It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but the butterfly ginger growing tip/shoot is stuck in the previous fold. It keeps growing and forms the loop you can see in the photo. The next shoot does the same, and I'll get a plant with two or three loops. This is happening right now with about 10% of the gingers in this patch. I don't know if it's caused by a lack of water, too much water, or something else. It happens every year, and I can pull out each looped shoot and free it, but the leaves/shoots tend to get shredded in the process.

Any ideas about this problem?

John

That has happened to me but it is more of an occasional issue not a consistent one. They do love lots of water and it looks like you have it growing beside Rosemary which does not care for excessive water. Perhaps one of them needs to be in a different spot in the garden. Plants with like cultural needs are better (garden) bedfellows.

The rosemary is on a ledge six feet above the ginger, and I've actually never watered it...although it's an old old plant. It gets winter rain (when we are lucky to have it) and sometimes overflow from an orange tree being watered. The ginger is at the end of a concrete vale that gets all my shower water, so it has lots of moisture. But this problem does occur yearly, at least in recent years.

The ginger never bloomed until I started fertilizing it, and I wonder if this problem might be connected with that.

That is a puzzle. ???

Could some type of leaf roller be involved? I've had Cannas looking like this because of leaf rollers.

I've only had that happen a couple of times, and both times it was because of not enough water. Once when I was away and the irrigation pump failed several days before we got home. The other time was when a pot of some other plant got placed so it was interfering with the sprinkler water getting to the gingers.

They do grow very fast when they're putting up bloom stalks, so lack of water is definitely my best guess. Shower more often?

They do like water...the first butterfly ginger I ever saw was while driving down the coast of Brasil, south of Rio, they were growing in roadside ditches full of water. My patch is large enough so there are sections that get less water, so I'll keep an eye on those areas and see if this problem occurs more frequently there. And I have a moisture meter with a long stem so I can reach in and check right next to any plant that's afflicted.

It's low humidity: nor enough rain .
The growing leaves need sufficient moisture to unglue them so to speak.
It happens on philodendrons and caladiums when it's low humidity and no overhead drizzle .
You can hose them down occasionally when there is no rain .

skylark, thanks for that idea. I just came across this old thread and saw your post. I am in a low humidity S.Calif area, at least during the ginger growing season, so I will start with the occasional water spray.

I have to say I have never had this happen. I agree with everyone else. Needs more water. Mine grow in areas of regular sandy soil, and in areas of natural bog. The ones in the bog are easily 2-3 ft taller than the ones in dry soil. But its pretty humid here in summer too.