Hedychium coccineum

Hedychium coccineum, Scarlet Gingerlily, is a robust tall-growing hardy Ginger from the Himalayas and Yunnan. It has narrow upwardly-pointing lanceolate foliage and produces startlingly beautiful flowers in late summer. Intricate, exquisite, gorgeous and showy: the orange-red blooms have delicate stamens with long pinkish filaments and bright orange anthers. These long stamens give rise to another of its common names, the Bottlebrush Ginger.

Like all Hedychiums is appreciates a warm sheltered position and a humus-rich soil with plenty of water and liquid feeding during the summer months. Most Hedychiums will take all the water and fertiliser you can throw at them and will always do better for it if you err on the generous side. It is more tolerant of strong sunlight than most Hedychium species but does better in shade or semi-shade, growing taller and more lush. 

In autumn it loses it leaves and watering should stop. It is root-hardy in most parts of the UK if given a thick mulch for winter protection. A generous amount of sand and gravel should be added to the moist humus-rich substrate when planting to ensure it gets adequate drainage around its roots during the winter.