Hedychium Spicatum

This absolute smasher is probably the hardiest and most reliable of the ginger family, and is ideal for giving a tropical appearance to a UK garden, as unlike so many others in the genus, it flowers quite reliably, very valuably and very late, before the onset of winter, in September. Its delicate, and sweetly-scented, creamy-white to pale yellow flowers have a coral apricot-pink colouring towards the base, and are held high on the flower spike, about 3-4 feet above ground level. It makes seed readily, and when ripe the bright green seed capsules burst open to reveal attractive orange linings with bright red arils. It prefers a deep planting and a good winter mulch and in the wild has a wide geographic range across the Himalayan region, from Uttarakhand in Northern India, through Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, and on into Myanmar and China. In India they burn the dried rhizomes as incense, and the powdered rhizome is used for perfuming chewing tobacco. It is also used in love spells and for inducing feelings of goodwill, whilst an oil derived from the rhizomes is used in perfumery. Oh, and it also allegedly has antibiotic properties.............