Close up of the newer leaves and stems...

Carol, how old is the spiral ginger? Mine is potted, a cutting from 5 (?) years ago, in light shade with a little a.m. sun, not allowed to dry out, probably a little time release fertilizer, grows and looks great this month, but it has never bloomed. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you Carol!! Yours looks very similar to mine :o)

Funny...you should say " it is rather um... vigorous (to put it mildly)" ...I received this plant...it was a single stem 5" tall plant...I planted it in the ground and one of the stalk is now (a very curving growth) on that particular stalk...now has 5 brand new "babies" coming out of the ground!! and I've only had it since July!!

Is this something I can dig up easily and or trim the stalks very short to keep it from taking over....I want to know now while its still manageable to see if I should dig it up and put it in a pot,lol...I don't want to have it 5 ft. wide and 6ft tall,lol...

Was wondering if I cut it short (whack it) would new leaves grow from the sides like Ti Plants?

Thanks so much!!!

Brought some of that to Silvia's party, over six foot tall here. Hummers like it..........

I like it. It does grow well but I never had a problem keeping it manageable in zone 10. There is a dwarf form too. Now I have the variegated one :)

hi
What is your secret to keeping it in bounds?? lol my original started in the shadehouse and now have 6 locations in my yard .lol
To me , there are MUCH better types of gingers both in flower and habit. The variagated spirals are fantastic though the flower isn't very impressive. say compared to a wax ginger.??
I grow most of my gingers in pots except for the evergreens as the dormant period is a bummer lol
Have a beautiful stand of siamese tulips which are looking like they were hit with a blow torch lol
Good luck with yours !! gary

Thanks for the all the info...I'm afraid of it multiplying like Gary's lol...I'll give it till next Spring and "if" its grown out of control by then I might dig it up and put it pots where I can keep them in check...

Does anyone know if you can prune these like Ti plants...cut it down to say " 4" and it will resprout from the sides?

The color of the blooms are pretty on your Carol!!

Mine is in-ground & the only thing that holds it back is concrete. It grows well over 6 feet tall, has filled the bed to bursting & any piece of cut stem will sprout if it comes in contact w/ soil, seemingly.

However, I understand there are different cultivars - some may not be so vigorous.

FWIW, photo is from the web - too lazy to take a pic = J

Both this ginger and the related Costus have been problems for me for over 10 years. Every time I think I've got it eradicated from the garden, it pops up again. Like Carol posted, only concrete holds it back. My suggestion is to get it out of the ground now and put it in a clay pot.

Thank you all for your insights and sharing your own experience with this plant...I think I'll go ahead and dig it out and pot it up now...

Do I need to cover this or protect it from frost/freeze?

Okay, all potted up!! I feel better,lol...

This post was edited by puglvr1 on Mon, Oct 20, 14 at 14:15

Mine freezes back in zone 9a (jax area) and returns strong in the late spring. I have the white crepe ginger/spiral ginger though (Costus speciosus). I have it in the ground. I might dig one up and put it in the greenhouse this winter and see what happens.
~SJN

Its been about 6 months and I see a few blooms...:o) very Cool blooms!

The name is Costus Barbatus.

Steve

Thanks Steve!!

SJN, I also have Variegated Crepe Ginger (Costus speciosus). I bought it in October 2013 during my trip to Tampa. It lives in a very large clay pot underneath my Southern magnolia. I did not bring it in this year - left it out, even on the 26-degree night - but I think I wrapped it in a blanket. It is slowly leafing out all the way up last year's spirals!

Carol

Was looking at my variegated crepe ginger and thinking about planting it in the ground. A little research brought me back to this thread... and the answer to my question: nope! She will stay in her pot. :)

Carol

That's beautiful, Carol! I used to have such lovely gingers at my old house. I miss them, and my broms, but I don't miss mowing that 1/4 acre yard.

4 years later... and my spiraling ginger, growing in the same mostly shade, well watered, against a wall, comes back every summer looking beautiful... EXCEPT no flowers. What should I do... start some to grow in more light?

Mine grew under a live oak tree. I never raked the leaves from around it and tossed a few handfuls of 5-5-5 on it every now and then, and it bloomed like mad. I dug it up and took it to Venice when I lived there for a while, and it bloomed in that pot. Mine was a Costus barbatus.

My crepe ginger has never bloomed. It freezes back every winter and comes back beautifully every spring and summer. However, if it is like variegated shell ginger, it blooms on prior year growth... which is why even though we have tons of shell ginger in Jacksonville, you never see one in bloom... except sometimes close to the beach and the St. Johns River where they didn't have a hard freeze.

DG, mine also lives under a tree - the magnolia, in my case. It seems to be a very happy place for a ginger.

Carol

What is the best time of year to divide crepe ginger? I would like to split mine into a second pot. Should I do it now, or will I wreck it for the rest of the year?

Thanks,

Carol

Did you ever divide yours? I divided mine and either both parts died or something ate them..they never returned lol.

Hi, SJN,

No, I never did divide. It has lived in that same small pot for five years. I thought I had lost it last year after the really long, hard freeze but it showed up in late spring. I have had very, very small pieces left in the ground suddenly appear years later - I guess after they have generated/mustered enough energy. I wonder if yours will eventually reappear?

Carol

I'm praying that the pine cone ginger along my wall doesn't come back up where we laid the small seating area. Some of the tubers had grown up under the wall. We tried to get as many as possible, and pulled out huge chunks, but you never know what's lurking down there. It's getting RoundUpped if it comes back up. I have enough of it now!

Oh that stuff is ruthless. I agree! I have been fighting that along with variegated shell ginger that I planted under the maple trees.

The yellow part (flower) is edible.