This is year #3 that I've had my white butterfly ginger IN the ground. Each year I get all kinds of nice green growth....but sadly NO blooms. I keep hearing conflicting advice re the lighting they need. What has ya'lls experience been?
Many thanks!!!
Butterfly Ginger - sun, shade.....help please!
Most Hed. / butterfly Gingers like 3 to 4 hours of sun a day. Then again some of my Whites only get filtered sunlight and still bloom.
Moist feet and afternoon shade. Mine are planted next to my natural pond and bloom like crazy.
Thanks for the responses...I think I'll relocate them a bit.
And they are heavy feeders too.
I have actually grown hedychiums IN the pond, in full sun, and gotten plants in excess if 8 ft in height that bloomed so heavily they bent over like pendulous plants. The more water they have, the more sun they can tolerate. Its a directly proportional relationship. They also like weekly fertilizer.
Sigh... okay I'm going against the grain with the more sun the better. I have several hedys in 8 hrs of full afternoon sun without the pond, without the shade. The more shade for me, the less blooms. I hope I finally coax blooms out of Gahili, Dave Case, and Gold Flame this yr, they have morning sun but too much shade in the afternoon. I water deeply at least once a week, occasionally fertilize, okay sometimes never fertilize.
So Chantell, experiment!
Pic is of a clump of angustifolium 'Peach' on the western side of my house.
I actually agree with you. The more sun, the better. But you have to have adequate water as well.
The hedychiums I have grown in the pond were an experiment. All my others are planted in ground just like all my other plants. I do water regularly though. Hedychiums are very drought resistant gingers. They will tolerate a wide range of conditions. But they really LIKE water and some respite from the non-stop blistering sun and 95 degree heat that we have here all summer.
I moved my Dave Case to get 6 hours of sun a day and he paid off. I do love his rich color.
Well I relocated mine to an area w/plenty of sun but her roots will have protection...God knows we've been blessed with more then enough rain and I've fertilized...so time will tell...
I wanted to thank everyone for their comments, just got on here because I have not been getting any blooms this summer, I will try moving it out into more sun.
Those that fertilize what do you fertilize with?
miracle grow
Dynamite and fish emulsion
Well composted soil, no fertilizer.
I actually hate to use Miracle Grow, but, our soil is just sand. I don't put the fertilizer into the soil, I do foliar feeding. SO the water soluble works best for me. On containerized plants I use Nutricote.
thank you everyone.