One of our favorite ginger lilies is the shade-loving, Hedychium densiflorum ‘Stephen’. While it may look similar to the other members of the genus, Hedychium, it’s actually quite different. While most ginger lilies adore heat, this one tolerates heat, but prefers a cooler summer. It was discovered in 1966 in the Dudh Kosi Valley of Nepal at 9,000′ elevation, by the UK’s Tony Schilling, who named his new find after his son.
While our garden specimen is superb, as you can see, putting on quite a show in July, and re-flowering in September, it has not thrived for us in our nursery production environment. We’re experiment how we can change our growing regimen, so we can add this amazing plant back to our offerings. Hedychium ‘Stephen’ is perfect for the small garden where space is a consideration. Not only does Hedychium ‘Stephen’ top out around 3′, but the narrow foliage makes for a rather svelte specimen compared to many of the larger ginger lilies.
What are the possibilities that this might fluorish in Jackson, WY – altitude 6,000 ft , short summers but I would be willing to water if that’s an issue.
Unfortunately, your winters there in Zone 5a, would be much too cold for it to thrive outdoors.