How to Grow and Care for Bat Flowers

About Growing Bat Flowers in Your Home Flower Garden

Nature doesn’t produce too many flowers that are truly black in color. People describe the Black Bat Flower plant using a variety of adjectives. These adjectives include: unusual, odd, unique, bizarre exquisite, magnificent, fascinating, and beautiful. Get the picture!? Among those gardeners growing bat flowers, they share one thing in common…. they really love them.

Native to Asia and Australia, Tacca Chantieri plants grow wild in places like the tropical forest in Yunnan Province, China. They get their name from the bat-shaped flower. These beautiful plants can grow up to 36″ tall. They produce big blooms up to 12″ across, with “whiskers” that can grow 28″ in length! The most common color is black. However, a rarer White Bat Flower also exists.

Grow Bat Flowers indoors or out. They prefer light shade, making them good candidates for your shade garden. Also, they are popular as indoor houseplants, grown in containers.

Flowers Bloom: Late Spring to Summer

Flower Colors: Black is the most common flower color. Also, there is a white bat flower.

Plant height: up to 36 inches tall.

Plant Hardiness Zones: 9 – 11

Did You Know? Bats can find their food in total darkness. And, they can eat up to 1,200 mosquitos per hour.

Perennial, Tacca Chantrieri

Bat Flower Plant Propagation

Black Bat Flower plants can be propagated from seeds or plant rhizomes. Seeds can take months to germinate. A heated germination mat is strongly recommended. Most people propagate them using rhizomes or tuberous roots. It is much easier and quicker to grow them from rhizomes.

When the plants begin to become over-crowded, dig up rhizomes of established plants in the Fall and divide them into clumps for re-planting. And, make sure to share some of the extra rhizomes with your gardening friends.

Bulb Planting Depth: Leave the top 1/2 inch of the bulb above ground.

Final Plant Spacing: 18 inches apart. They tolerate a little crowding. However, plants and flowers are smaller when overcrowded.

How to Grow Bat Flowers

These beautiful flowers grow best in well-drained, fertile soil. Keep soil moist, and do not let it dry out. Fertilize plants regularly, with a general-purpose fertilizer. For indoor plants, apply liquid fertilizer or plant spikes.

Plants like high humidity. Avoid cold and hot temperature extremes. Air circulation is important, to avoid plant disease.

Bat Flower plants prefer sun to light shade. Try them in your shade garden, or on the north side of the house.

Divide and separate rhizomes in the Fall. Divide the Rhizomes into clumps, using a sharp knife. Replant the rhizomes, spacing them three to four feet apart.

Garden Tip: Bat Flower plants do not like to be root bound. When growing in containers, re-pot as needed.

Ideal Soil pH: 6.1 – 7.1.