Ginger, Red Button Ginger, Dwarf French Kiss
Costus woodsonii
Category:
Tropicals and Tender Perennials
Foliage Color:
Bloom Characteristics:
This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds
Water Requirements:
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Where to Grow:
Height:
24-36 in. (60-90 cm)
Spacing:
18-24 in. (45-60 cm)
Hardiness:
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F)
Sun Exposure:
Sun to Partial Shade
Light Shade
Danger:
Bloom Color:
Gold (Yellow-Orange)
Pale Yellow
Bright Yellow
Bloom Time:
Blooms all year
Blooms repeatedly
Foliage:
Grown for foliage
Shiny/Glossy-Textured
Other details:
Soil pH requirements:
Patent Information:
Non-patented
Propagation Methods:
By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets)
Seed Collecting:
Regional
This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:
Apopka, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Bokeelia, Florida
Brooksville, Florida
Deland, Florida
Delray Beach, Florida
Deltona, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Holiday, Florida
Inverness, Florida (2 reports)
Jacksonville, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Loxahatchee, Florida
Lutz, Florida
Melbourne Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Naples, Florida (2 reports)
Orlando, Florida
Palm Coast, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Riverview, Florida
Rockledge, Florida
Ruskin, Florida
Saint Petersburg, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Summerland Key, Florida (2 reports)
Winter Springs, Florida
Zephyrhills, Florida
show allGardeners' Notes:
| Rating | Content |
|---|---|
| Positive | On Mar 17, 2016, sunkissed from Winter Springs, FL (Zone 9b) wrote: I've had this plant in my garden for four years now. It is easy to propagate from cuttings. The flowers produce sweet nectar and are a nice treat when out in the garden. They can take pretty good sun, but leaves will burn if hot middle of the day sun. They will suffer damage if temperatures go below 40 for too long and dipping below freezing will totally turn them brown to the ground. Mine have always come back, even from hard freezes, but take awhile to start flowering again. |
| Negative | On Oct 6, 2014, eliasastro from Athens, NOT REALLY HARDY TO FROST AND NEAR FREEZING TEMPERATURES. Had a relatively cold winter, with 4 snow spells and near freezing temperatures, but not true frost. I left the pot outdoors, thinking it was hardy, but it wasn't. The rhizomes rot. |
| Positive | On Aug 24, 2008, SierraTigerLily from Boca Raton, FL (Zone 10b) wrote: The tips of the buttons produce honey-like ginger nectar "straw" flowers which little kids loves to suck on. They're my favorite snack when I'm weeding. |
| Positive | On Oct 15, 2006, zoosey from Orlando, FL wrote: One of my absolute favorite plants! Probably the most dependable in my collection. I have it in a bed with birds of paradise and kimberly queen fern. The fern is well blended in with the lower portion of the plant and hardly noticeable until late fall when the ginger dies back, when the fern is very much appreciated. Grows back fuller and fuller each year and gets along greatly with the dense fern. The bed is in full sun and appreciates lots and lots of water! Its stiff upright stems prevent it from turning the patio into an obstacle course, unlike the philodendron and ruellia, which have proven to be some of my better mistakes. |
| Positive | On Jul 9, 2006, gingersrus from Tallahassee, FL wrote: This is a great species for the garden because it does not get too tall and it has a wide tolerance for sun or part shade and will tolerate salt better than most Costus. It is native on the Carribean side of Costa Rica and Panama where it grows right up to the edge of the beach in sunny conditions. |
| Positive | On Aug 29, 2004, ottojones from Orlando, FL wrote: Downtown Orlando, FL |
| Positive | On Sep 4, 2003, kamia from Athens, TN (Zone 7a) wrote: I find bees like to "hang out" on the plants shiny/waxy feeling cones yet I never do see any nests which is not a big deal unless you are allergic. Plant is cold hard to 30ºF/roots are cold hardy to 20ºF. |
