Grow and Care for Bat Flower

Grow bat flower in shade or bright filtered light, in mix that stays evenly moist but drains, and raise humidity around the pot. It is Tacca chantrieri, also sold as black bat flower, not cat's whiskers the mint and not a bat orchid.

Keep it in shade, evenly moist, and humid

bat flower is Tacca chantrieri, a rhizome from tropical forest shade. The true flowers sit in a cluster under two wing-like bracts, with long thread-like bracteoles hanging like whiskers. [1] Keep it out of direct sun at all times. Outdoors that means shade. Indoors that means a bright window with no harsh midday beam. The mix should stay evenly moist and still drain, because a soggy pot rots the rhizome and a dry pot stalls the leaves. [2] It also wants humid air and a little airflow, the same kind of room you would give a terrestrial orchid. If the room stays below about 50% humidity, set the pot on a pebble tray or run a humidifier nearby. Do not treat a mist bottle as the whole method. [3] Flowers usually come after the plant has at least two strong leaves, in late spring through fall when light, moisture, and humidity hold. Take divisions on How to Propagate Bat Flower.

Bring the pot in before cold nights

This plant will not take frost. Where summers are warm, set the pot in outdoor shade, then bring it in before nights drop into the 40s, and keep it above about 55°F. Give it as much indirect light as you can in winter. If the leaves die back in a cool room, water less so the rhizome does not rot. In a warm room that stays in leaf, keep the mix evenly moist and skip feed until new growth starts.

Plant the rhizome in a wide pot that drains, with the top just showing

Most U.S. gardens keep this plant in a container. Choose a wide, shallow pot with a drainage hole, and a rich mix that still drains — pine bark, peat, and a little sand, or a peat mix cut with perlite. Set the rhizome upright so the top sits just above the mix, about half an inch showing, then water once to settle. [4] A 10- to 12-inch pot is enough for a mature clump. When roots fill it, move up one size in spring, or trim the roots and return it to the same pot with fresh mix. Plant in the ground only where frost never hits, in shade, in soil that stays moist but drains.

1. Choose a wide pot with a drainage hole. Empty the saucer after you water.
2. Fill it with a rich mix that still drains. Do not pack garden soil that stays wet.
3. Set the rhizome upright so the top and the leaf bases sit just above the mix, about half an inch showing. Do not bury it deep.
4. Water once to settle, then keep the mix evenly moist, not soggy.
5. Repot in spring when roots fill the pot, or trim crowded roots and refresh the mix in the same pot.

Not cat's whiskers — and not a bat orchid

Bat flower is Tacca chantrieri. Shops also print cat's whiskers, devil flower, and tiger beard on the tag. Those names describe the long bracteoles. They do not mean Orthosiphon, the sun-grown mint sold as cat's whiskers, with white or pale purple stamens that stick out like whiskers. A bat orchid is an orchid. Tiger lily is Lilium — see How to Grow Lilies.

White bat flower is Tacca integrifolia, a related species with pale bracts. It wants the same shade and humidity. Black bat on its own is the animal, not this plant.

If leaf edges brown, raise humidity and keep the mix evenly moist. If the rhizome turns soft, empty the saucer and let the pot drain.