Difficulty with White Bat Plant

[jpyerry]

I know a few people here grow Bat Plants (genus Tacca), I grow two of these plants, Tacca chantrieri (Black Bat Plant) and Tacca integrifolia (White Bat Plant). I bought these at the same time and both are about the same size, since obtaining them the T. chantrieri has been growing quite well and has gotten considerably larger, the T. integrifolia has not been doing as well. It started sulking after up-potting and any new leaves have been deformed and scrunchy, it just does not seem to be doing any better with time. Does anybody have experience with this plant or had one with similar symptoms? I am hoping it perks up, but it just doesn't seem to be doing any better no matter what I try. Information on T. integrifolia seems sparse when I looked online, most information is on T. chantrieri.

Thanks,
Justin

I can post pictures if it would help.

[Fishmom]

Huh, they auctioned off a black one at my orchid society, and someone told me she had seen them growing wild in Borneo. That's not much help, but those are the conditions you would be aiming for.

They are striking looking, aren't they!!!!

[Filb]

Oooh!
I'm sorry I don't have any advice..
I've never heard of these before, I googled it and I love the flowers! They're so neat!

I'll have to look into getting one, thank you!

[1joyceh]

try this site Justin...I have bought plants from them, and all the info I get on care is usually spot on
http://www.logees.com/ftg/Tacca.pdf

[PaphMadMan]

A couple things ...

Check the health of the roots. Since the problem showed up after up-potting, perhaps it doesn't like the new medium or it is staying too wet.

Also, Tacca can be susceptible to mites and thrips, either can account for abnormal stunted leaf growth.

[jpyerry]

Thank you for the help so far. I decided to take a couple of pictures, the first is the two plants side by side, the next is the T. integrifolia (the one with the problem), and the last is the T. chantrieri (the one that is growing well). I hope these help.

Thanks,
Justin

[Filb]

How much have you been fertilizing? The brown leaf tips almost look like fertilizer burn.

[Orchidchick]

Originally Posted by Filb

How much have you been fertilizing? The brown leaf tips almost look like fertilizer burn.

Hi Justin, I would have to agree. Although I'm not familiar with this species the leaves are showing classic signs of fertilizer burn. Reduce the amount or cut back on the frequency of application and see what happens.

[jpyerry]

I am embarassed to admit that I really don't fertilize these plants, I've really been bad about not fertilizing my plants lately. It is just sheer laziness on my part. So, I suppose it is possible that I could be underfertilizing the plants.

The last time I fertilized, which was probably a little more than 6 weeks ago, I used 5mL of Dyna-Gro Grow formula with 2.5mL Dyna-Gro Pro-tekkt silicon solution in one gallon of water, with pH adjusted to 6.6 (measured with a then recently calibrated pH meter), I adjusted using citric acid crystals.

When I received the plant, it was growing in a 1" square plastic pot (I presume cut out from a seedling tray) and it was planted in what appeared to be peat with a small amount of perlite added to it. I up-potted to a 4" plastic pot and used Fox Farm Happy Frog soil. At first, I tried growing it outdoors but then realized it was getting too much sun, so I moved it inside to my grow tent. When I put them in the grow tent, I started both plants out about 4" away from my 4 bulb T5HO 4' fixture that has an even mix of warm and cool bulbs. The T. chantrieri quickly adjusted and started growing well. The T. integrifolia continued to put out misshapen leaves, my original thought was that it was getting too much light, so I moved to about 2' away from the lights. The color of the leaves improved but they are still deformed. Environmentally, the tent maintains a humidity around 70-80% and an average temperature of 65-70F. I could provide FC measurements of light intensity, but I loaned my light meter to a friend (I should have it back in a week or so).

That's about all the information I have right now. It is very perplexing that one plant is doing so well and the other is doing poorly when they are more or less getting the same care. Ugh.

Thanks,
Justin

[jerrymeola]

Your experience is typical for these plants. The Black Bat grows well and the White one dies.

My brother killed 4 before he quit. I talk to vendors that sell these and their experiences are no better. The White Bat requires very rigid greenhouse controls to grow and the growers are not about to tell you their secrets of how to do it.

[SarinahL]

The white bat plant is the hardest to grow. They will NEVER adapt to you, but only thrive in the exact conditions they occur naturally. The Chantrieri is similar, but more forgiving.

I'm also not sure, how old are these leaves? I do know that my Chantrieri has the same thing, but they straighten out over time. They look all spinachy in the beginning.

[jpyerry]

Thanks everybody, I did not know all of that about the plant. In a way I am glad to hear that others have had similar troubles (not that I'm glad others have had trouble). I've been banging my head against the wall with this one. Maybe I will try upping the humidity, I might unpot it and check the roots. If this one dies, I will wait until I have a more sophisticated growing environment. It is too bad that the commercial growers won't divulge their information on how to take care of the plants.

Justin