Do you grow ginger lilies? 💚💚💚
When I moved to NC 18 years ago I worked as an estate gardener at a 100 acre paradise, Montrose Gardens in Hillsborough, NC. This is where I and had my first encounter with the amazing Hedychium coronarium. The heavy fragrance was instantly put into my scent memory to mark the start of September.
The white ginger “lily” is a perennial here in zone 7 central North Carolina. It is not actually a lily, as it is in the Zingiberaceae or ginger family. Native to the Eastern Himalayas region, Hedychium grow well as an understory plant, thriving in part sun, though you can site in full sun if you irrigate through dry times ☀️
Ginger lilies bloom as the day length decreases, starting in August. This phenomenon is called Photoperiodism, which is the physiological reaction to the length of a dark period. For me, this results in feeling depressed or sluggish, because I prefer life in long days. When July 4th rounds the calendar I am already aware of the waning light and wish I could rewind back to May to re-live the increasing day length.
Photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses of plants to the relative lengths of light and dark periods. They are classified under three groups according to the photoperiods: short-day plants, long-day plants, and day-neutral plants. Turns out all of my favorite cool season grains are “long day plants”, which may explain my deep connection to them.
Many of our common fall harvested veggies, like peppers, and floriculture crops fall into the category of short-day plants. Mums and Poinsettias both require dark to initiate blooms. Twenty years ago when I was an intern at a large bedding annual grower in Indiana I had the task of pulling black plastic over all the mum crops through the summer. This was to ensure the plants would bloom on time, for early fall sales.
In contrast, cucumbers, roses and tomatoes are day neutral, meaning they initiate flowers after attaining a certain developmental stage or in response to an environmental stimuli, like a period of cool followed by warm temperatures, known as vernalization.
More about Ginger Lilies
Traditionally, ginger lilies have been considered “pass-along” plants, because they grow rapidly, developing a thick, rhizomatous root system that can divided and shared. They are generally considered winter hardy in USDA zones 7-9, though I have seen some zone benders in the mid-Atlantic defy the odds by growing these with extra protection.
It is generally recommended that if you live north of Zone 8, like me, that you plant these between April and August to ensure they are well established by the time cold temperatures arrive. do not plant hardy ginger plants after late August for best winter survivability. When you have a hard frost, the tall stalks will melt to the ground. You can cut the stalk off or leave them, but I’ve found these winter dormant plants benefit from a light covering of mulch of ground leaves for extra protection from the cold.
It’s a wonderful, long-lasting cut flower that will provide delicious fragrance in your home, but shake the stems well to knock off the ants that help pollinate the blooms.
There are a lot of different varieties that grow well in zones 7-9. From different colored blooms to variegated foliage there is a ginger lily for you! But my all-time favorite is the straight species Hedychium coronarium because it’s the first one I ever saw and smelled 💚
A reversion of the variegated foliage selection ‘Dr. Moi’, this orange flowering ginger lily does not have as much fragrance compared to the straight species.
The famous mail-order nursery Plant Delights has one of the bests elections of ginger lilies in the world! Check out this in depth article on Hedychium as well as articles on the other ginger plants such as Zingiber and Curcuma, both great additions to your home garden!
Order a few or visit during one of the upcoming fall open houses!
Friday, September 18, 8 am - 5 pm
Saturday, September 19, 8 am - 5 pm
Sunday, September 20, 1 pm - 5 pm
Friday, September 25, 8 am - 5 pm
Saturday, September 26, 8 am - 5 pm
Sunday, September 27, 1 pm - 5 pm