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The Costus
The Costus, also known as Crepe ginger, is a large outdoor plant with large leaves of a dark green color. This plant can grow up to sizes of 10 ft in areas where temperatures do not drop below zero. In colder areas, on average it reaches approximately 6ft and dies off during the winter months.
Flowers on a Costus appear during the later part of summer or at the beginning of the fall season. The flowers are quite extraordinary with bracts in the shape of a cone that are red in color, with white flowers coming out of each cone. The flowers are looking like they were made from crepe paper, hence its other name: Crepe ginger.
As the Costus truly is a beautiful species there are several types that are in high demand to be used as garden decorations. While at its best in tropical gardens the Costus looks great and blends in well in almost any type of garden. Most of the variations of the Costus are not as hardy and generally remain much smaller than the original Crepe ginger plant. Some popular variations are Pink shadow which looks similar to the Crepe ginger but with pink mixing with the white flowers. The Variegatus has distinct green and white variegated leaves and under optimal conditions grows to be between 5ft and 7 ft tall. This specific variation is only hardy up to 9ft and cannot endure as much as the original Crepe ginger. There are many more variations of the species like Nova and Foster.
The Costus is a plant originating from the south east of Asia but has been grown successfully in other (sub) tropical areas like Hawaii. The plant is listed as potentially invasive in many countries including: Guam and French Polynesia. The best conditions for the plant to grow would be to give it approximately 4 hours of immediate sunlight a day and keep it in the shadows for the remaining hours. The soil it is planted in should be moist and well drained.
Many variations of the species can be used medically. Though not practiced in western civilizations, the rhizome is successfully used in parts of India and Southeast Asia for treating boils, headaches, diarrhea and many other types of discomforts.
Originally the species was classified as a part of the ginger family but currently it has been re-classified under its own family the Costaceae. To this day there still are taxonomists that mistakenly classify the Costus to the ginger species.
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