I have done some checking in HARDY GINGERS by Branney (a reference source) and have also searched the internet. I don't believe gigantum or giganteum has ever been a recognized species. I wonder if someone couldn't read a label and it is really gardnerianum? Just a guess.

Anyway, unless it's an epiphytic species (unlikely), it should need care pretty comparable to most other hedychiums.

I'm an indoor/greenhouse gardener in Indiana, so I'm not the best one to ask. My hedychiums are outside in the summer in full sun (in pots) until noon and then filtered shade. They love water as long as they are never soggy or waterlogged. If they are dry (low humidity/dry roots/too much sun), the leaves curl and the surface becomes more matte (less glossy). I have grown one large pot of Anne Bishop in full sun all day and as long as it never dried out, it did great. all the stalks bloomed at 4' instead of 6', so I'd really like to try that again.

I guess I'd ask how 'happy' your plant looks? Are the leaves curled under and lighter than usual? It may be too much sun or a bit dry at the roots, especially if they are competing with a groundcover. Does it have any new shoots at the base? Are new leaves forming at the top of existing shoots?

This forum hasn't been very active lately. I'd hope some warm-climate gardener would chime in with more help than I can give.

All the best.....hope you can figure out how to make your plants happy. Bob

Hi Bob
Thanks for the info.
The plant looked really healthy all summer, but is now starting to look a bit 'off' as the temps are starting to get a bit low, with a couple of light frosts the last few days.
Here is a pic of the label on the rhizomes and I have included a link to a site that carries the most info on this name

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Thanks for the picture of the package...they have definitely screwed up the name...you have Hedychium gardnerianum, the Kahili ginger. The blooms are said to resemble the feather-covered staffs carried before the Hawaiian king. Unfortunately, it has turned out to reproduce quickly from seed and is now a terribly invasive plant in Hawaii, quickly covering the ground with rhizomes that smother out any competition. Groups of concerned citizens get together to try and kill huge swaths of it.

However, not so here in Indiana. I can't grow it in the ground, but I have a smaller form, H. gardnerianum compactum and a larger form, H. garderianum 'Monster Kahili'. Interestingly enough, some of the fast 'monsters' are the best for me in pots because they grow quickly enough to bloom for me in our short, but tropical, summers. In fact, my 'Monster Kahili' has two stalks with bracts on them, but compactum is taking its own sweet time growing much at all.

I'm quite certain that 'gardnerianum' is what you have...two characteristics set it apart. Most of the bracts open blooms at the same time, making it look like a pompom (many hedychiums open several blooms up and down the stem at different times), and it has red stamens. Many other yellows are more concolorous.

As far as care, it takes average care as far my plants have demonstrated....I don't know how cold you get in the winter, but if you get frost, it will die to the ground. I'd cut it back and mulch it. If it's in half-day sun, as you said, and you give it sufficient water, it should shoot out of the ground next spring. If this was its first year, hedychiums don't really like being dug up and stored like dahlias. They especially dislike being dried out in a plastic bag in a store. That explains your slow start this year. However, you did get growth, so it now has roots and has plumped up. I bet it will do great next year.

If you look for images of this one by name on the internet, there are many forms and hybrids from it. Some are more narrow-petaled, some shorter, some more orange or paler yellow, etc., so don't expect them all to look exactly like yours.

Gardnerianum is one of my favorites...it's the first ginger I ever owned and I bloomed it in a large pot, which was actually a kitchen wastebasket. It's very fragrant and I hope it performs well for you.

Bob

Thanks, Bob

Very much appreciate all the input.

Here I get temps of 40+C in summer and down to -8C a few mornings most winters, though this winter is, so far very mild with only 0C so far :-)

Looking forward to see what it does in the not too distant future.

Hey Bob.
I hope you see this.
Well the 2 rhizomes are doing well. So far I have had 5 blooming stalks and another 2 on the way.
I not too sure as to it being Hedychium gardnerianum for 2 reasons. The flowers open progressively from the bottom, with the lower blooms gone over before the top ones open and they are cream with a touch of pale yellow. See attached pics

Here is a closer look at the blooms

Fof,

Hey there...I probably would never have seen this post since this forum isn't active enough to get checked very often, but Houzz sent me an email with a 'heads up'. Anyway, I am NOT an expert, just a collector, but I agree with you that your plant doesn't look like a gardnerianum. I think the individual flowers are larger and paler, and as you say, it is opening up from the bottom up in a more gradual manner. I would say it doesn't match what's on the package, but that's not always uncommon when you buy prepackaged plants. It's really common in daylilies here in the states...you see a package and a pretty picture with a name and the plant blooms in a totally different color.

Anyway, it looks like a beautiful ginger, and congratulations on blooming it. It has a great contrast of the stamen to the paler petals. I have a couple unlabeled ones myself, but I like them anyway. There are so many hedychium hybrids around they're hard to ID.

Looking forward to spring here after a long and snowy winter. All the best...

Bob

Bob
I really was just taking a shot in the dark, by doing the follow up post. Glad you saw it, though. My main reason for posting was just to let you know how they were going.
For now they will just be catalogued as Hedychium hybrids.
Their scent is very delicate, not at all like I was expecting. All in all a good buy.
Thanks.