TACCA
INTEGRIFOLIA
White Bat Flower
***This plant is out of stock. Please check back at a later time.
Taccas
have beautiful foliage and one of the most interesting flower ever
seen. However, they can be picky sometimes regarding their environmental
conditions. When they like the conditions, they grow, flower a lot,
and even produce babies. When something is not right, they slowly
decline and eventually die. Unfortunately, sometimes the only way
to know if you can provide them the right conditions is by trying.
Large plants seem to do better than smaller ones. They like shade,
and good air circulation. They don't like too much heat and air that
is too dry.
We found
that they don't like to be rootbound. It may not be a bad idea to
repot it every year in the spring. When you reach a 10" pot or
larger you can wash the soil, cut most of the roots off and remove
most of the leaves. Remove the babies and repot in the same size pot
with fresh 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 or arlite
10% vermiculite
The soil
should be a little bit acid, so use something like a "Miracid"
occasionally as a fertilizer.
I
read that Taccas can go dormant, but it has never happened to us here
in Florida.
Our temperatures dip into the low 30°s sometimes during the winter,
but it goes back to the 70°s in a couple of hours. Our Taccas
are outside and seem not to mind that.
Actually I lost a few plants that I moved inside our greenhouse a
few years ago, I believe because of poor air circulation. The ones
outside survived.
Taccas
are easier to grow outdoor where there is some air circulation. They
don't grow well for everybody indoors, but I guess that if you are
growing orchids inside than you might do okay with the Taccas inside
too
An environment that's good for Phalaenopsis should work for Taccas
as well.
Don't keep
the Taccas too wet, but never let them dry out totally.
Fertilize
with Dynamite, Osmocote, or with Miracle Grow if you wish.
Try to avoid
placing the pots in direct contact with the ground for now. There
are many soil born diseases that can attack a plant. Place the pots
on shelves or even on top of a concrete block.
FAMILY
:
Taccaceae
ORIGIN : India
SIZE : 30"
LIGHT
REQUIREMENTS : shade
WATER
REQUIREMENTS : keep
moist but do not soak
MIN. TEMP. : 50°
FLOWER : fall
COMMENTS : Don't let it dry out,
protect from wind
Check
out Tacca chantrieri.
