Lemon Ginger

Monocostus uniflorus is such a great little spiral ginger. The thick glossy leaves give the plant a vibrant appearance, and the yellow flowers with their large 2″ labellums, seem to be too large for the diminutive stature of the prominently spiraling foliage. Their species name means that they only have one flower per inflorescence, but they flower all along the nodes of the stems, so there can be many flowers on the plant at one time.

The one aspect of this plant that stands out for me, is that they are tough as nails. Many people claim that this plant can only take temperatures down to 50°F, but mine have gone through temperatures in the thirties without losing a single leaf. They do get a little tatty looking in the Winter time, but they even continue to bloom for me. I had left a few small specimens in a corner of my nursery with the intention of moving them somewhere else, and I forgot about them entirely. After a couple of months without water, they were still alive! They looked terrible, but they survived. After a week or two of normal watering, they grew new foliage and looked as good as new. This is a great ginger for people who are mean to their plants.

Origin

Peru.

Family

Costaceae.

Binomial nomenclature

Monocostus uniflorus.

Common names

Lemon ginger.

Description

M. uniflora is a compact, evergreen, perennial. Since this is a member of the family costaceae, the stems are true stems rather than pseudostems. The stems are 1/4″ in diameter, and 10″-18″ in height, and have a spiraling “corkscrew” growth habit. The 1.5″-2″ long, thick, glossy, oval-lanceolate, leaves are arranged spirally around the stems, which grow in tight clusters from the rhizome. Corollas emerge singly from the nodes along the stems throughout the warm months

Height

18″ tall.

Temperature/Zone

Zone 8b, 32°F. This plant is said to grow well as a houseplant. I have not verified this, but due to its resilient nature, I believe that this is probably true.

Light

Part sun to shade.

Water

Keep them evenly moist, but they are fairly drought tolerant.

Fertilizer

I use a balanced fertilizer while they are growing. Do not fertilize in the Winter.

Cultivation

Lemon ginger is a very easy ginger to grow. It prefers rich, well drained soil.

Pests

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