Saturday, October 9, 2010
Zingiber zerumbet - variegated form ~ the shampoo ginger
Giddy is the only word gardeners in South Texas feel after this string of gorgeous, COOLER days. One could wear themselves out quickly if not careful. Right now a lot of my gingers are winding down, especially the Curcumas or Hidden Gingers. Just the faintest hint of coolness and they turn yellow and go to sleep. But not this ginger. It's in a different family ~ the genus Zingiber. This is one of my very favorites since it does not balk at low humidity like many of the curcumas. It's called shampoo ginger since the liquid inside is used as shampoo in many tropical regions. I've actually tried this and it's quite nice and very mild. It's Latin name is Zingiber zerumbet 'Darcyi'. It grows slowly as do many of the variegated cultivars. Happy Gardening!
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I've not seen a variegated one before. It looks lovely. And I absolutely agree about the cooler weather; it reached South Fla, too. Hooray!
ReplyDeleteI would never have recognized this as a ginger. Have you grown culinary ginger. I tried but although it sprouted it died a slow death. Unlike the lemon grass!!!! Beware of that.
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting reading here about new plants I didn't know excisted.
ReplyDeleteha a nice week!
Hi my name is robert and i live in sub tropical queensland australia,about 100 miles from the capital brisbane. I currently have 7 plants of zingiber growing and one that is almost finished flowering. I have 4 other varieties of ginger growing one that is related to tumeric and one native to australia, but zingiber is one of my favorites for its unusual flower and contrasting foliage in my tropical garden.
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