Keeping the Bat Alive

Good morning,

These will be my first pictures and comments on the bat babies.

Having bought a whole bunch of them I can say at this point, I'm looking at 25% fatality rate. All the ones I've lost, were my own doggone fault. I drowned them and they turned to mush. Now that being said, here's what I did.

I put most into 4 inch pots with regular potting soil. I have given them all 1 meal of compost tea.

The survivors have all grown some new roots, and many have grown new tops. At this point I am tempted to cut their tops off and force them into some more root growth. I'm sure this is probably the best thing to do, but I haven't the nerve yet.

I have had some bloom stalks that were too heavy for the plant to hold up, so I unpotted all, amended the soil with bone meal and repotted them again. (This took me two days of working in late afternoon to dark.)

I am pretty well following The Sleepy Oaks website when handling these plants. I figure you have to find one information source, stick with it, learn from your mistakes and keep on keeping on.

Here's a picture of one plant with a fallen bloom stem and 1 new leaf stem.

http://www.sleepyoaks.com/tacca_chantrieri_bat_plant.htm

I have 2/3 failure. The bulbs that arrived looking like wiry black stones all rotted.( obviously DOA ) The rest had some hint of green and are not doing much of anything yet ......... but they are somewhat still alive (-_-?)

I've seen what I think is a small leaf on one or two of mine. Still have not given up hope. If they make it, they should be stunning. Will have to over-winter inside as I probably don't keep my gh warm enough for them.

ok i can admit this to then though ashamed i can't get them going like brugs but i got ne brug going good.lost about 3/4 of my bat bulbs rotted but i did not htink i was watering much at all. no sign life on 3 got left or is it 2 one other.. but i'm hanging on hoping!!! one that went way up in no time 12" or more plopped died ..i will not give up... info good here.. seems i'm super dumb..

Twyla, I've raised plants, both common and tropical for many years and I have no signs of life on mine, so don't feel bad. I have three left now out of six or is it two....can't remember and so I'm not giving up yet.

I'm not either on them or brugs or anything i would like to try..I have fought to survive all my life so now fighting for my plants to.... like my kids.. blessings all.. twyla

Thought I'd jump in here and report on my bats. I got 5 and thought they were all dead after a few weeks. I took the pot outside and just set it in a flower bed and literally forgot about it. Well, now 4 of them are showing green leaves so maybe there is hope. I just left the other one in there and maybe it will grow too. Don't give up hope! Jenny

I have 4. I cut the 'tops' off 3 of them. I have tried to keep them evenly watered without rotting them. I now have them on the heating mat since it sounds as though hot weather gets them going. Nothing yet.

I'm so excited, I have a leaf on one of mine and some green starting to show on one of the others. All my black stems are still firm so I'm still very hopeful. Not sure about the nights, but the days have certainly been warm enough here.

About half of mine rotted. Maybe I kept them too moist. I have 1 with a good leaf, 3 with starting leaves 3 still firm with no growth and the rest were mush.

Molly & Chris,
I received my bats!! Thank you!!
I will try to be a good mom :)
Thanks again,
~Tammy~

Is this a bud? It doesn't have any leaves :)

Mine are all dead. Never did anything. I didn't give up until the very end. LOL!

I ordered 15, gave all but 4 away.

1-rotted
2-with leafs
1- still waiting for ??

Honeybee

Yup. That's a bud, and to make things worse, you should probably cut it off.

It means it's working, but it's focus is a bit off. Clip it back, and let it focus on the roots.

Ok, :)
thanks Chris!! ** sniff, sniff **

It's ok. Know you're doing the right thing. It'll forgive you.

Good Chris, you are still up. How much of that new growth should we be trimming back? JUst the buds, or leaves?

Thanks
Molly

If it's only flowers, they should be cut. Flowers take a lot more energy out of a plant than foliage, and if it's only a flower, it's the plants last attempt to reproduce as it thinks it's on its last breath.

If it's new foliage, by all means encourage the growth.

I only ordered two and babied them in the house since I got them. I finally planted them outside yesterday in an effort to give them one more chance. But, when I planted them, the bulbs didn't look too good. I'm still hoping though, that they will come around.

I have one that is still holding on...but its not looking very healthy. I would have thought that I could make these grow..since I am pretty good a tropicals. But out of 10 I killed 9...and one more on its way to the grave. :-( Well at least I learned in an inexpensive way that "I CAN'T GROW TACCA"

These are known as challenging! Mine are still firm and at least 2 of the 6 are possibly opening up a leaf...really hope I get to see just one flower someday.

I'm scared.
LOL.
I really wanted one, now... oh well.
I'll get your M.O out ASAP Molly!

I lost all 15 of mine.

Mine are all dead,dead,dead!
I hope some of you have good luck with yours!
Bonnie

2 of my 5 are living. They each have one large leaf. I just keep hoping. Maybe I'm doing something right. When I moved them outside they seemed to begin to perk up and quit rotting on me. Jenny

Just here to wish everyone luck with their bat plants! Long story, but all of mine are DEAD! And it's no one's fault but my own. When they arrived....I was at work so I had my son open the box and leave them on the table for me when I got home. And of course, when I got home.....we frantically fixed dinner and I had the kids clean off the kitchen table. LOL They just tossed the box (thinking it was empty) out in the garage. Ugh....I didn't realize it for about 3 or 4 days. I tried to revive them, but it was just too late. I hope everyone has great luck with them and posts pics!

I have 3 of 6 now with two leaves! I think that they just lOOk dead for a long time before they break dormancy. Glad I gave them a chance. Now, if they bloom I will be thrilled...

Hey, mine seem to be doing OK...I only lost 2 of them...
Toni

I received 2 of these from SoCal. Thought I had killed them for sure but when I went to toss them, they had very healthy looking roots. I guess I will just be patient and wait for the foliage.

I just don't know what to think about all of 16 of mine. They are all just sitting there looking dead. Maybe I should take a look at my roots also.

Janice, I hope yours do something for you.

Donna

I only have 1 out of 12 that looks like it will make it.

Decided to investigate my bats today. Seven of them are completely dead, a few look iffy and 2 still have a nice root system. This is why I bought so many in the first place. I figured if I got a few to make it, I would keep 1 or 2 and give the rest out as garden gifts to some friends. Looks like the friends are going without.

Donna

Looks like all of mine have passed away. but leaving 3 in pots under tree. Waterpond lost all of hers , boy this was a treat in a way to learn and not go broke trying .Would have loved to see at least one bloom but maybe another time.Carolyn

Suggestion: Try an Orchid Type potting soil and add rocks, #3 Perlite, fine WonderBark. I grow mine in a mixture of Coarse Peat, Fine Coir, Fine Ceder Bark, #3 Perlite and Black Cinder....My 3 Taccas are loving it...altho my first Tacca struggled for a long while. I keep them moist, not wet...but the secret to the potting mix is that they get lots of water without being soggy.... When we first moved here and I was on a very sharp learning curve, an old master gardener told me "Tropicals are grown best in FAST draining soil and tons of water". We get 160" of rain annually...so the soil HAS to drain!!!

Following this thread with great interest....

PLEASE tell me...HOW and WHEN do you harvest the Tacca Seed?

Aloha, you might find the answer to the seed question at this site: http://www.sleepyoaks.com/tacca_chantrieri_bat_plant.htm

Molly

Aloha, I was down to one lonely Tacca, but when I read your reply I decided to repot. Used my orchid mix with perlite, charcoal and a little cactus mix. Then I watered with the hydrogen peroxide mix mentioned somewhere else. I'll see if there is an improvemnent. Jenny

I have several flats of tacca that have germinated, and at least 20 blooming plants in large containers, from last year.......I take the seeds from my mother plant after the seed pod ripens, which usually takes 6 months or longer, this depends whether the seedpod has become plump, and splits, never harvest before then...I then let the seeds dry for a few days....I then immediately plant them, lightly covered in a seed starting soiless mix. I keep them moist but not soggy, with temps over 80 degrees...they're usually sparadic in germination, some germinating within a few weeks, and some not for a couple of months~ Debra~

Debra, do you keep them in this soiless mix when you repot? Are they outside? How much water? What about sun? Share your tips please. Jenny

Debra would you recommend putting them in a greenhouse? Mine are not dead, but just kind of waiting....I think on some ideal growing conditions. My GH gets very warm during the day, but I do have shade cloth on it. The average daytime temps can get above 90 degrees some days.