Q: My aunt gave me a rhizome from her prized curcuma plant. She lives in a cold climate and grows it in a greenhouse. I don’t have a greenhouse so how do I grow it here, as a houseplant or as an outdoor plant?
A: Curcuma is a genus of plants in the ginger family, but it is not edible. Curcumas may be kept indoors in a pot or planted in the ground in a shady, moist location. They produce lovely tropical-looking leaves that grow from two to four feet tall, depending upon the species. During the summer, flower spikes grow that are nestled within the leaves, which is why it is sometimes called the hidden ginger. The flowers look waxy and, depending upon the variety, may be pink, purple, orange, or white, either solid or tipped with another color.
If you want to grow your curcuma in a pot, use an artificial soil mix formulated for terrestrial orchids, which will be rich with organic matter but will drain well. If you can’t find that exact mix, you could use an African violet mix and add about 25 percent perlite to it to improve drainage. Cover the rhizome with one to two inches of soil mix and water the pot well. Keep the soil lightly damp until you see leaves emerging from the rhizome. As leaves develop, you can increase watering to keep up with the growth. You will have the best possible results if you include weak liquid fertilizer in the irrigation water. Indoors, your plant will need the brightest indirect light you can provide; a little early morning direct sunlight would be ideal.
As winter approaches, cut back on water and fertilizer because your plant must be rested over the winter. The leaves will gradually die off, and once they are all gone, you can virtually discontinue watering the dormant plant. When spring arrives, resume very light watering until leaves appear, then grow as before.
For garden planting, choose a location that has a fertile, moist soil with good drainage that receives a little early morning sun or bright filtered shade all day. Grow as outlined for the potted curcuma. As winter approaches, you may not be able to dry the plant down as successfully, but as long as the plant has really good drainage, it should be fine. Although tropical in appearance, your curcuma will tolerate our typical winter temperatures because it is dormant.
It may take more than one year for your plant to grow to flowering size, but as it gets older, it will produce more and more flower spikes. Each flower spike lasts for many weeks so you will have months of color. A well-grown curcuma is always a showpiece in the home or garden.
Ottillia “Toots” Bier has been a master gardener since 1980. Send comments and questions to features@pressenterprise.com.
