"DavePoole Torquay" wrote in message
oups.com...
Rupert (W.Yorkshire) wrote:

The rhizomes from the supermarket only seem to produce quite small
(1foot )
plants and do not seem to bulk up particularly well, hence my question
about
the commercial variety.

But the supermarket rhizomes are the commercial variety Rupert. As
ornamental plants, modern culinary strains of Zinziber officinalis are
very dull and uninteresting. They have been developed to produce large
mats of rhizomes quickly, which is what they do given the right amount
of light, heat and moisture. Most rarely exceed 60cms. in height and
the erect, thin, pseudostems clad in narrow, dull green leaves are
amongst the least attractive of the entire ginger family.

As to flowering, few of the commercial strains produce flowers and
those that do carry them in brownish-green, cone-like heads of bracts
just a few cms. above soil-level. The flowers are small, short-lived
and mainly off-white with dull purple lips. There are very easily
overlooked and no great cause for any excitement. To grow well and
produce good-sized rhizomes, 'root ginger' needs average *minimum*
temperatures of above 21C. high humidity and at our latitudes, good
light. It is deciduous and will grow in light shade out of doors in
the far south. Elsewhere it is best grown under glass or polythene,
where temperatures and humidity are higher.

Cautleya spicata , Hedychium forrestii and H.gardnerianum are three that
I
am growing.
The forrestii was about six feet tall but the wind snapped the top off
today.
Although I am fairly confident about overwintering the two Hedychium I
don't
think they would make much growth in the short growing season.

Don't mix these up with 'root ginger', they are not used as culinary
spices, although a few have some medicinal value. They are primarily
as ornamental plants.

Hedychium forrestii (hort.) is one of the hardiest of all Hedychiums
and is robust and fast enough to flower well in most UK gardens. All
it needs is full sun, plenty of water and a rich, well manured soil.
In the south it can quickly reach nearly 3m. producing racemes of
narcissus-scented white flowers at the tops of the attractively leafy
stems. Flowers appear as early as late June in the south, but may not
open until September in the north. When the flowers fade, these are
often replaced by pods, which open to reveal bright orange insides, set
with glistening red 'berries'. It is a deciduous species with the
foliage turning amber and then yellow before dying down in winter.

Hedychium gardnerianum rarely exceeds 2m. in the UK and is a very
robust species carrying large heads of heavily gardenia-scented, rich
or creamy yellow flowers (there are several forms) with contrasting
reddish filaments. It is more tender and flowers too late to miss the
first frosts in most northern gardens. Here in the south it usually
flowers from August through to late October, but in some years it will
carry on until Christmas. The broad, glaucous green foliage is very
handsome and provides the perfect foil for the flowers. In warm
regions it can be planted in sunny borders where it will build up into
a large clump. Elsewhere needs to be grown in large tubs that can be
brought indoors when the weather turns colder.

Cautleya spicata is purely a hardy ornamental ginger relative and a
very good one too. In northern counties where Hedychiums fail to do
well, Cautleya provides a nice spash of colour with its red-bracted
spikes of bright yellow flowers from mid-summer onwards. It has good,
lush foliage, nicely set off by reddish stems and at not much more than
1m. high, is suitable for the smallest gardens. A bright spot and
humus rich soil is all that is necessary for it to develop into an
impressive clump. Why it isn't offered in every garden centre and
nursery completely escapes me. It is a really good garden plant.

The best technique is to start the rhizomes off very early in the year on
a
heated mat/bench and plant out when they have made good growth (the same
technique for Canna )

Not really. Cannas happily cope with being lifted and boxed every
year. Hedychiums need to settle and are best if allowed to develop
into large clumps. Indeed, most young divisions fail to flower in
their first year unless they've had a good long growing season. Tender
species and hybrids should be grown in large containers and moved
outside from May through to September (in colder regions). H.
gardnerianum is an evergreen species that is best kept 'ticking over'
through the winter. Deciduous forms such as H. forrestii, spicatum,
yunnanense and densiflorum are really quite hardy and only need a good
thick mulch when the stems have died down. They should be left in
situ.

Brilliant just what I needed to know. The problem with leaving the things in
the ground up here is that by the time they have a bit of decent growth the
first frosts are coming.
This year has been different-I notice with much glee that the temperatures
here have sometimes been even hotter than your area:-)
How are the promiscuous Musa doing?