Common Name: white garland-lily
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Zingiberaceae
Native Range: India, Himalaya to Java
Zone: 8 to 10
Height: 3.00 to 6.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Culture
Winter hardy to USDA Zones 8-10. Best grown in organically rich, medium to wet, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Likes hot and humid summers and consistently moist soils. In St. Louis, plant rhizomes in the ground in spring after last frost date. Lift rhizomes in fall and store for winter in slightly moist vermiculite or peat in a cool, dry location. Also may be grown in containers or tubs which should be overwintered indoors in a cool, dry, frost-free location. Containers are best overwintered in greenhouses if available. Containers may be sunk into the ground at the periphery of a water garden or pond.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Hedychium coronarium, commonly called white ginger lily or garland flower, is perhaps native to the Himalayas but it has been widely cultivated in tropical Asia. It is a rhizomatous tender perennial that may grow to 10’ tall in its native habitat, but more typically grows 3-6’ tall. Features large, lance-shaped, medium green leaves (to 24” long x 5” wide). Fragrant white flowers in dense elliptical racemes (4-8” long) in late summer to early fall. Individual flowers purportedly resemble butterflies, hence the sometimes used common name of butterfly ginger for this species.
Genus name comes from the Greek words hedys meaning sweet and chion meaning snow. The flower of one species is white and fragrant.
Specific epithet means pertaining to garlands.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for scale, red spider mites, aphids and root rot. For more information see: Problems Common to Many Indoor Plants
Uses
Borders. Container plants.