Red Button Ginger Costus woodsonii

This magnificent type of Ginger is very easy to grow and flower most of the year.

The clumps will grow to about 4 feet on average.
Filtered light is ideal, although I have seen beautiful plants growing in full sun and even in total shade.
Watering is average. A little moist during the warm weather and a little drier during the cold weather. Avoid if possible getting the foliage wet when watering.
Fertilization is also average with more during the warm weather and very little during the winter.
Temperatures has a lot to do with flowering. The plant can withstand a light frost for short periods of time but will stop blooming and won't look very good.
If the plant can be kept above 50° all the time, most likely it will keep blooming continuously.
The yellow flowers that emerge from the red cones are edible.
The Red Button Costus is an excellent choice for landscapers in the south, and a very beautiful potted plant for gardeners everywhere.

FAMILY : Zingiberaceae
ORIGIN : Hispaniola
SIZE : 4 feet on average
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS : shade/ partial sun
WATER REQUIREMENTS : average
MIN. TEMP. : low 30°s
FLOWER : most of the year

 

This Lady has sometimes plants or cuttings that root in water

Ginger and Ginger

When you think of ginger do you think about the spice you find in grocery stores or do you think of beautiful tropical perennials grown in Texas gardens? Chefs and great culinary artists are well aware of ginger, but gardeners are just beginning to learn about this fantastic group of tropical plants.

Edible ginger represents only a few of the nearly 1,300 species of plants in the Zingiberacea family. Prized for their tropical look and durability, gingers have been used and enjoyed for centuries in the Far East. However, it's only recently that lustrous leaves and exotic ginger flowers have caught the eye of curious Southern gardeners.

The hidden ginger, so called for the way the blooms "hide" below the leaves, is blooming now. Everyone who sees these gorgeous flowers wants to know what they are and how to get them.

There are eight common kinds of gingers available in the marketplace today. These include Alpinias, Costus, Curcumas, Globbas, Hedychiums, Kaempferias, Siphonochilus and Zingibers. The plants in these groups range in size from ground cover to several feet tall, require shade to full sun, include those with large attractive flowers or small, discreet blooms. If you look long enough you will likely find a ginger for nearly every garden spot or situation.

Besides butterfly ginger, the most recent additions to my garden are two from the Curcuma group. Last summer I added Curcuma cordata (Hidden ginger) and Curcuma alismatifolia, (Siam tulip). This growing season, the foliage of both gingers emerged in May from the rhizomes planted last year. Gingers need warm soil, above 55 degrees (F) to get them started.

Most of us have seen the beautiful white flowering version of butterfly ginger, Hedychium coronarium, but there are other outstanding butterfly gingers with flowers of yellow to peach, delicate orange, flaming orange, and white with yellow center.

Plant ginger in loose soil or directly into a pot at the same depth they were previously growing as indicated by markings on the rhizome. Water thoroughly. From then on keep moist, but not wet. To increase plants, divide in the spring.

Happy Garding!

Plumeria Pudica

This one I have, yay!

Botanical name: Plumeria pudica

“Bridal Bouquet”

Rare evergreen variety, bushy hedge growing with unusual hammer head shaped leaves, flowers are white with a small yellow dot at the centre, flowers are bunched like a bouquet.
More Plumeria soon to come


Edited 02/13/2008
This one I "Had". RIP. Not even the Garage is save anymore. Frost killed, so yet again I am on the hunt :)