Posted 9:49 pm Thursday, September 27, 2012
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Hidden ginger hides bloom deep in luxuriant leaves
By Dee Bishop
Smith County Master Gardener
Smith County Master Gardener
Surprises are always fun! Hidden Ginger (Curcuma petiolata) hides a lovely delicate bloom deep in its luxuriant leaves.
The leaves of this beauty are enough in themselves, very tropical and handsome. This is a species of tropical gingers that we can grow in our gardens here in the South. There are many different sizes and colors. Hidden Ginger’s blooms are hidden, but once you learn to look for them, you can trim back a leaf or two that may be hiding the bloom from view.
I love to cut the lovely pastel pink and white blooms to bring in the house.
Like all gingers, these need rich moist soil and lots of shade, more than the Butterfly Ginger. They are also spectacular in a large pot under a porch or tree. They need lots of water and their leaves will fry quickly if they do not receive enough.
These lilies multiply very fast, like all other gingers, and soon you will have enough to spread and share.
Gingers are old pass-along plants shared by generations of southerners. When you get ready to plant gingers, dig a wide but fairly shallow hole and incorporate lots of compost, manure, or humus of any kind. They need to be well drained but moist. I keep mine well mulched as do we in all the gardens.
You can find these and other gingers, grasses, perennials, and of course lots and lots of bulbs at the Smith County Master Gardener upcoming bulb sale Oct. 13 in Harvey Convention Center We are calling the sale “Bulbs and More” this year since we have decided to share our plants with you.
Dee Bishop is a Smith County Master Gardener. She writes about plants in the Tyler Rose Garden.
The leaves of this beauty are enough in themselves, very tropical and handsome. This is a species of tropical gingers that we can grow in our gardens here in the South. There are many different sizes and colors. Hidden Ginger’s blooms are hidden, but once you learn to look for them, you can trim back a leaf or two that may be hiding the bloom from view.
I love to cut the lovely pastel pink and white blooms to bring in the house.
Like all gingers, these need rich moist soil and lots of shade, more than the Butterfly Ginger. They are also spectacular in a large pot under a porch or tree. They need lots of water and their leaves will fry quickly if they do not receive enough.
These lilies multiply very fast, like all other gingers, and soon you will have enough to spread and share.
Gingers are old pass-along plants shared by generations of southerners. When you get ready to plant gingers, dig a wide but fairly shallow hole and incorporate lots of compost, manure, or humus of any kind. They need to be well drained but moist. I keep mine well mulched as do we in all the gardens.
You can find these and other gingers, grasses, perennials, and of course lots and lots of bulbs at the Smith County Master Gardener upcoming bulb sale Oct. 13 in Harvey Convention Center We are calling the sale “Bulbs and More” this year since we have decided to share our plants with you.
Dee Bishop is a Smith County Master Gardener. She writes about plants in the Tyler Rose Garden.
