Who has some? Where did you put it? How tall does it get? Bonus points for pics!

Hi Tiffany,
Curcuma/Turmeric is very pretty but I'm not sure you will get many suggestions on this forum, we shall see. You might want to post on the tropical forum also. Sure is a lovely plant.

Maybe @Bubbles will give you some tips.

Curcuma gingers come in many different species and forms .. I grow primarily the ones called "Hidden Ginger" and "Siam Tulip. The Hidden Gingers grow to about 4 feet tall, are in full sun and the flowers are literally hidden in the foliage near the base. The Siam Tulips run about 3 feet, are in dappled bright shade and the flowers are slightly above the foliage. The actual flowers are identical in form but the flower spikes differ in form.

Planted a bunch of random plants from a swap and was quite surprised when things started blooming and there was a hidden lily in the middle of the front bed. And just a few weeks ago I found another one hiding in a back garden bed almost covered by the clematis vines. They are growing in Savannah, Georgia with no special care.

...BEAUTIFUL...everyone!

Thanks for the info & pics. Very helpful and I love them! They're really unusual. The ones I got are C. alismatifolia which I think is the Siam tulip one? I put them up against the porch foundation where it's a little warmer, a little more dry, area gets leaf cover when frost ruins whatever leaves are susceptible, some dappled AM sun. It's a spot where ferns, Caladium & Hypoestes look really good. How does that sound?

Sounds good to me.. I keep my Siam Tulips in the tropical greenhouse and cut them back after the first frost and keep the soil barely moist until about March when I start watering them again. The Hidden Gingers are in the ground and die back naturally and come back in early summer. Of all the Gingers I grow, the Curcuma, Hidden Gingers are always the last to start growing. I usually see them coming up around the first of June.

That's good to know, TY! Maybe something later than the Caladiums, wow. It's worth a few $'s to me to experiment. It would be maddening if they didn't come back and then I couldn't find more... (insert evil cackle!)

Okay, we expect to see photos when they bloom!

Just came across this thread…
I love my C. 'aurantiaca'…These pics were taken in August, in a fairly shaded corner of my yard.

Really cool, Tara, thanks!

In terms of gardening, I hope to have some pics soon! (In 9-10 months!)

I've had this plant for quite a few years now, and it does come up for me every year. Though I do remember that the first year after planting I thought that it had not survived, because it didn't come back. To my astonishment however, another year later, lo and behold, it popped up, and has been every year hence. I don't know if this is common with Curcuma or if it was just a fluke with mine. I took this pic. this morning. Starting to 'fade out' for this year.

Oh, very good to know, don't give up next year if nothin' happens. Thanks! Bonus new pics too, awesome! The Lycoris radiata bulbs I found/excavated in the lawn during drought are taking a long time to recover from disturbance as well. Who knows how long they were getting mowed, they were understandably small. Not much happened this year, but in a couple years, when they all get going, it's going to look like "holy cow, that's a lot of red flowers!"

Do you do any kind of leaf cover or other winter regime for that plant, or area they are in? Have they multiplied much?

I don't do anything special for Winter protection. This corner area seems to be fairly well 'sheltered' as it is. My neighbor behind us has Podocarpus 'trees' that hang over this corner. In fact the hanging plants stay out there all Winter too, and they've done remarkably/surprisingly well. I'm sure you recognize the Spider plant, and the big one is a Disocactus. Not to say that they don't have any dieback at all, but it's been fairly minor.

I've not noticed the 'clump' getting much larger, but this is the first year that it has had more than one bloom. This is also the first year that it's gotten this large, so maybe it will begin to 'spread'. I'll keep my fingers crossed for that!

Thanks so much for the detailed anecdote! I thought that was Liriope in the ground. Did you mean that's spider plants? Love the hanging ones. How do I love that spot? Let me count the ways...!

Oh, yes, you're right. The variegated in the ground is a Liriope…Aztec grass. The hanging pot is the Spider.