Cool!

It would be nice if that second skirt came out!

she is awesome Clare

I like the higher inner skirt myself, Clare. I have one totally stuffed that I adore! I am always telling Tom to plant them and then I tell Tom to dig them out when it grows big enough so it is tough to do. LOL Not on purpose. And when he quit in the spring, I dug into his main water line twice in a weeks time and cost him $1000. He unquit. LOL!!

Jackie, I too was slow on that uptake. LOL now!!

Waving to Delecie. Long time no see. I hope you and yours are doing just great!

Oh Marie, that is such a nice gesture to do for your Mom and for your Dad.. Whenever I look at my Mr. Lincoln blooms, I will think of your Dad. We have missed you too!

Sofi that is a great link.

Well Clare, your threads are always such fun. I wish you would come visit us more over here on the Brug Forum. I have been seeing your name on the Ginger Forum lately on my home page. One of these days I am going to drop over there to visit with you. Though maybe not, I could be teetering on the ginger could be so interesting to grow phase. You already have me with plumerias all over. LOL

I well remember your water line booboo, Kell. Been there, done that, I'm Tom, hubby is Kell. One day I left hubby with baby Mimosa, 8 month Golden girl, and told him, if you let her out (huge fenced back yard), you MUST be with her, and he agreed, but of course let her out alone - Mimosa chewed the TV cable into, three times, during THE big game, whew. I got back for the third chewing and told them to put the bleeping cable under ground. Cost a pretty penny, but it worked.

Clare, I have a butterfly ginger, I put out mid-late summer, it didn't bloom - will it ever and does it die back in the winter??? We've had a couple of freezes but it seems to have liked it...thanks!!

This message was edited Nov 22, 2006 9:08 PM

Thanks, Donna!

Kell, that is too funny about Tom being your dig-up man. If hubby thought I was a danger to something of his, he'd probably be my dig-up man too! Ha! I have broken the vacuum a couple of times, when I used it, so he is the vacuum guy now most of the time! LOL! I really should come here more because everyone is just sweet as can be. I did post a couple of pics of mine over at the Ginger Forum. Here's a link: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/663771/ I do like the fragrant Hedychiums the best. The other gingers don't really do anything for me. I'm in it just for the fragrance! If you want some ginger rhizomes, I'm happy to dig some up for you, Kell. Just say the word.

Hi Sherry, can you put your Butterfly gingers out in the very early spring next year? I think they will bloom for you next year in the fall if you put them out after your last frost date has passed in the spring. This was my second year of growing them. After growing them from rhizomes for one year, they did absolutely nothing. Then after growing them for two years, they bloomed wonderfully. I think it just takes time for them to grow and flower from the initial planting. I don't know about growing them in your zone. I think most people, who live in zones that freeze, dig up the rhizomes and store them for winter and replant them in the spring. I read that one expert stores them in buckets and sinks them in the spring and pulls them up in the fall. He is a member of Dave's, and he also has a great web site if you are interested: http://www.gingersrus.com/ I think he has a section on overwintering there.

Please tell me how you keep the gingers from falling over? Do you cut them back each year, use stakes or some other magical devise? Mine bloom each year but they are not pretty and straight. All help appreciated. Elaine

Thanks, Clare!!! My butterfly ginger has been through a 28 degree freeze and another 31 freeze, with zero problems. My bananas didn't do so well, fooey! I will check your pal's site and his zone. My zone is sooooo odd, I guess, high highs, low lows. I dunno, maybe lotz like that. I appreciate your post, thanks!!! My butterfly didn't go into the ground until LATE and it was itty bitty and it's three or four times as large now, hubby says more than that...

Hi Elaine, see the green fence in front of the gingers in the picture? That is a tomato cage, placed there to keep the stalks from falling over. They are also tied together with green plastic nursery tape, and there are bamboo stakes in the back. Last year, I left them, and since it doesn't freeze here, they stayed green all winter, but they did start to look ratty-looking by the spring. A few turned brown, and those got pruned off, and all the ratty ones got pruned off in the spring too. I did cut them to the ground after flowering this year, but I was told that I shouldn't do that because the rhizomes use the energy of the old stalks to help produce new ones. I'm going to need to get a few more tomato cages for next year.

Sherry, mine get big too. Most of them were 8-10 feet tall, and they reproduce quickly too. This link says Hedychium coronarium is hardy to Zone 8a so yours should be fine in the ground: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1297/index.html

Thank you for your response. Yes I see that yours are propped up. I will work on how to handle mine in the future. They do have a lovely smell and they are in a wet area of the yard. I was going to move them but I'll just find a way to make them more attractive so the smell stays close to the deck. Have a Happy Thankgiving. Elaine

Beautiful Clare! I have never seen Joli before. What color is it really. It is hard to tell.

Orange, Tangerine, Peach. So many colors, or so it looks to me.

Thanks, Elaine! Happy Thanksgiving to you also! Yeah, I'm going to have to work on that issue too. I think maybe more stakes will be needed next year. They sure do like to flop! The fragrance, though, does make them worth all the trouble.

Thanks, pphil! You know, that's a good question. It's hard to tell for me too. It's supposed to be red, but it is more of a dark pink in person -- at least here in my climate. The pink brugs in general tend to be very light here. My darkest pink used to be Cupid's Blush, which I don't have anymore. Right now, Pink Beauty and Ecuador Pink are fairly light, and this one is now my darkest pink. I suppose one could say it is a light red. This is its first blooming, and it is starting to get colder now. It will be interesting to see what it blooms like in a different season.

Clare, do you have Ginger Lily Dr. Moy??? Mine just hasn't done anything and I don't understand why. Do they die back in the winter?? I moved them once, thinking they got too much sun, they burned a little, then I put them in lotz of shade and they are just sitting. We had a very dry summer but I watered. Is this ginger similar to butterfly in what it wants/needs, to grow?? Thanks!!

Jackie, Oh that was so cruel. Just now getting back and my face turned red as I
thought I had dbl posted. LOL. Not nice to do that to an old lady. LOLOL

Jackie

Hi Sherry, I don't have Dr. Moy, but here is some information about it: http://www.gingersrus.com/DataSheet.php?PID=4030 It says that it is hardy to Zone 7, and I assume that it must die back when you get freezes; yes? I do think that they love lots of water. Did you fertilizer fairly regularly? I'm not an expert on gingers at all and have only grown them for two years now, but I did treat my Butterfly ginger and the other cultivars the same. Mine got full sun where they are planted and lots of water. I did fertilize a couple of times a month from spring to fall.

Hi Kell! Me and mine are doing great and I hope that you and yours are well also. I finished school in September so for now, I have more time for gardening and DG again. Yay!!!

It is so good to see you here again, Delecie! I finished the working part of my life in April so I have time for everything. LOL. Yet I get nothing done. LOL

Oh Clare, I can't grow hedychiums here. They just take over and do it fast. Those and cannas love it here too much. I have to admit, I am very close to buying some of the odder ones on eBay. Last year I bought torch gingers but they just died suddenly. I swore that was it for I spent a fortune. I bet you could grow them where you are. They hated indoors. I guess they need air flow.

I just found this hedychium. I want it for a variegated combo pot I am going to put together for next year. Anything highly variegated calls me by my first name.

Gosh, Kell, I can see why you like that so much. It is gorgeous! Where did you find it? Ouch, sorry about your torch gingers. I know how it is to spend a fortune on a plant only to have it drop dead. Been there; done that! You are a lucky, lucky woman to have that part of your life done. I should be done, but somehow, I'm not. I still have another 10-15 years left in the working world! It really interferes with my gardening hobby! LOL!

It was a sport that a nursery here sells. It had some weird brown on it which worried me so I waited to get one till I could get it IDed but no one knows what it is. If it is not looking worse, I am going to get it and I will share with you. I only want 1 piece of it. I wonder what the flowers look like. I was so excited I forgot to ask. LOL They also had a phormium I need and forgot to buy. And a weird sansevieria I wanted to buy but my friends talked me out of.

Also I need another neat variegated plant in a gallon can (a Hebe) for my combo pot that didn't register as a must have till I was reviewing my pictures. And then I thought what was I thinking not getting that. LOL. So I am going back to check what is left. I was waiting for my partner in crime, Lali to go but I may just go tomorrow.

I tell you I should have retired 5 years ago but to be honest I had cut way down on how much I worked. I was only going in part days and at the end an hour a day. One day I woke up and said to my DH I am retiring and he said about time. So I did. I am hoping he retires early too. I am telling him to sell when he gets to be 60 but he owns his own firm and it will be hard to let go of his baby.

This is the Hebe I walked away from. It was just $7 or $8 dollars. My variegated combo pot is going to make you want glasses. LOL

Thanks, Clare!! Shoot, I first put Dr. Moy in an area where it was sunburned. However, I have butterfly ginger there, who did well, is big, but did not bloom. I moved Dr. Moy to a shady area, there it 'laid down', following the sun, so I guess I should stake it. Nope, I bet I didn't fert enough, but because we had a heat storm, followed by a severe drought, but I DID water, thinking that fertilizer would further stress the plants. I guess I'll move them again, back over to the area where butterfly is. I dunno. Sometimes the further I go, the more difficult it is, ya know??!!

Kell,

Which Sansevieria? I have two kinds and can send you some if you want. I would love a piece of that variegated ginger if you have any to spare. I would make room for that! LOL! The variegated ones have my first name too. I bet the flowers are white like Butterfly ginger, but that is only a guess. If you can't find your Hebe, I have a variegated Hebe that roots easily from cuttings so I can root you cuttings. Just send me a dmail and let me know. Hubby wants to retire in two years. He's been a police officer for 26 years now and can retire at 53, but he'll probably work part time in something else like coaching football or teaching. I'm in training now for a second career and dreaming of the day when I can retire. Can't wait to see the variegated combo pot! Hurry and get it done in time for the photo contest:-)

Sherry, I would leave it where it is now. Since it is variegated, it probably shouldn't be in full sun. I bet that, if you water and fertilize regularly from spring to fall, you will have flowers in the fall.

Kell, look closely at what is in front of the gingers. Can you see what that is?

Here's a close-up. I had it growing in a container for a while, then I planted all my Hebe's in front of the gingers.

I think the one you took a picture of is actually prettier as it has more white in it.

Clare, what is that beautiful plant? Will it grow in z8b. It is awesome. The variegation on it with the purple flowers is very delicate looking. Do you know who sells it?

Beautiful pictures, Clare. I love the bloom on Joli and the variegated Hebe.

Thanks, Elaine! That is a Hebe: http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=hebe&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search I think most Hebe's are hardy to Zone 8a. I got my variegated one at a local nursery, and I got my other one at Logee's. Here's a good link: http://www.hebesoc.vispa.com/index.html

Thanks, Ada!

Clare, I love your purple variegated Hebe, really pretty, much prettier than the ones on the nursery site...what is the purple one named???

Thanks, Sherry! I think it is 'Franciscana Variegata.' I think Kell's is the prettiest one of all because it has so much white in the leaves. Go back and get that one, Kell! LOL!

LOL Clare, Hebes have a society and are from New Zealand!! How exciting. We get so many of our fun plants now from New Zealand. I bet New Zealand is such a cool place to visit.

Your variegated hebe is lovely. I have no room for another. I will plant that 1 gallon in a 25 gallon ceremic pot with other plants and when it gets too big, out it will go. So sad I am officially over planted in this yard.

My variegated one is called Hebe speciosa 'Variegata'. Shoot, I can't go today, my DH wants to got to San Francisco for lunch. He wants dungeness crab and I am not going to argue. LOL I would make him drop by the nursery on the way but he would rather die.

I remember I sent Susie a bright PINK one a few years ago, Hebe Paula. She had never seen one before. I was thrilled I had found her something unique and different.

Wow Clare, your gingers look great! Thanks for the Hebe links, I learned something new today, what a cool and beautiful plant.

Sorry Jackie (Patootie,) my face is red now, lol.
Hey, us old lady Jackies have to stick together. :)

Gosh, Kell, that Hebe is outstanding. I think you should be able to keep your Hebe in your planter for at least three years if not longer. It responds well to pruning so that is good. You and I are in the same boat: our huge love for plants does not match the size of our yards. Well, how lucky are you that your hubby wants to take you to lunch! I'd say that is better than going to the nursery alone:-)

Thanks, Jackie! You guys should be proud of your lovely names. I've always liked the name Jackie. I like Hebes too. They are pretty, easy to take care of, and they don't try to take over the yard. The only down side to them that I can see is that the flowers turn brown and hang on after they are finished, and you have to cut them off to keep the plant looking nice.

Thanks Clare for the compliment! I am used to Jackie, but when I hear "Jacqueline," I always think I'm in trouble, lol, especially when dh says it.
OK, my eyes are starting to hurt from researching these gingers and these hebes. Kell, I hope that you made it back to get that one in the photo, there is quite a "wow" factor there.
I can relate to everybody with plant lust and space issues. I have a city lot, and zone issues to boot. I am right now wondering if I could overwinter a hebe as a houseplant, lol.

Thanx Clare. I've always enjoyed being a Jackie.
Still don't see it very often.
Love the Hebe.

You're so right Jackie (Hellobebe :)

Jackie

LOL, Jackie's! Jackie1, I bet you could overwinter it as a houseplant! Jackie2, thank you!

Ada, went to that site and they are beautiful. Made a list of all that I would like to have. Love DG but it can get expensive lol. I will try one of the hebe soon. Hope all had a great Thanksgiving. Elaine

I agree Elaine. Dave's makes it so expensive. I flit from forum to forum wanting way too much but enjoying it all so much.

LOL, which Jackie is Hellobebe? LOL. Jackie, I did go back late yesterday. I got the ginger and 2 weird sanseveria. He still had the same type hebe but it was not as variegated. I was so sad I blew it.

Kell, that one is still gorgeous. It looks like it could be the same as mine.

I know yours and they are not the same cultivar. You know now I will be going back there regularly looking for it again. LOL. Added to my long list of the plants that got away. LOL

He had some real yellow sanseveria Clare that were too cool but not for sale. They are so trouble free and you do not have to water them much. My kind of plant. LOL

Don't you hate it when you fall in love with a plant that is not for sale?? Happens to me frequently, makes me not want to buy anything, then later I cannot remember what the plant was....

A plant has to be really special for me to take it home or want it these days -- like that variegated ginger you found, Kell. Another plant just looks like work to me! I was grateful for the first rain today about six months. It should get me out of watering for a couple of days!