Gingers - especially hedychiums
Hedychiums in the glade at Keyingham
Apart from an occasional hardy member of the zingiber genus, the gingers we grow - and sell - are hedychiums, sometimes referred to as ginger lilies. They range in hardiness from frost hardy to tender, but whether planted out or kept in pots and protected from frost, they enrich the garden with their tropical foliage, spectacular flowers and in many cases a ravishing perfume.
Hedychiums are generally plants of the forest edge, and are happy in some shade. even in our cool climate. Fast growing, so feed and water generously in the growing season.
Propagate by dividing rhizomes in early spring. The rapidly expanding rhizomes can distort or split pots. Some varieties need to reach a root size big enough to fill a 15 or 30 litre pot before flowering. Others flower happily at less than 15 litres. Some, like H. 'Elizabeth', take a year or more to settle down after disturbance.
Hedychiums hybridise remarkably easily, and although this creates some exciting variations, it can also make individual plants difficult to identify with absolute certainty. We apologise in advance if any should prove to be wrongly attributed. Don't hesitate to let us know if you disagree with our labelling. Below are some of the plants we grow and propagate from. The hardiest have H after the name, the most scented have the letter S (though others have a slight perfume).
In 2008 and 2009, the Hedychiums at Bamboo Glade were late coming into flower, the first, h. yunnanense, not appearing till early August, followed by h. spicatum, h. 'Assam Orange', h. forestii, h. 'Tara' and h. 'Stephen'. Half a dozen others have blossomed here in past seasons. Some never have.
Hedychium Tara, September 2008
Varieties and hybrids
- h. Anne Bishop S
- h. Assam Orange H
- h. Double Eagle S
- h. Dr. Moy S
- h. Elizabeth S
- h. Gold Flame S
- h. Kewense
- h. Kinkaku S
- h. Lemon Sherbet S
- h. Luna Moth S
- h. Pink Flame S
- h. Pink Hybrid S
- h. Pradhanii S
- h. Raffillii
- h. Samsheri S
- h. Tara H
- h. Tresco S
Species Hedychiums
- h. coccineum
- h. coccineum angustifolium
- h. coccineum aurantiacum
- h. coronarium S
- h. coronarium chrysoleucum H
- h. densiflorum H
- h. ellipticum
- h. flavescens
- h. forrestii H
- h. gardnerianum
- h. gracile
- h. greenii
- h. maximum
- h. spicatum H
- h. thyrsiforme
- h. villosum
- h. yunnanense H
Zingiber mioga is a hardy ginger which is a popular luxury vegetable in Japan, where the young shoots and later the flowers are eaten. Unlike the Hedychiums these flowers are produced on an insignificant stalk at the base of the plant, but mioga is an attractive leafy plant nevertheless, and happily reappears year after year in the shade of our bamboos.
