what is the scientific name of red ginger ?

The scientific name of red ginger is : Alpinia purpurata

Red ginger belongs to the Zingibera ceae family (ginger) and is also called by these common names : Jungle queen (this is the female and it has pink flowers), jungle king (male has red flowers), the wild has Deep red inflorescence, Tahitian ginger, Ostrich plume, pink cone ginger and it Hawaiian name is : Awapuhi – ‘ula’ula

Origins of this plant

This plant is a tropical plant and is originally from Malaysia , it is also the national flower of Sumoa “Tanila” , A really popular plant in Hawaii and it is considered as an invasive plant in the Hawaiian forests.

What are the benefits of red ginger ? red ginger facts

There are many studies that confirm beneficial effects of red ginger against the symptoms of diseases, i.e. anti-inflammation, antioxidant, antiemetic, antibacterial and antidiabetics. Although the medicinal properties of red ginger have been known, further trials in humans are required to determine the efficacy of red ginger (or one or more of its constituents) and to establish what, if any, adverse effects are observed. Source

Is red ginger edible ?

Although that are some people who actually ate and complement the strong flavorful taste of the red ginger (the roots) but real studies didn’t achieve the point to say that this plant variety of ginger is actual edible so the real answer is : it is not preferable.

what is red ginger good for ? red ginger uses :

This plant has two main component that are used in totally different purposes :

Red ginger root utility

Red ginger is known for it’s rich oil and the strong fragrance properties combined with many health benefits which make it a central component that is generally used on cosmetic products

Red ginger flower utility

The beauty of it’s flower or let’s call it is a floral bracts which are actually leaves that assemble in the top of the plant (the real flowers of this plant are in fact small white and are located on the tips of those floral bracts they las for almost 25 days ) due to the nature of these floral bracts they bloom all year long (evergreen) and will make it a central piece of your garden adding colors and will make it one of it’s kind some people cut them and use them as arrangements

How to grow red ginger plant ? red ginger plant care

Red ginger is relatively easy to take care of, you can grow it in your garden or in a container or a pot in a rich high drainage soil, it is preferable that you enrich the soil with high quality fertilizer each month to achieve constant growth and vivid colors of the plant the PH should be around 6 to 6,65 and water around 1inch each week

This plant could grow 5 ft and beyond could achieve 8 ft inn some cases and support growing in full sun or in the shade also you can grow it indoor or outdoor at one condition is that the temperature of the soil should not go below 45 f otherwise the plant will die, if you live in the zones between (9b to 11) you should be fine growing it outside.

How to propagate red ginger ?

You have to ways for this operation either to take the seeds that are rarely produced by the flowers and sow them into hight quality sowing soil or cut the rhizome of a piece of ginger let it in a dry place for 8 days and plant it in a rich well amended soil

How to successfully plant red ginger from seeds

If you happen to have seeds of red ginger from a plant which are rarely produced or by buying them you can follow these instructions to succeed growing them :

• Put those seeds in a hight quality sowing soil preferably indoor or cover it to keep the humidity in
• water them constantly until the plant appears
• when the plant start growing move into a container to be able to move inside to protect it from the frost
• it is preferable to help it grow by adding a fertilizer each month and watering it around 1 inch per week
• place it on a bigger container or move it to the soil if it is necessary
• prune it regularly

How to prune red ginger ?

It is preferable to prune this plant frequently to achieve full maturity and you can do that following those steps:

• Grasp the base of the stem with the dead or dying blossom.
• Use pruning shears to cut the stem off near the base of the plant
• Prune these stems continuously throughout the year each time a bloom fades.

Red Ginger plant stems only produce one blossom that stays for a long time, so pruning these off makes the plant more attractive.

How long does it take to get the red ginger flower ?

Depending on how you planted this plant in the beginning you can see the flower starting to bloom early planting it from the rhizome ( it will take around a year to achieve this point) on the other hand if you planted this plant using seed you generally have to wait around 2 years to have a fully grown flower.

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