White Bat Flower

The Thai devil’s flower with its Batman bracts, in the center of which are the actual flowers, and their stamens up to 50 centimeters long, resembling whiskers, is truly a bizarre plant. With a stature height of up to 120 centimeters and its elegant, dark green leaves, it can also be kept well as a container plant here. In the ethnomedicine of Thailand the plant is used as a remedy for blood pressure problems and the ground powder of the rhizomes of the plant is ascribed a strong aphrodisiac effect.

Natural habitat
The bat flower is at home in the subtropics and tropics of Southeast Asia. There it grows in forests, valleys and along rivers at heights of 200 to 1300 meters.

Cultivation
The cultivation from seeds is possible in the house all year round. Scatter the seeds on moist potting soil and cover them only a little with the growing medium. Cover the cultivation vessel with cling film, which you have provided with holes. This protects the earth from drying out. Every two to three days you should remove the film for 2 hours. This prevents mold from forming on the potting soil. Place the cultivation vessel in a light and warm place with a temperature of around 25 ° Celsius and keep the cultivation soil moist, but not wet. Depending on the growing temperature, the first seedlings appear after four to six weeks. Prick out the seedlings only after the appearance of the second pair of leaves.

Location
Although the bat flower is a tropical plant, it prefers partially shaded locations with little drafts and higher temperatures, because its real home is the rainforest. She can also spend the summer outdoors in warm and partially shaded places that are sheltered from the wind. In the beginning the plant grows slowly.

Care
Plant the bat flower in potting soil, to which you add some peat or garden soil to store moisture. Do not plant too deep – a small part of the root should always protrude from the top of the earth. Your Tacca loves all temperatures above 17 ° Celsius. As she is used to high humidity, she is grateful for frequent spraying with water that is low in lime. Their watering requirement is also extremely high, whereby you can prevent their sensitivity to waterlogging by filling the bottom of the plant pot with a small drainage made of expanded clay and not leaving any excess water in the saucer. During the growth phase, you should provide your devil flower with potted plant fertilizer every 14 days. You can reproduce fully grown plants by dividing the rhizomes in spring.

Winter
Your bat flower needs a temperature of at least 15 ° Celsius to overwinter. Water significantly less, but don’t let the root ball dry out. If the plant is kept too dry, it will still sprout from the rhizome in spring. The leaves can wither in late winter. The plant then stores its power reserves in its thick roots. With the first spring temperatures, however, the rhizome sprouts again from the roots.