Hi Christie, Not sure about the ginger lily but I have ventured into buying the canary vine in the hope that it provides blooms as bright as the pictures that tempted me to buy the seeds. I have just this week completed putting together a greenhouse to provide somewhere for my precious seeds to "hopefully" make their way into the the world.

Will keep you posted as to how well "or not" they do.

You never know "someone" may have already had success with these and put us out of our misery and tell us how they did with them.

Yours etc.

Steve the UKtransplant (get it transPLANT?) ... weird sense of humor these Brits!

You won't find either one in an annuals catalog, cause they're tropical perennials, that die back to the ground during the winter season. Unfortunately for us, neither is hardy for our area of the country, but they can be pot planted and taken in for the winter. Nothing does as well in a pot as it would if planted directly in the ground, but sometimes even a somewhat stunted version is better than none, especially if the Ginger Lily matures enough to bloom!! You might be able to grow it like cannas, where you plant it in the ground for the summer, then dig it up and bring the roots or bulbs in for the winter dormant season. It's on my list to drool over this year! The link below takes you to Singing Springs Nursery, who offers the Ginger Lily, but not the Canary Vine. You might be able to find the canary vine at a nursery in the seed section. I seem to remember seeing it there. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Singing Springs Nursery

I brought a piece of Ginger Lily back from Louisiana last spring when visiting family. I planted it into a black nursery pot----about 12 inches in diameter. It grew well, bloomed, and sent out new sprouts last year, but it needs a larger pot. This one dried out and flipped over several times last year. When it dries out too much, it ruins the flower buds-----they dry out, and never bloom.
It grows much like a canna----a big thick underground rhizhome that sends shoots up every few inches.
It has overwintered in the greenhouse, and is starting to really grow now. Wonderfully fragrant white blooms.
Down in Louisiana, it is a very common plant. You might try to find someone down there to trade with.
If you want to wait until the coming Fall, I will be dividing mine, and would be happy to send you a piece.
Dori

I don't have a greenhouse to overwinter ginger lily in and probably not room in the house to keep it potted either. Do you think it would have a long enough season to bloom if I planted it like a canna and dug it up in the fall? It might be ok to grow just for the big tropical leaves. I'll try to remember to email you in the fall Dori. You don't have a wish list on your member page but maybe I can find something to send you that you don't already have.

Steve - I'd like to hear how your canary vine does. I saw a post somewhere on gardenweb about someone having trouble getting them to grow from seed. I found a pic on the web. The leaves are unusual.

PrairieWind - Thanks for the link for Singing Springs. I'd never heard of that one before. It says the fragrance can be smelled from a distance! yum

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1109540}}

I think it would bloom well the first year. The piece I have was dug up as a one-foot tall sprout with root attached in mid-March '04. I brought it back here, planted it and by Fall '04 it had 7 stems that had bloomed, or were blooming. I am not sure if it could overwinter as a dug plant, but its worth a try! The roots are very thick and very similar to cannas.
BTWDOri