Dormant rhizomes begin shipping March 27 please add comment if you need a later shipping time.
This is one of my all time favorite gingers and a must for southern gardens. Known as the ‘Crepe Ginger’ for its crepe paper like white flowers. It is also the subject of taxonomical controversy. It was known as Costus speciosus for many years, but genetic research proved it and a few other Asian species to belong to a separate genus. It was then called Cheilocostus speciosus. This new genus came into question as some found an earlier published name that should have been used…but they too ignored a better choice. The name was changed to Hellenia speciosa but this is being challenged. For simplicity we will keep calling it Cheilocostus until this is resolved. No matter what it is still the Crepe Ginger and an awesome plant!
The natural habit for this species covers a huge area and several countries! From India to Australia!! Now given that spread the plants from different regions behave differently. Some are deciduous and some evergreen. What we offer is an extremely hardy deciduous type that has been grown in the south for decades. This variety grows to 6 feet and begins blooming in late June but puts on a show until the first frost. What begins as a red bud continues to bloom and grow for months ending up as a very long red cone. Even when the white flowers are gone the red cone provides interest as its seeds are maturing. It is a good cut flower substitute for the tropical (and not hardy) ‘Red Ginger’ Alpinia purpurata. This species is not demanding, growing well from bright shade to full sun. We offer a dwarf version known as ‘Tetraploid’ and also will be releasing another short variety in the near future.
Grows 6 feet + in bright shade to full sun. Hardy in Zone 8 and above