Circuma Roscoeana

Very little information can be found on this beautiful orange flowering Circuma, just pictures on the web and lots of questions. It's hard to find in the trade in this country and I suspect it may be more cold sensative than most, although it has behaved very well since last fall when I recieved the dormant bulbs from Thialand Plant Nursery. It's also available at times from a nursery in Oahu, HI selling on ebay.

I'm pretty sure I kept it too wet all winter in a 54 degree greenhouse hoping it would break dormancy in early spring like the other circumas I grow, but it didn't wake up until early summer much to my surprise. It then very quickly grew to 24 inches tall with 18 inch flower spikes for mid September, which is an impressive growth rate for any ginger or plant for that matter.

It is doing just fine under 50 percent shade cloth with no special treatment and I'm thrilled with it up until now. Next winter I will put a division in the ground and let you know how it fares here in zone 8b South Louisiana.

Pink Circuma

The pink circuma is very easily grown. It likes full, even harsh sun, ample moisture, and mulch around its base, an environment similar to that of bananas. It has no pests here in South Louisiana zone 8b, not even a lawnmower once or twice. It has a weakness for cheap fertilizer and lizards.

It freezes to the ground here every winter, and returns every spring just like this. A mature clump would stand 6 to 7 feet tall (foilage) and 5 feet wide, the flowers are 20 inches tall.

It looks pretty good in front of Washingtonia Robusta.   (Mexican Fan Palm)