The kitchen spice, ginger (from Zingiber officinalis), is the best known and most widely used. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium 'Lemon Sherbet' (Lemon Sherbet Ginger Lily) is 6' - 8' tall Tom Wood hybrid that produces 12" long spikes of large ruffled yellow flowers with showy stamens. Luckily, hedychium are not bothered by many pests. A layer of mulch over the garden bed helps keep the soil consistently moist, while a drip-watering system makes watering easy. Place the pots near a seating area to enjoy the bright colors and sumptuous scents. The flowers are deliciously scented. Moy' (Dr. Moy Ginger Lily) is the first variegated foliage winter hardy ginger…a true breakthrough. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium coccineum 'Disney' (Disney Scarlet Ginger) (aka: Hedychium Honduras Form) is considered one of the best selections of the Himalayan Hedychium coccineum. I hope we've been able to convey the remarkable possibilities that await by growing hedychiums in your garden. Sign up for our newsletter. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium 'Tai Monarch' (Tai Monarch Ginger Lily) blooms from midsummer until fall with huge 12"+ flower heads. Each inflorescence is virtually a profusion of peachy-pink flowers in late summer. What Makes the Ends of Ginger Houseplant Leaves Turn Brown? (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium 'Tai Savannah' (Tai Savannah Ginger Lily) is a hybrid. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium 'Four Way' (Four Way Ginger Lily) is a Tom Wood hybrid with a nice compact size…to only 48" tall. Ginger plants do not require a lot of pruning like other plants do, however, they benefit from occasional light pruning. For us, Hedychium 'Stephen' starts flowering in late July and repeats until late September. Hedychiums belong to the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, which includes many useful herbs and ornamental plants. Ginger plants have long green leaves and stunning flowers and are great in tropical gardens. Hedychiums are relatively easy to propagate via seed. Hedychiums grow outward by forming large pointed growth buds on the end of the rhizome. The release of one such cultivar, Hedychium 'Assam Orange' in the early 1970s, re-ignited the European and American love for the genus. Tucked underneath each bract are one or more flower buds that grow out to the side of the flower spike. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium coronarium (Butterfly Ginger Plant) is a real attention-getter in late summer and fall as the rich, honeysuckle-like fragrance pervades the evening air from 2" wide butterfly-like white flowers. Many of the tropical gingers prefer full sun, but will tolerate light or dappled shade. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium 'Gold Flame' (Gold Flame Ginger Lily) is a 4' tall vigorous Tom Wood hybrid with heads of fragrant golden flowers with golden orange throats. Because of their size and the difficulty of maintaining hedychiums in small pots, hardy ginger plants are rarely offered in retail nurseries and garden centers. Remember that hedychium seedlings will not be clones of the parent, and hybrid seed will rarely be as nice as the parent. Hedychiums grow so fast that they will quickly fill even the largest pot with thick rhizomes which can eventually split all but the most sturdy pots. From then until frost, the 4' clumps are topped with pure white flowers with a bright yellow lip and a peachy-colored stigma. One shade tolerant plant is ginger. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium 'Flaming Torch' (Flaming Torch Ginger Lily) is a Hedychium coccineum hybrid that forms a huge mass of 6-7' tall stalks, each topped with a 1' long head of bright orange flowers in mid-July (NC). Most hedychiums are not winter hardy in the UK, since they need heat to produce the sugars needed for winter survival. Hedychium 'Stephen' is topped with slender flower heads of fragrant, butterscotch-yellow flowers each highlighted by contrasting orange anthers. Whatever ginger plant you are growing, the care will be the same because all ginger plants are tropical plants. Clemson Cooperative Extension, Ask a Master Gardener: Culinary Ginger & Floral Ginger, Fine Gardening: Genus Asarum (Wild Ginger), Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Asarum Caudatum Lindl, Seven Oaks Native Nursery: Asarum Hartwegii - Hartweg's Ginger, University of Hawai'i at Manoa Cooperative Extension Service: Ornamental Ginger, Red and Pink, Harvest to Table: Ginger -- Kitchen Basics, University of California Marin Master Gardeners: A Visit to the Redwood Creek Native Plant Nursery, Clemson Cooperative Extension: Wild Ginger, Plant of the Week: Zingiber Officinale - Common Ginger. The massive 1'+ long flower heads of brilliant orange top the 5-6' tall clump in midsummer and again in early fall. In addition to providing a bold texture in the garden, the leaves of a few species and cultivars of hedychium have red undersides, while others have variegated white or yellow irregular spots. (Hardiness Zone 7b-10), Hedychium 'Apple Court' (Apple Court Ginger Lily) is one of our favorite Hedychium coccineum hybrids. These plants have long, thin leaves that point upward and produce vibrant-colored blooms year-round. This roughly corresponds to the winter/summer cycle in temperate gardens. Oddly, the British never tried growing the plant outside and just assumed it was not hardy like most of the other gingers. Moy' from NC's Mark and Louisa Messenbrink that was introduced in limited numbers around the year 2000. The dark green leaves have a red underside that give a wonderful garden effect. Grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 to 11, the readily available shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) and red ginger (Alpinia purpurata) require protection from temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. In late summer, the vigorous clumps are topped with lightly fragrant, 16" bottlebrush spikes of bright orange flowers. The rhizomes of wild gingers are used much like edible ginger in cooking. The inflorescence consists of a series of overlapping green bracts.