Worth knowing:
The Red Ginger Lily combines all attributes of tropical beauty: lush foliage, big aromatic flowers and conspicuous coloured fruits. It is perfectly suited for tub cultivation and reaches already within one growing season its maximum height of two meters. In late summer, it produces 20 cm long, cylinder-shaped inflorescences that host narrowly arranged, sweet aromatic, lemon yellow coloured flowers with long, whisker-like filaments. The orange-coloured fruits contain the fiery red seeds of the plant.
Natural Location:
The Red Ginger Lily has its natural habitat in Nepal, Pakistan and the eastern Himalayan region.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. Just plant the seeds about 0,5 cm deep into moist potting compost and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20° and 25° Celsius and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Usually it takes two to four weeks until germination.
Place:
Keep your Red Ginger Lily in a warm and ideally full sunny place. During summer it can certainly be kept outdoors and even the first frosty temperatures in autumn won’t harm the plant. The best place would be a slightly wind-protected spot near a heat-preserving wall, as well as rain-sheltered during longer rainfalls to protect the fine blossoms.
Care:
The thick, water-storing clotted roots provide the energy for the Red Ginger Lily to develop strong sprouts. Especially during the growth period and the blossoming it needs plenty of water - just make sure to avoid waterlogging. It also has a high need for nutrients, and it is recommended giving fluid fertilizer for tub plants every week from April until September. The plant doesn’t branch out when the sprouts are being cut, but instead delays the blossoming. Therefore, only cut off dead and dry leaves.
During the winter:
The Red Ginger Lily is perennial and starts blossoming most likely after three years. For hibernation it needs a frost-free and bright place with a temperature between 10° and 15° Celsius. Keep the earth constantly moist, but on a smaller scale, and keep fertilizing only once a month. When the plant is kept in a cooler or darker place, it will draw back and the leaves might wilt. It is also possible to cut off the green, aerial parts of the Red Ginger Lily and only keep the clotted roots frost-free in a box with sand for hibernation. In spring it will sprout again.
Picture credits:
- © © Julen Iturbe-Ormaetxe - CC-BY-SA-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Alberto Garcia - CC-BY-SA-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
- © Forest & Kim Starr - CC-BY-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
- © Forest & Kim Starr - CC-BY-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
- © Julen Iturbe-Ormaetxe - CC-BY-SA-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
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