Shaun, that is absolutely beautiful.

Shaun,

Those are gorgeous curcumas you've got. I've just bought one and am completely enamoured. Do you think the curcumas will bloom continuously in Malaysia where I am? Would like to know before I buy more. Thanks.

tropicalparadise, you are living in the northern states of west malaysia (eg: Perlis), you might have a chance with C alismatofolia because these plants do well with a pronounced wet/dry season. If you live KL and below, well then its like it will flower once/twice, then thats it.

Well from experience, after they flower, the whole plant loses all its leaves and go into dormancy, despite our uniform tropical climate. What I then do is dig up the rhizomes from the pot and wash them clean. There'll be these "extension bulbs" from the main rhizome but you mustn't cut these off (they don't spring new plants either). I keep the rhizomes DRY in a cool corner for about 3 months, before re-planting. It's worked so far.

:) Shaun

Thanks for all the advice. But what if I have 2 other plants in the same pot which have not bloomed yet? I shouldn't dig out the rhizomes just yet then, right?

Hi Tropicalparadise, here in BKK, my experince wth growing them is that if we buy potted plants they tend to go on sale from May till July time (start of rainy season) but if before or after that then the rhizomes are sold instead. If you plant them after the rainy season then there is a chance they might grow but will not flower. What I do then is to keep it growing for abt 7mths or so then stop watering. By that time they should have made enough food to go dormant then will def inetly bloom after their dormancy.

I dont plant mine in pots but i plant them directly into the ground and let the rains do the watering. Here in central Thailand the dry season has just started (NE monsoon is here) so my curcumas are starting to turn yellow and die off before they will bloom again in June next yr.

I am not sure where in Malaysia you are but from my experince southern thailand rains almost all yr round hence there isnt really a 'prounounced' dry season...so it might be better to plant them in pots and dry them artifically...like i do for my amaryllis and haemanthus. Good luck!

Shaun - you got yr bulbs from Chatuchak market right?

Oh, I will do what you suggest then and give it some dry spells. I live in Petaling Jaya - next to Kuala Lumpur. How the rhizomes look like regular gingers and do you think they are sold in Hattyai?

Yes, Momiji79. I bought them at Chatuchak! That is very good information you gave. Thanks.
Tropicalparadise, I live in PJ too. It's raining buckets now as you know, and I'm not keen on artificially drying out my curcumas yet (I'm hoping they'll last till CNY).
Shaun

Shaun,

My curcuma flower just died. With two more other plants in the same pot i'm thinking of keeping the soil dry for a while (maybe a couple of months). Is that wise? Where in PJ are you?

yes keep it dry but not bone dry. Water the soil maybe once every 2 weeks or so to ensure the rhizhomes still are plump and not shrivelled up. My flowers are starting to die down now too so I have stopped watering them. They should sprout up again (in Bangkok) around May-June time or so. However, you could try watering them until the leaves start to turn yellow and thats when you really have to stop, cause anymore and they will rot up!

Goodluck with yours. As for the ones in Hatyai, I have no idea but I guess you can ge them there. I have never been there before!

Good day. I'm new in growing Curcuma alismatifolia and is very interested with the blooms. Unfortunately all my plants die off before they even flower last January. I've read some of the other mails and got to know about the cycle. Can you give me some information on the life cycle
of the plant...e.g. the growing season, dormant period, time to bloom of the plant?

Regarding the rhizomes, i've dug some of them out and the storage organs are very fresh and fleshy. What should i do wif it. How do i force it to sprout? I would appreciate if very much if you could also give me a guide to growing and fertilizer mgt of the plant.

Wildflower, since we're in the tropics, there is no true season by calender months. Once the plant has died down, the dormancy will last for about 3 months. After 3 months, water it generously and keep your fingers crossed.

I've tried keeping a plant from its dormancy once, by watering it and letting its 'anaks' grow-out continuously. Nice plant, but no flower. So dormancy is important I guess.

Keep your dug-out rhizomes in a cool, dry place, but wet them about once a week, otherwise they will shrivel. Fertilize with any commercial fertilizer according to instructions. They're not fussy.

Good luck!

I LIVE IN THE USA, STATE ILLINOIS, CITY CHICAGO ZONE 4. I BROUGHT FOUR CURCUMA PLANTS ON AUGUST 21, 2009. AFTER READING SOME OF THE POST IN YOUR FORUM I AM REALLY CONFUSED ON THE PROPER CARE OF THESE PLANTS. I HAVE A SPRINKLER SYSTEM AND DO NOT KNOW IF THIS WOULD BE TOO MUCH WATERING FOR THE PLANTS OR NOT.MY QUESTION IS HOW DO I CARE FOR THESE PLANTS IN THE WINTER? I KNOW IT IS TOO LATE TO PLANT IN GROUND. DO I REMOVE THE BULB, CLEAN SOIL OFF BULB, REMOVE LEAVES, STORE IN BROWN PAPER BAG AND REPLANT NEXT SPRING OR DO I KEEP THE PLANTS IN ITS POTTED SOIL FOR THE WINTER? PLEASE ADVISE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

When I grew them in Georgia, I kept them in pots and brought into the basement for the winter. Here in central Florida I leave them in the ground. This is our rainy season and it's not too much water (no hurricanes yet) so your sprinklers shouldn't be a problem