New Bat Flower- Tacca thread

Mine isn't hittin on much either. I'm just going through the motions, so I can say I TRIED. :)

Well, I've gone through the motions. So many times I've lost count. I'm still not throwing in the towel on this plant yet but I'm done for this year. I swear this lousy plant hates me.

Guess what guys, dudes, and dudettes. Batflowers are now available guess where? HOME DEPOT! That's right. I've gotten mine there few days ago, then I found this tread. Cool flowers! Keep all the info. coming please regarding how to care for this plant. I love it.

I'm pretty far north from you so I'll call first. I was over there last weekend and didn't notice them for sale at my Home Depot but my butt will be over there in a flash if mine is selling them. Thanks for the tip!

If it's like my HD, this would be the conversation. : )

HD: Home Depot, how can I help you?
Eq: Do you have any Taccas in the garden dept?
HD: No, we don't sell Tacos, try Taco Bell.

Oh oh oh... pain. You are not supposed to make me laugh like you did.

Here's how it would go at my Home Depot at this time of year-

HD- Home Depot, how can we help you.
EQ- I'd like to be transferred to the garden center please.
HD- Just one moment please.
After about 10 minutes

HD- Have you been helped yet?
EQ- No, no I haven't been helped yet. No one has picked up.
HD- Thank you for your patience. Let me page an associate from that department for you.
Another 10 minutes lapses

HD- Home Depot Garden Center, how may I help you (while holding side conversation with another customer), excuse me just one minute (continues to hold side conversation with the other customer). Yes maam, what can I help you with now?
EQ- Bat Flowers, they also get sold as Tacca plants. Do you have any please.
HD- Bat whats?
EQ- Bat Flowers, you know... Tacca
HD- Give me a moment please and I'll go check for you.
EQ- ok, thank you
Another 10 minutes lapses

HD- I've checked for Bat Flowers. You did say Bat Flowers right?
EQ- Yes, Bat Flowers
HD- No we don't have any of those and we don't have any of those... what did you call them... Taco Plants either but we're getting another truck in this (insert your day of choice) and would you please call back.
EQ- have you a list of the plants that will be coming in on the truck please?
HD- No, we just take what we get.
EQ- Thank you
HD- You're welcome, glad we could help you today (???????????????)

I gotta give them credit, they're polite. Totally clueless but they're always polite.

I bought some Tacca seeds on Ebay, I haven't planted them yet, but I did see some in Wallmart - Wachula down here on 192, I shall be planting mine soon - with love and a prayer, I have balck, white and long whiskered ones. I also managed to get some African Tulip Tree seeds - they are sprouting nicely, My son got some huge pods on his yellow Tababouia, I shall be getting them soon.
As for HD not my favourite place - much prefer Lowes.
Wachula if my Taccas succeed I can arrange for you o get some seedlings from me if you want.

mines going in the trash if it doesn't show any signs of life real soon!

Wow I thought mine was doing poorly, but it is alive and growing with two leaves that look healthy. I was wondering how everyone was doing with thiers.

Keep us posted.

Viv

LOL not rubbing it in, was just surprised that my two leaves seemed to be a good thing. I was disappointed by the proformance. But now maybe it did better than I thought. I'll post a pic in the morning, and someone that really grows them might be able to tell me if it is doing well or not. I'm hoping to see some new growth soon, I'm keeping inside, because my weather is unpredictable for a few more weeks.


Viv

Heres the pic, what do you think?

Viv

I was just teasing with you. I truly don't understand why I've had such bad luck. Your plant looks healthy to me and by the looks of it, you're doing more right than wrong. Maybe I should try this plant from seed. There have been times when all else failed yet I was able to keep a species alive from seed.

I just saw this thread and thouht you might like to know that I picked up my first bat flower at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago. Hard to believe.

hcmcdole;
I am happy to see your post. Since we're in same zone, let's keep in touch to see how our Tacca hold out against other subtropic areas? I'm new to, mine is less then a week. It's in full bloom as well. This is a treat. Some thing so unusual and exotic.

My tacca and I have a love/hate relationship. It was delivered last fall all pretty with a couple buds. The buds NEVER opened... I potted it up, left it at work, and watered it all winter. By very early spring, its 4-5 leaves started browning on the edges..... I took it home a few weeks ago, repotted it again and it is sitting on my covered front porch. 2 new leaves are emerging and I hope to see more. I'll slowly remove the ugly ones as new ones come out. It's rather pitifull looking, really, but I LOVE the way the leaves start out brown and thick looking... I've not given up, the new leaves were a big boost for me. Hope I can get at least 1 bloom. -B

AuntB;
Treat your Tacca as most houseplants. They require good humidity level to do well. Most homes/offices the air is dry, so it's hard for the thing to flourish. Try to group your pottings plants in group, provide pepple trays, with water (be sure your water doesn't reach the base of the pottings plants -- thus cause roots rot). Water evaporates, and provide extra humid-air for your potting plants. Also avoid draft area. Mist your plants occassionally if they need it. Notice too, even in screen in porch. On windy days, your pots will tend to dry out quicker. Water as needed, mist it more often.

Thank you for the hints! I do make sure it NEVER goes dry out there. Hey, anything that is not dried out- brown and crispy or smelly and mushy, I always keep up the hope. I'm very patient (usually) and very hard-headed, but it was a last ditch effort, putting it on the porch (it's not screened but IS on the north side, so it is protected from hot dry south winds).... We have very high humidity here in summer, I'm sure that's what kicked it into gear. I'll remember to mist when I mist the ferns out there.

Well Aunt B, At least you have some green. I got nothing above the dirt.

hcmcdole! Bat plants at WalMarts down south??? All my WalMart ever seems to get in quantity is English Ivy, Vinca, and lots of petunias. And I do mean lots of petunias. This is terribly depressing!

I've found quite a few surprises at Wal-Mart over the years. It isn't each store either - what's up with that? Maybe being Florida's neighbor makes us an easy market (A.K.A. sucker) for the growers.

Here is a variegated manihot (tapioca plant) I found a week or two later at the same store plus two large cordylines.

Right now we have an ever ending supply of pitiful looking annuals, brown & crispy looking ferns hanging out in full sun and that solid green philo in hanging baskets.

We are definitely deprived up north. I have never seen our WalMart carry anything even remotely attractive like that Tapioka plant. We get lilies around Mother's Day, Poinsettias around Christmas, and other theme type plants like those however that's about it.

So being down here in the appendix of the USA we do get a lot of exciting things in WalMart, I just bought 4 pots of 5 twisted Hibiscus of varying colours, PDoyle don't complain you can grow all sorts of things up there that wont grow the same down here - Roses for instance and Clematis -my roses bloom for a day, and clematis barely last a season. Of course humidity is high enough for Tacca's and I have started African Tulip Trees, All kinds of citrus growing nicely and to top it all and make you all really jealous - we have mickey Mouse around the corner!!!! Now you can all go really green with envy! Oh yes had my first hummingbird in the garden - but I first saw them in D.C. Last September. We do not have a bridge anything like the one in Chesapeake Bay - now that is really something else!

It's amazing of the things we take for granted. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Go fishing under it every year and pay it no mind when i cross it. I can think of a lot of things that FL has that I would like, then i bet you could do the same for here.

The trip up north was my first out of Florida to another state, it really was very interesting I am from UK, and moved here to be near my son. Gardening was very different in UK, but seeing the different things from state to state was good too. We crossed 'The Bridge' on the way back and wondered why we had to pay a toll of $12.50, but it was worth every cent, it was truly amazing, we kept wanting to stop the car and look!

Glad you enjoyed the trip. Good hing you didn't get out of the car. You would have been bombarded by seagulls.

It's time to refresh this thread; follow up on those that at one time raised this flowers. Mine; Tacca chantrieri kicked the bucket after two years in my possession. Then I ordered two more, one T. chantrieri, one T. integrifolia.

One again; my chantrieri was but a memory. The T. integrifolia is thriving and currently rewarding me with a flower! Yep, flowers!!! (pix pending soon).

I still have my seeds which I never got around to planting -I will when I get back from my trip.

Hope you've good luck with the seeds sowing on this neat plant. I'll start a new thread to keep everyone current with this unusual plant(s).

mine are still alive and well planted in ground in a protected spot, but they have not bloomed again.
-T

Somebody said they kept re-seeding -so don't give up on them. We are off today to points east and will return on Nov. 11th, so after that I will set my seeds in small papier mache pots to start them before planting out -just in case we get frost again this year.