There's no blue quite like it. Photo - Linda Ross
Blue ginger (Dichorisandra thyrsiflora)
Description: this exotic Brazilian native is not a true ginger but has striped ginger-like stems and lapis lazuli blue flower
spires. The glossy, dark-green leaves have purplish undersides. The flowers are borne in compact spires from February through autumn.
Size: this perennial can grow to 2.4 metres tall by 1 metre wide in a clumping form with branched cane-like stems and short, rhizomatous
roots.
Cultivation: blue ginger will withstand light frost, and does well in Sydney and areas north. It likes rich soil in semi-shade, but will
tolerate full sun and dry weather.
Special comments: blue ginger looks best when accompanied by other subtropical plants such as bamboo, hibiscus, stephanotis and frangipani,
though it also does a fine job of bordering a narrow ‘driveway garden’.
Blue ginger really works under trees, shrubs and palms. Photo - Linda Ross
Text: Linda Ross