Please make sure JavaScript is enabled.
 
Red Tower Ginger in the GardenTags plant encyclopedia

Costus barbatus

 

Red Tower Ginger

Costus is a tropical fleshy-leafed perennial plant, the leaves spiralling up the stem. In Summer it bears cone-shaped inflorescences with small flowers around. The plants can grow quite large, depending on the variety. In areas that do not have a tropical climate they will need to be grown indoors. Costus barbatus is a perennial plant with a red inflorescence. The long, red inflorescences have edible, bright yellow, tubular flowers.

Contributed by @Doicee

 
plant Features
  • Red Tower Ginger likes full sun to partial shade

    Full sun to partial shade

  • Red Tower Ginger likes frequent watering

    Frequent watering

  • Red Tower Ginger is not frost hardy

    Not Frost hardy

  • Red Tower Ginger likes free draining and fertile

    Free draining and fertile

 
plant information

Common name

Red Tower Ginger

Latin name

Costus barbatus

type

Rhizomatous perennial

family

Costaceae

ph

6.0 - 7.5 Acid - Neutral

  • Light

    Red Tower Ginger likes full sun to partial shade

    Full sun to partial shade

  • Frost

    Red Tower Ginger is not frost hardy

    Not Frost hardy

  • Soil

    Red Tower Ginger likes free draining and fertile

    Free draining and fertile

  • Water

    Red Tower Ginger likes frequent watering

    Frequent watering

Plant & bloom calendar

  •  
    Best time to plant
  •  
    When the plant will bloom

full grown dimensions

The size of a fully grown Red Tower Ginger is 1.00meters x 3.00meters 1.00 M 3.00 M

Costus barbatus

Costus is a tropical fleshy-leafed perennial plant, the leaves spiralling up the stem. In Summer it bears cone-shaped inflorescences with small flowers around. The plants can grow quite large, depending on the variety. In areas that do not have a tropical climate they will need to be grown indoors. Costus barbatus is a perennial plant with a red inflorescence. The long, red inflorescences have edible, bright yellow, tubular flowers.


Flowering

From Early Summer TO Late Summer

The exotic-looking cone-shaped flowers appear through Summer

 

Planting

From Early Spring TO Late Spring

Costus likes moist, free-draining soil. In anywhere other than tropical climates they will need to be grown indoors. Container-grown plants will need annual re-potting

 

Propagating by division of rhizomes

From Early Spring TO Early Spring

The rhizomes can be divided in winter to extract new plants. Dig up the whole clump, or a section of the clump, (or remove from the pot), and shake off the soil. You will see a clump of fleshy rhizomes with many shoots. Remove any dead or unhealthy rhizomes, and divide the rest, making sure each division has at least two or three shoots. Re-plant immediately.

 
Subscribe to GardenTags Premium to get personalised planting tasks and more for your entire plant collection
 
Gardeners who are growing this plant