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Red Button Ginger in the GardenTags plant encyclopedia

Costus Woodsonii

 

Red Button 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. 'Red Button Ginger' normally grows to around 4'. If kept in a temperature of over 50 deg.F will flower most of the year. It has yellow edible flowers that appear from a red cone

Contributed by @skellyshelly

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

    Full sun to partial shade

  • Red Button Ginger likes frequent watering

    Frequent watering

  • Red Button Ginger is not frost hardy

    Not Frost hardy

  • Red Button Ginger likes free draining and fertile

    Free draining and fertile

 
plant information

Common name

Red Button Ginger

Latin name

Costus Woodsonii

type

Rhizomatous perennial

family

Costaceae

ph

6.0 - 7.5 Acid - Neutral

  • Light

    Red Button Ginger likes full sun to partial shade

    Full sun to partial shade

  • Frost

    Red Button Ginger is not frost hardy

    Not Frost hardy

  • Soil

    Red Button Ginger likes free draining and fertile

    Free draining and fertile

  • Water

    Red Button 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 Button Ginger is 0.80meters x 1.30meters 0.80 M 1.30 M

Costus Woodsonii

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. 'Red Button Ginger' normally grows to around 4'. If kept in a temperature of over 50 deg.F will flower most of the year. It has yellow edible flowers that appear from a red cone


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.

 
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Gardeners who are growing this plant