Pinecone gingers are only supposed to be hardy to zone 8, but might make it in 7b if protected or it's a mild winter. Hedychiums are generally considered the hardiest, and the white butterfly (which is probably what you have) is one of the hardiest and easiest to find. There are some on-line companies that specialize in them but I haven't ordered from them. PDN has them for a price. Sometimes you get lucky and find them in local nurseries. I got most of my gingers from the swaps though, not that I have many. They need a lot of heat to bloom, so some years are better than others. 'Elizabeth' is another one I see frequently and has pink flowers. It is another one that is more hardy. I have 'Peach Delight' and it has come back fine for 4 years. I also have some Curcumas (hidden cone) which come back fine but I have trouble getting them to bloom. Others say they bloom fine for them. I have a big clump of pinecone gingers in my back yard but they have only been in for one year and it was a mild winter. This year is supposed to be cold so we will see how they do. I will probably get out there and dig up a piece in case the clump doesn't make it so I still have some. Also my backyard is somewhat protected so I am often able to push zones a tad. Good luck! -Ais.

Ais, who is PDN? Thanks for info. I think I will post on exchanges cause I would be glad to "buy" some from a forum person too.

Carla

Plants Delight Nursery, near Raleigh. Tony Avent pushes the envelope of what it is possible to grow in his area - his quirky catalogue lists things to drool over, but he is pricey.

You don't list your area, so I don't know if it helps, but Gunter's Nursery in Spartanburg carries gingers; I bought 'Elizabeth' from him last year, and a white one this fall. I got a yellow one from a friend a few years ago - it flowered VERY late the first year, and this year and last, began in late Aug. I think it depends partly on the heat of the summer, and also on the length of time it has been planted. The 'Elizabeth' only began blooming toward the end of Sept. They are both done now, with the frost.

I have to move a few more plants, mostly tradescantias, in order to put the white one in near the other 2 - it's the warmest and most protected area I have. Be warned that the clumps can get very large - the yellow is about 5' across, and the stems grew to well over 6' tall, although the friend from whom I got it has never had hers grow over 4'.... If you want, and will pay shipping costs, I can dig a few roots of the yellow and send them to you, as it's getting too big for its area. Send me an e-mail if interested.

I am between Hickory and Shelby and have grown the white and 'Peach Delight' for at least 4 years. I agree with Dibbit, they grow massive in areas after a short length of time, a lot faster than cannas which I almost feel are invasive. I also have a variegated leaf variety that I just received this spring and I have taken it into the greenhouse for the winter.

Oh, Plant Delights. Now that is a place I'd love to go with some extra $$$. My plant got very large in diameter. I think I will have to split it up next spring.

Thank you for your help,
Carla

I grow quite a few gingers, mainly Hedychiums, a few are in the ground and the rest in pots. I've picked mine up all over, but locally there's that place in Sanford, a decent selection of small plants at very good prices. I've ordered online from Tim Chapman at Gingerwood Nursery but his website has been down and he's apparently inactive in retail now. Dave Skinner at Gingers-R-Us has a large selection on-line and a website with tons of information on growing, but I've not ordered from him so I can't attest to the size of the plants he ships. It looks like he's having a sale at the moment, though I wouldn't buy gingers now unless I had a protected place to overwinter.

If you're close to Durham, you might check out the Duke Gardens plant sale next spring. I picked up several hedychiums this year at their spring and fall sales.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gingers-R-Us

Dibbit, did you receive my e-mail. It is a well known fact that e-mails thru GW sometimes don't make it.

Carla

I've grown or cared for most of the different "hardy" gingers and in my garden, under my care, the old fashioned white one blooms the longest and has the strongest scent. The bright orange one (and its hybrids) with the distinctive cone clusters is really reliable but it flushes in and out of bloom with about a month gap in between blossoms.

There will be Hedychium 'Disney' and Curcuma 'Siam Tulip' available at the Spring Raleigh Swap.

Carla, I got it and have replied.

OOOH, I was just looking at 'Siam Tulip'. I'll be looking in spring :) I'ts quite likely I'll have more 'Peach Delight' and IF the ones in the ground make it through this winter some pinecone gingers for the Raleigh Spring swap. -Ais.

Ais - how many do you want??? A vendor at the fair gave me an entire bulb crate full and un opened. Possibly 100-150 bulbs!!!!!!!!!!!!. He was done for the week and just wanted to lighten his load before he hit the road home. I'm gonna pot them up and start them in my hoop house (I don't think they can handle long periods of dormancy). Whatever survives my torture will be shared at the swap.

When I've grown them before they were somewhat winter hardy - BUT - they bloomed better when grown in a large pot and placed in the hottest and sunniest part of the yard. On a really hot and humid year I've had them bloom all summer long.

Will someone tell me when the swap is? I would love to come to one, I missed the one in Rutherfordton last summer. Whoever said gingers can be invasive, I think the white one I have could become invasive. It's already planted in the "wrong" area.
John, what kind of bulbs did the man give you?

Carla

Carla, you just have to look for the swaps in spring and fall. They are usually posted on the exchanges page, sometimes mentioned on discussions.
Gingers do spread pretty fast but they seem to slow down a little once the clump reaches a certain size. You need to give them several square feet. But then I dig therm up from the outsides to share so maybe that is why they've stayed manageable.
John, I don't think I need 100! LOL But I'll take a few :) I've read that one is not reliably hardy past zone 8 so it might be one that I would take most of in and leave a piece out just to see. -Ais.

Way back when I worked at PDN they were growing the regular Siam Tulips as perennials (I've always thought they were a hybrid but they might be a species so I didn't bother looking up their full name, hence the Curcuma 'Siam Tulip'). The bright pink one.

I also got some tropicals - Money Plant - looks like a schefflera, and some Casa Blanca Lilies.

I guess I need to look on PDN site again because I only saw two listings for gingers and they were not impressive.
Here is one link I found:http://www.plant-group.com/
I don't think I linked it, I'm not able to link, duh.

Carla

Sorry, I spoke too soon. I looked again and PDN has lots of gingers.

Carla

PDN's stock changes every catalog or so. In the past they have offered a wide range of gingers.

I was told to plant my giger in shade. I planted two. One in fairly deep shade and the other misses the morning sun, but gets direct sun from noon on. The sunny one grew well and has had 5-6 blooms. The other turned yellow and had one small bloom. I moved the shaded one next to the other one for next year.

It depends on the type of ginger you have and where you are. Hedychiums do better with sun than most of the others and shouldn't be in deep shade. Deeper south they appreciate some afternoon shade (we are actually in the northern part of their range). Some gingers, like pinecone gingers prefer more shade. I think the curcumas prefer a little afternoon shade, but not deep shade. Globbas and Kaempferias also prefer more shade. Whoever told you that may have been refering to wild gingers (asarum family) which is not related to the ginger lilies we've been discussing. Wild gingers are definately shade plants. -Ais.

I grow some, but not all of them have thrived. The place in Sanford has several at a decent price. Tara (Hedychium) (from BB's) was gorgeous this year, but it has taken it a couple years to really take off. One thing I've learned about them quite by accident is they seem to bloom better if you cut back the ones that have bloomed out. They also like lots of water. I have one called Hedychium augustifolium, which is just now beginning to bloom. I think it needs to be moved to a sunnier spot. Curcuma petiolata 'Emperor' had scads of blooms this year for a change. I keep Kaempferia rotunda 'Silver Diamond' in a pot and under the house over winter and even with that it's July before it starts coming back. I lost my Alpinia and Zingiber 'midnight' That was a lesson learned. H. Pink Flame and H. Tai Savannah have done ok. Costus speciosis (spiral ginger) does well in summer and bloomed great, but I can't get them to live in ground consistantly over winter. You can take cuttings from them and they root easily. I need to get a start of it next spring. I really enjoyed that one. The spiral growth was so neat and I loved the blooms!

One of the species gingers I'd love to have is hedychium greenii and DH keeps wishing for some of the pinecone gingers. I know I've seen them at the Ashboro Zoo in the spring so they may be hardier than the reported zone 8 if sited right?