Wow, never saw one of those. Thanks for posting-going to look it up!

+oM

edited to add: secretsquirrel, is that the Tacca chantrieri then?

I saw one at the local Lowe's--someone was at the register waiting to buy it, but I got a look at it. It was in a Monrovia branded pot.

Very pretty!

Silvia

Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.

Hi

Fantastic!! Could I ask how you're culturing it?? I grew the green and white forms. Yours looks very healty both flower and leaves . While mine grew and flowered ,never lived up to potential. What's your secret?? gary

Such a cool plant. Mine is just starting to bloom

Hi Gary.No secret really.Even though my call name may imply differently.lol!Mine is in a shady spot in a pot with a saucer.Basically low light &wet feet.Other than that...nothing special.

Yes, Tom. Tacca chantrieri is correct. Never had much luck with these and they're not cheap. There's a black and a white. The black is more popular. They do well in a pot, but not in the ground... unfortunately.

Thank you fawn.Did not seeTom's question.Yes not the cheapest.But worth it.I hide my pot &saucer with ferns so it looks more natural.

Thanks. An attention-getter for sure!

+om

hi

Just the opposite of what I was told lol. " Open loose media with quick drainage NEVER allow to stand in water" What type media are you using?? May use your method when I try again lol I found some on the net for under 5 bucks each,tissue cultured and small I'm sure but worth a shot. Have never seen another green Tacca ankaranensis . But they are not nearly as showy as the white or black and they get really tall

Since you have flowers now you'll be able to try the seeds . I had some luck with them mostly when I let them fall off the plant they would germinate right in the same pot . Lost all of them in a hurricane several years ago and due to the expense have not tried again.. Good luck with them and thanks for the info gary

Gary I know you grow orchids. Give it the same care as a phal (light, humidity, moisture, temp) but keep it in moisture absorbing medium.

Gary, I have a large one I bought 3 years ago at an orchid show in Sarasota. It was $15.00 but already in bloom in a 8-10 inch pot. I grow it under my oak tree, gets strong morning sun. If I forget to water it totally wilts and screams at me.

I agree to grow it like a Phal. I used Miracle Gro mixed with orchid bark and some perlite. The MG holds enough moisture so I don't have to water constantly. It does like water. I fertilize with orchid fertilizer.

Here's a pic taken last year. It got eaten by snails but I had over 10 large blooms. I'm trying to find the photos with the blooms, I don't categorize anything and will look through a thousand photos, lol.

You have those ponds. They do like moisture, but heard nematodes will eat the roots. You could try putting one near your pond. But I found I get better flowering when it gets morning sun.

I have a black one in a 3 gallon. It went semi dormant in the gh last winter but has come back since then. I also have two others: one white, and one black that I ordered off wellsprings on ebay as tiny plants this past spring. They are doing well and I need to pot them up to 1 gallons now. I think the white one is happier than the smaller black one. Every time my large one gets a flower on it one of these crazy roosters I have, comes and bites it off and eats it grrr. Hes' totally obsessed with the flowers, I think he thinks they are some type of bugs, so I am going to have to move it to a hanging planter or a fenced-in area lol.

~SJN

The little turd rooster ate this flower right after I snapped this pic and went in the house. I came back out a few mins later to show dh the flowers and there was the rooster gobbling down what was left with the "whiskers" hanging out of his mouth lol.

Gary here is some good info: http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/giam/plants_and_grasses/flowering_plants/bat_flower.html

Hi

My originals were kept in a GH where they grew and flowered What they didn't do was get as large nor as dense as they are capable of .. One interesting problem was a black that went "dormant" Went down hill rather rapidly until all the leaves disappeared ,being a lazy gardener i left it alone . Was told by several sources that there is no such thing as a "dormant" stage in the Tacca family,I had overwatered . Around 3 months later it came back with a vengeance grew and flowered more then it ever had . Still sounds like a "dormant " period to me ??lol If anyone is interested there is a write up on it in the Gardino website ."Has never happened to them" lol Best I could find out is it underwent what known as a "Monsoon" dormancy. In habitat they often go underwater during monsoon and they react by going dormant. It did follow a period where my water timer stuck open and it was watered for almost two days straight before I caught it.lol In any event if yours declines don't be too eager to discard it !! One other tip DONOT put an entire shadehouse on top of them for over 3 weeks they really resented that they went into a permanent "dormancy " along with about a dozen other plants lol That was following Jeanne she redesigned my whole grow area lol

Since I'm not only a lazy gardener I' also cheap I hadn't found replacements that fit the catagories until recently I'm still on the lookout for Tacca cristata the so called purple bat plant. Saw one at Fairchild and have been looking ever since the flowers were twice as big and a rich raspberry purple and the plant stood around 8 feet tall WOW Don't think I'll attempt the green again while the plant was impressive flowers weren't except for the color .love green flowers lol Hopefully this time the shadehouses will stay upright?? lol

Thanks for the tips gary

When mine needs to be repotted in the spring I'm thinking of using a homemade self-watering pot since these plants like a lot of water. Will let you know how that goes.

Yesterday I saw our Lowe's has several of them again. They needed watering and looked a little beat up--$25. These were not in Monrovia pots. If they show up on their clearance rack, I might consider one. :)

Garyfla, what time of the year was the purple Tacca cristata blooming at Fairchild? I have got to go see that one lol.

~SJN

Yeah right-^-that sounds interesting. Sultry, hilarious rundown of the problems you and that rooster are experiencing! Too funny.

+oM