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Cautleya spicata is a hardy perennial ginger from the Himalayas and Yunnan, grown for its red bracts and spikes of yellow-orange flowers. The key to success is moist, humus-rich soil in part shade and winter protection in cold areas.
Cautleya spicata is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Zingiberaceae (the gingers). It is found in the Himalayas through to China (Yunnan). It is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant, hardy to a few degrees of frost.
Cautleya spicata is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant. It is hardy to −10 °C (14 °F), though in cold temperate climates such as the midlands and north of the UK, a covering mulch is recommended in the winter. It may also be grown in a container, when it needs protecting from frost. It requires a moisture-retentive, humus-rich soil, out of the full sun.
A number of cultivars are known. 'Crug Canary' is up to 1 m (3 ft) tall, with red stems, deep red bracts and orange-yellow flowers. 'Arun Flame' is similar height, with denser flower spikes; the undersides of the leaves have a purplish-red tinge. 'Lutea' bears largely yellow flowers. Plants grown under the collection number CC 3676 are shorter, with dark orange flowers.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cautleya spicata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
