Alpinia zerumbet
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Common Name: shell ginger
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Zingiberaceae
Zone: 8 to 11
Native Range: Eastern Asia
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Spread: 2 to 4 feet
Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Description: White with yellow inside lips and red throat
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Unknown
Flowers: Showy Flowers, Fragrant Flowers
Leaves: Evergreen
Uses: Suitable as Annual

Culture

Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Appreciates some afternoon shade in hot summer climates. Soils must not be allowed to dry out. Winter hardy to USDA Zones 9-11. In St. Louis, this plant is often grown as a houseplant or in the greenhouse. As a houseplant, it must have bright light and humid conditions. Prune as needed to control plant size. It also may be grown outdoors either as an annual or in the ground with rhizomes dug and overwintered in a cool, dry medium. Plants will not flower until the second year (they bloom on old growth), so if grown outdoors in St. Louis, they can be enjoyed only for their attractive foliage.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Native to eastern Asia, shell ginger is a rhizomatous, evergreen perennial that grows in upright clumps to 8-10’ tall in tropical climates. It more typically reaches 4-8’ tall in the greenhouse and 3-4’ tall as a houseplant. It is commonly called shell ginger or shellflower because its individual shell pink flowers, particularly when in bud, resemble sea shells. It is distinguished from other members of the ginger family by the fact that its flowers droop from the ends of leafy stems rather than rise directly from plant rhizomes. Waxy, light pink flower buds open to tubular flowers with yellow inside lips and red throats. Flowers are fragrant. Flowers appear in drooping racemes in summer. Lance-shaped green leaves to 2’ long and 5” wide. Leaves and flowers are attractive in flower arrangements. Rhizomes have a gingery aroma. Synonymous with A. nutans and A. speciosa. Genus name honors Prosper Alpino, 16-17th century Italian botanist.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems.

Garden Uses

Large containers. Houseplant. Greenhouses. Garden annual. As a houseplant, consider A. zerumbet ‘Variegata’ which is a smaller, more compact plant with variegated foliage.

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