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Fantastic photos courtesy of emagen on flickr.com, see their link on our Resources Page
Hedychium gardnerianum.
There are many different Hedychiums which are commonly known as the 'Ginger Lilies' (H. gardnerianum is somethimes called the 'Khali Ginger'), they belong to the same family as the culinary ginger. If you have used it in cooking you will know what the roots of this plant look like - thick fleshy spreading underground stems called rhizomes. The rhizome develops buds in spring which appear above ground from late May and grow into 1.4m tall stems that have soft, fairly broad 30cm long, exotic looking leaves which have a faintly silver tone and grow in neat opposite ranks. The rhizome of H. gardnerianum is not edible but you can smell the ginger aroma if you cut them to propogate new plants - which is relatively easy to do.
The flower spikes have many individual flowers which have clear light golden petals and long darker orange stamens, they appear from August or sometimes later, can be 25cm tall and are exotically scented - dripping with nectar. As a clump of this fantastic herbaceous plant matures it will become dense and produce many shoots, most of which will terminate in a flower spike and eventually a clump may spread out to cover 1m sq or more. The thick fleshy stems may come into flower at slightly different times depending on the season, which means a clump may be baring flowers for 2 months or more until the frosts which cause the plant to die back to ground level. The spread of the clump can be easily controlled by cutting throught the rhizome with a sharp spade and potting sections of rhizome that have at least 2 buds on, however many different Hedychiums have become invasive pests in Australia. H. garnerianum is a fairly hardy species and should withstand -6 or for short periods. If prolonged or severe cold spells are expected a thick mulch of manure will protect the rhizome. Hedychiums are gross feeders and appreciate rich soil and fertilizer. Plant this plant in the hottest sunniest position to ensure flowering, cool summers may cause them to shoot and flower a little later, but they are well worth the wait.
You can buy this plant on line or at the Urban Jungle nursery, see their link on our Resources Page