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How to grow Blue Ginger

Blue Ginger


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

 

 

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About this article

Date: 03 March 2015 Author: Linda Ross

Categories Cloud

Bulbs, Tubers, Rhizomes, Clay soils, Flowers, Plants, Shade, Sub tropical, Tropical

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