Hedychium spicatum

In my opinion Hedychium spicatum is the one of the best Hedychiums to grow in the UK as - unlike so many others in the genus - it is relatively reliable to flower before the onset of winter. Whilst the foliage to all Hedychiums is pleasingly tropical it is somewhat tantalising to grow them all year without so much as catching sight of a bloom and in this regard the floriferous Hedychium spicatum ususally delivers, rewarding the ever-patient gardener in September. Its delicate and sweetly-scented creamish-white to pale yellow flowers have a coral apricot-pink colouring towards the base and are held aloft on the flowerspike about 3-4 feet from ground level.

A root-hardy herbaceous perennial in much of the British Isles and certainly helped in that respect by deep planting and a good winter mulch it has a wide geographic range across the Himalayan region from Uttarakhand in Northern India through Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and on into Myanmar and China.

Ideally planted facing South in a sunny or only slighty-shaded position, it likes a fertile, humus-rich moist soil with good drainage and regular feeding during the growing season.