fertilizer any more.

If the plant stubbornly refuses to respond to light or fertilizer try giving it less water than it wants. You don’t want to dry it out, you just want to stress it a little. I find this almost always works if sun or fertilizer doesn’t.

If the plant still refuses, you must either learn to love it for its foliage or dump it and try a different plant.