Curcuma sp. ‘Pink Mountain’ is a beautiful dwarf species that superficially resembles a Curcuma petiolata . However ‘Pink Mountain’ is definitely something else although not properly IDed yet. It is a wild type species with an unusual “snake like” rhizome. Some other Curcuma such as C. rubrobracteata also make this long creeping rhizomes. They can extend out almost 2 feet from the mother plant. In a pot they will just circle around. Despite putting so much energy into the rhizome there is usually just one sprout per “snake.” This survival strategy is safety in distance vs safety in numbers. This little guy is in no way aggressive, but could be a wonderer. Personal experience with them shows they often turn back instead of head for the hills… they know where the fertilizer is. When handling these it is best to leave handling the rhizomes to as little as possible. They get long and fragile and have no support other than dirt. If starting in pots, plan on planting the entire pot contents (not rinsing off and separating etc.). If you want to propagate, wait til spring when they sprout and that long rhizome can be broken down into sections so more will be forced to sprout. The foliage on this species is beautiful, the leaves are quite shiny and are heavily textured. Oh yes, and they have an outstanding hot pink inflorescence too!
Grows to 1.5 feet in medium sun, hardy in Zone 8 and above.