Siam Tulip Plant (Curcuma alismatifolia)

About the Siam Tulip Plant (Curcuma alismatifolia)

The Siam tulip is a small ginger relative from Thailand that looks nothing like a ginger. Above neat clumps of upright, pleated leaves rise slender stems topped with tulip-like heads of pink to purple-pink bracts, with tiny purple and white true flowers tucked low inside. It blooms through the warm, rainy season, lasts very well as a cut flower and is perfect in pots, borders and window boxes. In the dry season it goes dormant and rests as a rhizome until the next rains. Available as a rhizome, a potted young plant or a flowering-size clump.

How to Care for It

To plant a rhizome, lay it horizontally 5 cm deep in loose, compost-rich, well-drained soil with the buds facing up, water once and keep it barely moist until shoots appear; too much water before then can rot it. Grow in bright light with some midday shade and regular water while in leaf. When leaves yellow, stop watering and keep the rhizome dry until spring. Feed monthly while growing and mulch to keep the roots cool and moist.

Sculptural flowers, fragrant blooms and edible rhizomes. Our tropical gingers include beehive ginger (awapuhi) in golden, red, pink and chocolate, shampoo ginger, red and pink torch ginger, red ginger, shell and butterfly ginger, plus culinary ginger and turmeric. Sold as rhizomes, potted plants or flowering clumps.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Curcuma alismatifolia

Family

Zingiberaceae

Native to

Thailand, Laos and Cambodia

Mature height

0.4–0.7 m

Plant spacing

0.3 m

Time to first flowers

0.3–0.5 years

Light

Sun to part shade

Water

Moderate

Cold tolerance

down to 10 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics, Dry tropics, Subtropical

Grows in a pot

Yes

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas