Curcuma gingers offer us the crown jewels of the plant world

By Norman Winter

Tribune News Service

Names like Queen Lily and Emperor belong to an incredible group or genera of gingers called Curcuma, and they are among the most beautiful plants you can grow in the landscape. As the names suggest, they are indeed fit for royalty.

In addition to these, there are others that might best be described as the crown jewels. Jewel of Thailand, Jewel of Burma, and the newest one called Garnet are showing up in the marketplace with such exotic flair as to take your breath away. While Garnet may pay tribute to a semi-precious stone, I would say it is more like a fine ruby.

These are also among the easiest plants to grow as many are cold hardy to zones 7 and 8. You may be thinking what about zones 5 or 6? Incredibly these Curcuma gingers want to go dormant and do what might be considered a plant-hibernation during the winter. Just think all we have to do is stick them out of the way, in a frost-free-location.

When I introduce gardeners to gingers for the first time, I am usually inclined to direct them to the hidden ginger, Curcuma petiolata. The foliage and flower are usually enough to sink the proverbial hook and thus I have a new convert.

It has lush canna-like foliage and a bloom that would make you swear it originated in Tahiti. Also called Queen Lily, the bloom is a cluster of colorful pinkish-purple, waxy bracts with yellow flowers. There is also a wonderful variegated form to try called Emperor. These two curcumas are cold hardy to zone 7.

It’s the Jewel of Thailand however that is even more riveting as it produces its bloom higher than the foliage making it a great cut flower if you so choose. The flower is larger and though the bracts have similar colors the look appears even more vibrant.

It is cold hardy to zone 8 but in the world of botanical nomenclature, it is having some issues. This is really quite humorous as taxonomists want to give it a new species name the industry isn’t falling in line and you will still be buying it under the name, Curcuma cordata.

The Jewel of Burma is another that is absolutely stunning but its color is from the warm or hot side of the color wheel producing a tall bloom that is a rich and showy orange. So in other words, you would not grow these two jewels next to each other, but I promise you will want both.

Like the others, the foliage is similar in appearance to a canna-lily except with some crinkling or pleating. The Jewel of Burma will reach 2 to 3 feet tall and while I have always grown it in zone 8 others suggest it can survive zone 7.

The ginger that has gardeners talking is Garnet. Garnet is a hybrid that is somewhat shorter but mesmerizing with a bloom comprised of ruby or garnet red bracts and big showy yellow flowers. These and the other Curcuma blooms last a long time in the garden and will capture your visitor’s attention for weeks.

Gingers thrive in fertile organic-rich soil with morning sun and afternoon shade that is dappled, shifting or filtered. Moisture and fertilizer will keep them growing vigorously. They do like the soil to be well drained in the winter. Don’t forget they will be dormant in the winter so excess water will prove fatal.

If you buy container-grown plants set them in the ground at the same depth they are growing in the pot. If you buy rhizomes plant them about 4-inches deep. Feed in early spring with a slow-release 2-1-2 ratio fertilizer or 12-6-6 with minor nutrients and again in mid-summer.

Remove frost-bitten stalks in the fall and add a protective layer of mulch. In colder areas store containers indoors in a protected location or dig rhizomes, removing top foliage and storing in a cool dry environment in sawdust or peat until winter is over. Curcuma gingers are slow to emerge in the spring so be patient.

They look at home in a woodland setting with hostas, ferns, hydrangeas and the tropical looking fatsia.

While these gingers represent our best choice for the bold tropical look, know that one of their cousins, Curcuma longa, is the one you know as turmeric. Though they may be scarce at the garden center the mail order industry is alive and well. Ours are blooming now which is a good indication your favorite garden center just may have these or some as beautiful selection waiting for you to take them home.