RED GINGER FLOWER OF BELIZE

CHRISTINA'S "FLOWERS OF BELIZE" SERIES (PART ONE)

Brought to you by Black Orchid Management, Ltd.

If you were to ask me what I like most about flowers, I will tell you, they make me happy.  They are beautiful to look at.  Have you ever seen someone gaze upon a beautiful flower and stay in a bad mood?  NEVER!  Flowers, lift our spirits, they can change our mood, they make us happy and it is the one way, that we can tell someone we love them, simply by handing them a flower.  Please follow me on my journey through the Belize rain forest jungle, to explore all the different flowers there are to see.  I sincerely hope you enjoy my series entitled "Flowers of Belize". 

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RED GINGER
If you ask me, the Red Ginger flower is one of the prettiest flowers in Belize.  It is used often in floral arrangement both at home and in the office.

Red Ginger is just one of Belize's many tropical exotic flowers. They produce a showy red or pink flower with large, dark green, glossy leaves. These are showy plants and for this reason, many people like Red Ginger flowers in floral  arrangements, anything from cemetery bouquets to extravagant hotel centerpieces.  They cannot stand frosts, and for this reason - they grow abundantly in tropical regions, such as the rain forests of Belize. 



20 TIPS ON - HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN RED GINGER FLOWERS AT HOME
1.  Pick a location to plant your red ginger that is in partial shade.  Use rich, loamy soil that is on the sandy side. 
2.  If growing it strictly as a potted plant, mix one part sand with three parts potting soil.
3.  Improve the soil by adding compost and sand.
4.  Put down a 2-inch layer of sand and a 1-inch layer of compost on the growing bed.
5.  Dig it into the soil by turning it over with a shovel, digging down the depth of the spade. Rake the area smooth.
6.  Red ginger grows from roots. Set the roots into shallow holes and cover with 1 to 2 inches of soil.
7.  Position the roots so the growing buds are facing up.
8.  To transplant potted red ginger into the ground or into a larger pot, carefully remove the plant from its current pot.
9.  Place into a pre-dug hole or a pot only slightly larger than the current one. Try as much as possible not to disturb the root ball.
10. Water newly transplanted potted red ginger plants with a hand watering can.
11. Check daily and water as needed to keep the soil moist but not saturated until the plants resume active growth.
12. After that, provide them with 1 to 2 inches of rainfall per week.
13. Mulch the soil around the plants with a 2-inch layer of buckwheat hulls or other attractive mulch material.
14. Buckwheat hulls will discourage weeds and help keep the soil evenly moist.
15. Fertilize red ginger every 4 to 5 weeks by watering with a fertilizer solution specially formulated for blooming plants.
16. Fertilize each plant individually by watering with a hand watering can filled with the fertilizer solution.
17. Bring red ginger plants indoors before freezing weather arrives.
18. Dig up your plants, put you indoor plants in a container the same size as the root ball--they like to be crowded in their pots.
19. Put them in an east-or west-facing window for the winter months.
20. Provide them with extra humidity by running a humidifier in the room or by placing them on pebble-filled saucers with water.

Note: Gingers are susceptible to spider mites. If your ginger plant has mites, introduce a natural predator such as lacewing or ladybugs.

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