Scientific Name
Etlingera venusta (Ridl.) R.M.Sm.
Common Name(s)
Malay Rose
Synonym(s)
Hornstedtia venusta, Nicolaia venusta, Phaeomeria venusta
Scientific Classification
Family: Zingiberaceae
Genus: Etlingera
Flower
Color: Pink and white
Bloom Time: January to May
Description
Etlingera venusta is sometimes called the world's most beautiful Ginger. Its cerise-shaped overlapping bracts create a rose-shaped flowered inflorescence. It has lovely porcelain pink and white, up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall basal inflorescences. The pink and white "petals" are actually bracts, which later reveal small true flowers inside. Exotic blooms are long-lasting, and like other Gingers, it provides a beautiful tropical look. The plant blooms from January to May.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 9b to 11b: from 25 °F (−3.9 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Add potassium to the soil before growing Torch Gingers by working it into unplanted beds to about a foot (30 cm) deep. Organic means of adding potassium include the use of greensand, kelp, or granite meal. Test the soil.
When growing these plants in established beds, fertilize with a food that is high in potassium. This is the third number on the fertilizer ratio displayed on the packaging. Once the potassium is right in the soil, watering, an important part of learning how to grow torch ginger successfully, will be more beneficial.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Torch Ginger (Etlingera elatior).
Origin
This species is native to Malaysia.
Links
- Back to genus Etlingera
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
Photo Gallery
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