Anyone recognize this ginger?
ID Please
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Well, it is a Hedychium but that is as far as we can go until you get some booms and even then it may be hard to name.
Kenboy is right..lol..
Thanks, I hope that it blooms this spring.
Not likely, they will probably bloom this Summer or this Fall. Feed well and don't let it dry out to much. I would plant them out if you have a spot that gets a few hours of sun per day and has good soil. Some plants bloom better if they are root bound but not Gingers.
Kenboy, thanks very much for your help, I finally talked to the person that gave it to me and he thought that it was a Shampoo Ginger (Zingiber zermbet) Awapuhi Kuahiwi.
I will take your advice and plant it out in a sunny location, then hope that I get a bloom this summer.
Hi Prita, Yes the stems in the picture are a Zingiber, & Shampoo ginger likes the shade, the leaves will yellow in the hot summer sun. Mine is starting to bloom now, it is in shade all day & looks beautiful & Big ! It is a fast spreader !
Gingergrower, thanks, I appreciate your help. I do have lots of shade.
Just a little info on why it is called 'Shampoo Ginger'.
The leaves and inflorescences of the pinecone ginger arise from a thick knobby rhizome that grows just under the surface of the soil. The leaflets are arranged alternately along an arching pseudostem that grows one to two meters (3 to 7 feet) in length.
The inflorescence is borne on a separate pseudostem from the leaves. It is a spike; bracts subtend the position of each of the flowers giving the inflorescence its pinecone shape. The inflorescence is green until flowering. The pale yellow or white flowers emerge from the lowest bracts first, when the flower is spent, it dries and falls away. After flowering, the bracts change color. The color change continues upward until the entire inflorescence is bright crimson.
The bracts serve as natural reservoir for a clear soapy liquid exuded by the inflorescence. This 'shampoo' was used by Polynesians when bathing, both for the hair and skin. It is the ginger additive in several modern herbal shampoos. To use the liquid fresh from the plant, the 'shampoo' is obtained by gently rolling the inflorescence between the palms of the hands.
Interesting GingerGrower!
I freeze my bracts so I can use them. I put mine in a micro netting pouch frozen,then let them thaw out, and then use them..The net keeps the inside stuff off me..lol..I have found little critters inside the bracts..
I have one customers that squeezes hers into ice cube trays to freeze, then just pops out an ice cube to thaw when she wants to use it !
Another customer that uses it on the Dry Skin on his arms, said it works better than anything the Doctor has given him !
Gingers works wonders!!...lol...
Hi Prita, Sorry, I told you wrong, I was just looking at your picture from July 25th. That is not zearumbet, That is Zingiber corallinum .
It likes shade, & Likes To Be Dry !
GingerGrower, I did a quick google search for Zingiber corallinum but did not find much info. I will keep it in the shade and on the dry side as advised, so far it seems to be thriving!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I need all he help that I can get.
Don't we all prita, I first identified it as a Hedychium. I glad there is someone here with more knowledge than I.
Kenboy, the best gardening advice I ever got, came from you!! It was regarding gypsum.
Prita,
Does your plant have very upright stems? Did the inflorescene turn solid brown then much later turn to a duller brick red? If so it's most likely Zingiber montanum (often sold as Z cassumunar or Z purpureum). It takes full sun well and can grow to 8 feet easily. The leaves are long and narrow. The chocolate colored inflorescence is pretty distinctive too.
Tim Chapman