| Etlingera elatior, Tulip Torch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As the name says, the Tulip Torch Ginger has an unusual tulip-shaped inflorescence. The bracts of the inflorescence are closely packed when young, giving the distintive tulip shape. As they mature, they spread out to reveal its red petals with yellow markings on the top edges. Each red, wax-like inflorescence, grows on its own stalk, which can reach a height of 2 feet, making it perfect as a cut flower. The foliage is dark green, which adds to the ornamental beauty of this ginger. In addition, the leaves release a strong ginger scent when crushed. A fabulous tropical specimen plant, Tulip Torch Gingers can reach a height of 6-10 feet. If grown in full sun, they will be shorter. If grown in shade they will be taller. Because of this, you can successfully grown and bloom these plants in a large container in full sun. Just imagine this beatiful plant blooming in a container on your patio! They should be planted in full sun to part shade in rich, moist, well-drained soil. They need a tropical climate or warm greenhouse. Hardy in USDA Zones 10-11. Since these are grown from seed, there is some natural variation in the resulting plants. The top photo (showing the inflorescense) is the plant we took the seeds from. You'll notice that, in the second photo, some of our seedlings have light green leaves with pink undersides, while others have dark green leaves with maroon undersides. We haven't gotten blooms from these seedlings yet, but we would anticipate that the inflorescense on the lighter plants would be a lighter red or coral color, while the inflorescense on the darker plants would be a deeper red (more like the parent plant). The actual plant shipped (light or dark) will be our choice.
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