Propagate Bat Flower – Divide the Rhizome in Spring

Propagate bat flower by dividing the rhizome in spring. Each piece needs at least one bud. Pot it in fresh mix that drains, and keep that mix barely moist until a new leaf shows. Seed can sprout; division is the usual home start.

Divide the rhizome in spring, with at least one bud on each piece

bat flower multiplies from the rhizome. When you repot in spring, you can split a crowded clump and start a new pot. [1] Each piece needs at least one bud. You can also cut a firm rhizome into short sections, each with a bud, and pot those pieces. [2] Divide when the tubers are crowding the pot, not on a calendar for its own sake. [3] Plant one piece per pot so the new plant has room. Keep it warm, in bright light without harsh sun, until new leaves show.

1. Knock the plant out in spring, before strong new growth, and brush or rinse mix off the rhizomes.
2. Look for natural breaks. Cut only where you must, with a clean knife, so each piece is firm and has at least one bud.
3. Discard any section that is soft or rotten. Let a fresh cut dry for a short time if it weeps.
4. Pot each piece in a small, wide pot with a hole, in fresh mix that drains. Set it so the top of the rhizome sits just above the mix.
5. Water once to settle, then keep the mix barely moist. Do not feed until a new leaf is growing.

Seed is slow, so division is the usual start

You can sow seed on the surface in a warm, moist mix, around 75°F. Barely cover it, keep it in bright indirect light, and wait. Seed may take weeks or months, and packets are often unreliable. [4] Division gives you a plant that already knows how to make leaves. A stem cutting is not the home method; this plant does not root from a leafy snip the way a coleus does. Once a new leaf shows, grow it on How to Grow Bat Flower.

If a division collapses, use a smaller pot, draining mix, and keep it barely moist until a new leaf shows.