I have just purchased this beautiful plant. It is planted in a slightly raised bed created with old oak branches that have resurrection ...Read Morefern growing along them. I created a rich planting bed with my local sandy soil and some rich potting soil mixed together and planted this beautiful ginger very near a large old oak tree which shades a patio and which will provide shade, shelter from cold tempertaures, and oak leaf litter for the ginger.
This is a variegated version of the very well known pinecone or shampoo ginger, which grows all over this area of Northcentral Florida, zone 8b. But this cultivar has dramatic variegated cream and green leaves, and deep red stalks. The "pinecones," which emerge from the ground in late Summer here, are a deep, rich red.
I am also growing the solid green-leaf pinecone ginger, which is a rampant grower. This variegated version is shorter, to about two feet in the sun and heavily watered, and to about four feet in shadier locations. I was told by the person who sold it to me to plant it in the shade.
I have read on the internet that the rhizone can rot easily, so I have placed it in a raised bed. It is grown in South Africa, which I believe is rather dry, but we get an average of 60 inches of rain a year here, so I am providing a rich, well drained, shady environment. I've read it takes a winter rest, then resumes growing in warmer weather with rain.
I saw a whole vase full of the deep red pine cones, and think they will be stunning in flower arrangements, and I've also read the white flowers make an excellent cut flower that lasts for weeks.
My computer "croaked" and is being rebuilt, so I am currently using a very old, borrowed laptop, and the memory isn't large enough to handle digital pictures, but once I get my rebuilt computer back, I will publish some pictures of my very pretty new variegated pinecone ginger.
I have just purchased this beautiful plant. It is planted in a slightly raised bed created with old oak branches that have resurrection ...Read More