| Life form | Bush |
| Family | Zingibiraceae |
| Origin | Tropics of India, Malay Archipelago of Southeast Asia |
| Ease of cultivation | Easy with small difficulties |
| The size | In the pot, up to 1 m in height, up to 1.5 in width. |
| Growth rate | High not only in height, but also in width |
| Lifespan | Perennial |
| Temperature | In the summer: up to 77-82,4, in the winter not below 50 ° F. The plant is thermophilic, but can withstand low temperatures for a short time. |
| Humidity | Average. In summer it is necessary to spray once a week, in dry and hot weather, in winter with heating on every day |
| Lighting | Illuminated place, bright diffused light, up to 5 hours of direct sun per day. Suitable south-west, south-east, east window, but in case of too bright daylight. It is better to avoid direct sunlight in order to avoid the appearance of burns |
| The soil | A ready-made fertile, air-permeable primer is suitable for general use with the addition of a small amount of sand. Soil homemade take: 1 part garden soil, 1 part peat or leaf soil, 1 part coarse sand or perlite. Always use a pot with a hole. |
| Watering | Water in summer abundantly once a week. In winter every 10-12 days. Between watering the soil should be moderately dry, the custus does not tolerate stagnation of moisture. The more the plant receives light, the more abundant watering should be. |
| Fertilizer | From April to September, every 1-2 weeks with liquid fertilizer. |
| Reproduction | By dividing the rhizomes of adult plants, the site of the rhizome must have at least one escape. If the parts of the rhizome are too small, the plant will bloom late. Immediately planted in a standing soil to a depth of 1-2.5 cm.Also reproduces within a year with stem cuttings. After the blossoming of the cressus, its stems are cut off, the leaves are cut off from them, the epidermis is cleaned with a knife, the stem is cut into three parts. Further, the segments of the stem are planted in a mixture of peat and sand (several in a pot), where they will gradually take root. It is also possible to place the stems directly horizontally on the surface of a moist substrate, they will soon also give roots.Around the dried inflorescences are also formed shoots, which can be separated and with their help to multiply the plant. |
| Bloom | Costus fiery blooms from August to September, forming spikelets of red flowers; Kostus beautiful flowers white flowers. |
| Transfer | In spring, in April, every year, when the roots do not fit into the pot. At this time, it is best to divide the plant in order not to allow it to overgrow. In this case, the resulting processes should be placed in pots of the previous size. |
| Features of care | The Cotus is useful for frequent bathing. It is necessary to remove faded inflorescences in time. However, you can not do this if you need to get the shoots that are formed around the dry flowers. |
| Difficulties | At low humidity it is affected by a spider mite, aphids and scabings can appear. The edges of the leaves turn brown with insufficient watering or from the effects of a draft. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | – |
