Hedychium coronariumWhite Ginger Lily

The scent arrives before the plant does with Hedychium coronarium, the White Ginger Lily. Erect canes of long bright green leaves carry terminal heads of pure white butterfly-shaped flowers whose fragrance carries across a courtyard on a still evening.

It is planted in fragrant borders, along water feature margins and as understorey mass in shaded beds, and it is cut for the vase as often as it is left standing.

Specifications

• Height1.5 to 2.5 metres
• Width1 to 1.5 metres, spreading from the rhizome
• Native toThe eastern Himalaya and southern China
• FoliageLong, lance-shaped bright green leaves on erect canes; evergreen in warm climates and dying back where frosted
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers rich, moist soils and tolerates boggy ground and pond margins
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterHigh; keep consistently moist
• ClimateThrives in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions

Additional Features

• FlowersIntensely fragrant pure white butterfly-shaped flowers in terminal heads, summer into autumn
• UsesIdeal for fragrant borders, water feature margins, shaded understorey mass planting and cut flower
• SpacingPlant 0.6 to 0.8 metres apart for a continuous mass
• Low MaintenanceCut spent canes to the ground; lift and divide when the clump congests
• Pest ResistanceGenerally robust where moisture is reliable
• Seasonal AppealA long summer and autumn flowering season carried on fresh green foliage

The White Ginger Lily earns its place on fragrance alone, and it fills a damp shaded bed faster than anything woody.