I have buds on 2 of 4 stems. This is the first time since I got the small plant at a swap 2 years ago. I don't know what kind or color...but I am soooo excited.

I hope yours catch up. BTW, the buds seem to be growing slowly, do you have any suggestions? THis is a first for me and I don't know if they would like a little fertilizer while I'm feeding the Brugs or if they'd prefer to go a little hungry

thank you
cynthia

white butterfly ginger.
I've had one with buds for a few weeks. Nothing else in the clump has buds. Then a few days ago I see in another clump one more little bud.

I've never had them flower before.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they do not need or want fertilizer.

My butterfly, Dr. Moy, and peacock gingers are all blooming. I've had the peacock for several years and they bloom all summer, beginning the 1st summer I had them. The butterfly gingers were given to me at a plant swap a couple of years ago, bloomed a couple of blooms last summer, but are now blooming heavily. Dr. Moy was given to me at last years swap, and is blooming heavily as well. I did fertilize all of them. I used a general purpose fertilizer....don't know if that's what did the trick, but I love them all.

Hmm. I treat mine the same as my roses and daylilies. I give them alfalfa pellets in the spring and a shot of slow-release Osmocote pellets later in early summer. Sounds like there still might be hope for the White Butterfly, but I expected earlier blooms on the others. The Dallas Arboretum has large clumps of a cream-colored ginger that bloom all summer, and I bet they fertilize heavily. So maybe I ought to break out the Miracle-Gro.

the comments on this thread seem to say they need regular water and bloom better when not allowed to get too dry.

One said a balanced slow release fertilizer is all you need for plenty of flowers.

I think once or twice I hit mine with some of the stuff I use on my Brugs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ginger comments

I came home from a week out of town to find a bloom on my white butterfly ginger - smells heavenly !

Carol

My butterfly ginger has been blooming for several weeks. I give mine miracle grow.

They must be heavy feeders. I got this comment from the ginger forum a few months back.
"fertilize weekly during the growing season with 15-30-15, 20-20-20, or 10-50-10".
molly

Sounds like I'll be doing more fertilizing more next year. Thanks to all for your comments.

Mine still haven't bloomed, but I just put in teeny tiny ones last year. I began practically mulching them with good compost this year, and they shot up and are super lush, but no blooms yet. I moved a clump to a sunnier area to see what happens, and they're doing the same thing. Healthy looking but no blooms. Maybe next year.

Well, my white and apricot are blooming like crazy and I don't do anything to them but water. I even have some that I never got planted in a big plastic pot covered in mulch and they are blooming. The only thing resembling fertilizer the planted ones get is alpaca poop for mulch once or twice a year. One bed gets regular disturbing from the great pyr digging his hole to sleep in. I have one peach in a 2 gallon pot that gave up on me planting it and has gone through the bottom. It's blooming this year.

I know they don't like to be planted deep, and like to be kept moist, but not consistently boggy. They do handle intermittent floods well. And without at least half-day sun, they get leggy and gradually die off. They prefer loose soil. Other than that, mine get regular neglect and bloom fabulously. I'll be taking some to the Mercer swap, since they are multiplying so much. Oh, and I live near Hempstead, and they get no special treatment other than the layer of alpaca poop mulch for winter.

"mine get regular neglect"

Love the way you put things, tejas. :-)

Yes, mine are blooming,....and I do nothing to them but water. They started out as a small gift plant from my next door neighbor two years ago...and now I can't keep them cut back/held back enough. They are about to take over one corner of my yard...HELP!!!!

I typed up this message once and couldn't find it so please forgive me if it shows up twice!

I was wondering if the gingers are hardy in Zone 7. I live 2 hours North of DFW. I was given 2 gingers in a plant swap and they have never bloomed. I have kept them in a pot (bringing them in during the winter.) I had just about decided to get rid of them before I read this thread.

I guess that I should just put them in the ground, neglect them and see what happens?

Necia

My Butterfly Ginger has started blooming about 3~4 weeks ago, and Luna Moth Ginger has started about 2 weeks ago. They are planted in full baking sun between the rose bushes, and receive any fertilizer (Alfalfa, epson salt, cottonseed meal, blood meal, bone meal, ironite, cow manure, etc.) and water roses get. I love working in a garden when they are in bloom. My daughter could not decide which is better between gardenia and ginger.

Dr. Moy bloomed a couple of months ago. White not blooming, got beat up in Humberto. Peacocks are blooming. Alpinia, all of them, bloomed early like May. Cardamom bloomed in May. Globba blooms almost continuously in summer, it's blooming now. Pinecones, curuma (hidden) and costus are all blooming.
Tally Ho!

One of mine opened up today!!!

It smells divine!!

Mel, is the butterfly you got from Chris?????

Yes!!!

Has yours put out buds yet?
But the one pot I've had for several years isn't blooming.
It might not even be white butterfly ginger (like I was told it was) it doesn't look quite the same.. it also has no buds yet..but I keep watering it and waiting.

There are buds on my other two pots, I can't wait for them to open up. :) Next year these pretties are going in the ground, now that I've figured out what they need.

I had a single bud on my white butterfly ginger a few weeks ago, the rest of the stalks have buds now.

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