Costus fissiligulatus

This African spiral ginger is the bloomiest plant of any Costus I’ve ever grown. They stay on the small side at about three feet tall, but the flowers are on the large side at two and a half inches across. This plant is rather rare in the plant trade, so there is not a lot of information about them out there.

Costus fissiligulatus is probably my favorite plant from the genus Costus. The flowers are a striking rosy pink with yellow in the center. They bloom and bloom all Summer long. They also produce many plantlets from the older stems, so they are very easy to propagate. I haven’t been growing them for too long, so I’m not sure how cold tolerant they are. This ginger is from Gabon in Africa.

Origin

Africa

Family

Costaceae

Binomial nomenclature

Costus fissiligulatus

Common names

African Princess

Description

Costus fissiligulatus is a medium height ginger with spiraling foliage typical of the family costaceae. The stems, which are true stems, spiral like a corkscrew, and the leaves themselves spiral around the main stem. The dark green leaves are 8″ long and 3″ wide, with a light green velvety underside. The terminal inflorescence is torch shaped with inconspicuous green bracts. Striking pink corollas with a yellow center, emerge sequentially from between the bracts. This plant blooms prolifically throughout the Spring and Summer.

Height

3′-4′ tall.

Temperature/Zone

zone 9b, 32°F. Cold nights below 50°F, cause this plants leaves to droop, but it is not permanently damaged by this. This plant is still rather new to the plant trade so I am not certain as to how low it is capable of tolerating, but I would suggest protecting it near or below freezing temperatures.

Light

Part sun to shade.

Water

Keep them evenly hydrated.

Fertilizer

a well balaced fertilizer during the growing months.

Cultivation

Costus fissiligulatus is a very easy plant to grow. I have found them to need no special care that differs from any other plant in the genus Costus.

Pests

I have not found any pests to be a problem for this plant in Florida.