Germinating Hedychium and Costus gingers

[Tyrone]

I've got in my possession some Hedychium horsfieldii seeds, and some Costus spicatus seeds. Does anyone know how they should be best germinated. Has anyone done it before? Normally these are propogated by rhizome etc.

Looking for info, any info, or ideas.

Best regards

Tyrone

[ariscott]

I never tried ginger seeds before... I haven't even seen the seeds before in my life.. But I have germinated heliconia seeds before. I am not sure how similar it is. But, my method was very straight forward. I just use the normal potting mix and keep moist. Nothing special, really. If I remember correctly, it took a while to come up, so you have to be patient. But then, you are used to palm seeds... so you might think they were quite fast. Me, I am used to tree seeds... now that's fast!!

Regards, Ari

[popper1]

I've germinated them, they are pretty easy. I used a coarse media, covered with peat to about half a cm or so. Kept moist but not too wet. Costus came up quicker, both were up by about 4 weeks.

[kahili]

I have never germinated seeds of gingers before, but a lot of costus gingers root very fast and easily by stem cuttings.

[Tyrone]

Thanks guys for the info.

I've put my seeds in pots in a coarse mix and dampened down. I then put the pots into clear ziplock bags in my aquarium with heat lamps and grow lights where it fluctuates between 22-30C day and night. I'll see how that goes.

Ari, Heliconias can take a while that's for sure. I had one situation where after a year some hadn't come up, so I thought the seed were bad. So I took the entire container and threw it somewhere to put into the rubbish. When I was cleaning up I found they'd all germinated, and because they'd eventually dried out, died. Stupid me.

Anyway I found a live Clinostigma savoryana in a container as well, so I potted him up and he's growing fine, so it wasn't all that bad. Never give up on heliconia seed.

Best regards

Tyrone

[ariscott]

It was just one time I tried heliconia seeds. It took so long that I decided that it was a lot easier to grow from rhizomes. It is still growing in the garden.... I think it was H. griggsiana (spelling?).

Regards, Ari

[Tyrone]

Seed is the only way for Heliconias in West Oz. Rhizomes are not allowed in, and no one this far south sells them. Kununurra might, but they're closer to you than me. All my Heliconias are seed grown except for some H psittacorum I bought in Carnarvon.

Best regards

Tyrone

[metalfan]

I grow hedychiums from seeds all the time. At the end of the bloom season here, when the flowerheads form red seeds, I just cut off the whole thing and plant it in the sand near the rhizome mass of the original plant. The seeds sprout new plants automatically. There is usually enough warm weather left to let them get big enough to start forming small rhizomes. Then the next season they start growing like regular.

[Tyrone]

I grow hedychiums from seeds all the time. At the end of the bloom season here, when the flowerheads form red seeds, I just cut off the whole thing and plant it in the sand near the rhizome mass of the original plant. The seeds sprout new plants automatically. There is usually enough warm weather left to let them get big enough to start forming small rhizomes. Then the next season they start growing like regular.

Awesome. Thanks for that. Mine should come up quickly with my humid 30C temps then.

Best regards

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

Well it took all of 7 days for my Hedychium to germinate. At 8 days I have one 4mm high. They're fast when you give them 22-30C plus humidity.

Best regards

Tyrone