(aka: Costus speciosus) Hellenia speciosa ‘Wizard of Oz’ is an amazingly winter hardy form of the typically warm tropical, southeast Asian native crepe ginger. This gem is a 2013 Ozzie Johnson collection from near Yan Ming, Vietnam at 3,900′ elevation. Emerging in mid-June (NC), the thick, fleshy green stalks, quickly rise to 6′ tall. The top of the stalks are wrapped with spirally-arranged, fleshy green leaves, and topped all summer with terminal, pine cone-like clusters of white flowers. If that’s not enough, Hellenia speciosa has a wide range of medicinal uses, including treating pleurisy, tonsilitis, swollen uvulas, diabetes, fevers, leprosy, headaches, as a muscle relaxant, and to treat snakebites, as well as cancer…whew! This plant is growing in an area with half day sun in the afternoon. Light shade also works, but the growth is slower. Hardiness Zone 7b-10b, at least.
It’s nice to see more hardy tropicals coming available.
Does Hellenia speciosa ‘Wizard of Oz’ make a “yellow brick road” and travel thru your garden, or is it a well-behaved plant that says “There’s no place like home”, staying put, slowly forming off-sets?
Another tropical I’ve just seen come back relatively well in zone 8a NC is the variegated shell ginger Alpinia zerumbet. After 1st frost I covered them in a thick layer of leaves (12+inches). With winter lowes in the mid-teens they died back to the ground but all came back in early spring. They are in part-shade with some morning sun and may do even better with more sun.
Any tips on maximizing winter hardiness and robust growth in marginal plants, tropical or otherwise in zone 8a would be appreciated.
Thanks
No. We wouldn’t grow it, if was aggressive, regardless of where it was native. We’re truly shocked that an incredibly aggressive plant like the native Pycnanathemum muticum is currently being widely promoted. Any plant that is aggressive to the point that it reduces biodiversity is not a good choice in most home gardens…in our humble opinion.
The Hellenia (costus) is a tight clump former. We have one clone of Alpinia zerumbet that has been winter hardy here in Zone 7b/8a. The last time we tried the variegated forms was the mid-1990s, and they did not survive then. Since we are warmer now, they might make it through a mild winter. The more sun that the plant gets, without burning the foliage, is better for winter survival, since the plant will produce more sugar content.
Tony,
See our Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’ grown in the ground in our zone 8a garden approx 10-15 mi NW of JLBG near Lake Wheeler just outside of Raleigh.
1st picture: Variegated Shell Ginger planted last summer and overwintered in the ground.
2nd picture: Same age Variegated Shell Ginger grown in container and overwintered indoors in a heated well-lit space,
Thanks
Greg
Container grown Variegated Shell Ginger overwintered indoors in heated well-lit space, moved outdoors in spring, zone 8a Raleigh NC
Pycnanthemum muticum is easy to control, though: either cut back the runners in spring, or hand-pull at any time of year. It roots so shallowly that it comes right out. I’ve had it in a favorable position (full sun, somewhat moist) for 6-7 years now (in SE PA, zone 7a) and have had no trouble containing its spread. No seedlings, either.
Perhaps if we had nothing else to do, we’d consider it controllable, but here, it was an epic disaster, and as much as we love the plant, we would never consider planting it again.
The native pollinators swarm my mountain mint; I plant in multiple containers spread throughout the garden, minimal upkeep, no worries about spreading, they come back reliably.
Do you know if they would be OK planted over a septic field? That’s the one space I could let them “loose” to spread and natuaralize.
Thanks
They’d be perfect over a septic field.
The native pollinators swarm my mountain mint; I plant in multiple containers spread throughout the garden, minimal upkeep, no worries about spreading, they come back reliably.
Do you know if they would be OK planted over a septic field? That’s the one space I could let them “loose” to spread and naturalize.
Thanks