Dormant rhizomes begin shipping March 27 please add comment if you need a later shipping time.
Curcuma aeruginosa is a lesser known but important medicinal ginger. This spring blooming species is grown throughout Indian and SE Asia for its benefits it is also an attractive landscape plant. It can grow to 4 feet and will can tolerate full sun all the way down to bright shade. A sunnier spot will be the best for performance and blooming. Curcuma aeruginosa has a pinkish topped inflorescence with red true petals that surround the rest of the yellow flowers. The ‘Blue’ portion of the name comes from the inner color of its rhizomes. The vast majority of Curcuma species have white or yellow to orange coloring (if they contain high levels of curcumin). There are a few exceptions of course as this species and another great medicinal , Curcuma caesia, have blue rhizomes. Extracts from the rhizomes have been shown to have numerous properties including anti-inflammatory activity, antitumor activity, antiviral activity and more. Traditional uses include antidiarrhoeal, antifugal and even helping during childbirth. If you aren’t planning to give birth in your ginger garden feel free to leave the care free plants alone for a few years. As with large clumpers, eventually it is good to thin the clump out as well as reduced the size if it is getting too big. If you are planning to harvest rhizomes it is always good to either have two clumps and alternative harvesting one each year or leave half of a single clump untouched. This is not necessary but disturbing the entire clump will most likely prevent most from blooming in the coming season.
Spring bloomer, hardy in Zones 8 and higher, grows to 4′ medium to full sun.