Cautleya spicata

Himalayan Ginger
Size
ex 1.5L pots
Availability: Sold Out
£14.99
Quick Overview
  • Exotic inflorescence with yellow flowers and red bracts
  • Lush jungle-like foliage
  • Reliable and early-flowering
  • Hardy
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Cautleya spicata, is endemic to the Himalayas and southwest China where it grows at elevations to 2800m. It is a hardy medium-height ginger with lush foliage and very attractive exotic-looking yellow flowers with deep-claret coloured bracts. As a ginger suited for the British Isles it has many advantages over its larger Hedychium or smaller Roscoea relatives. It is always reliably-flowering, and it blooms regularly unlike many Hedychiums that need a longer growing season and longer daylengths. Cautleya spicata also blooms early and its stunningly beautiful yellow flowers appear often as early as June but more typically from July onwards at a time when Hedychiums are still only putting on their foliage. And it is as hardy as the Roscoeas but its foliage is much larger and more dramatic and exotic-looking, growing taller. In stature and foliage it resembles a smallish Hedychium being less robust but considerably larger and more impressive than the Roscoeas. Because of this winning combination of hardiness, reliable flowering habit and lush jungle-like foliage it is - in my opinion - the perfect Ginger for the UK and if you are just starting out with Gingers it is a very solid choice being both very rewarding and extremely undemanding.

Cautleyas have relatively small root-crown rhizomes to which are attached their long tendril-like roots. It is often a sense of great amazement that such a large plant can emerge from such a small root-crown.

In the humid Himalayan forests where they grow, Cautleya are sometimes found growing epiphytically in the crooks of branches and the trunks of trees.


Additional Information

Order Zingiberales
Family Zingiberaceae
Sub-Family Zingiberoideae
Synonyms Cautleya robusta, Roscoea spicata
Geographical Origin Himalayan region: Northern India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Tibet and in the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan
Cultivation In the UK it prefers full sun but will tolerate a little dappled shade. Deep humus-rich soil that is also well drained. Sand added both to the substrate and nestling directly around the roots is recommended
Eventual Height 70-80cm
Eventual Spread 50-90cm
Hardiness Hardy in the UK. A thick winter mulch is sensible gardening
Cautleya spicata
Himalayan Ginger
Size
ex 1.5L pots
Availability: Sold Out
£14.99
You could receive 20 Palm Points for writing a review for this product.
Add to My Wishlist Add to Compare Email to a Friend
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