Choose a white butterfly ginger, a kahili or yellow ginger, or an orange hardy kind first.
Choose a white butterfly ginger, a kahili or yellow ginger, or an orange hardy kind first
| Factor | Recommended | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Evening white scent | White butterfly ginger | Do not expect a yellow kahili spike from a white kind |
| Yellow spike with red stamens | Kahili or yellow ginger | Do not plant kahili into Hawaiian wild land |
| Orange bottlebrush, harder winters | Orange hardy kind such as Tara | Do not treat an orange hardy kind as a white butterfly |
Know your USDA hardiness zone before you pick a type of hedychium that will take your winter. Type your ZIP below.
2023 USDA ZIP listings (PRISM / USDA-ARS). Find Your USDA Hardiness Zone · Official USDA map.
Read the tag and match the flower you want: white butterfly, kahili or yellow, or orange hardy. [1] White butterfly ginger opens a few flowers at a time and smells strongest in the evening. It usually stands about 4 to 6 feet. [2] Kahili ginger is a taller yellow spike with long red stamens. It can reach about 8 feet, so give it room at the back of a border. [3] Tara is the orange hardy kind most shops sell. Orange kinds often sit a little shorter than kahili and take a harder frost with mulch. Keep the soil moist on How to Grow Ginger Lily. Set the rhizome on Planting Ginger Lily.
Which ginger lily should I buy?
Start with white butterfly ginger for evening scent. Choose kahili or yellow ginger for a tall yellow spike. Choose an orange hardy kind if you want a denser orange head.
Is kahili ginger a different genus?
No. Kahili ginger is Hedychium gardnerianum. It is this genus, not kitchen ginger and not a canna.
Browse by kind
These are the kinds in this catalog. [4] Butterfly ginger is the shop name for the white group. Match the flower first: white evening scent, a yellow kahili spike, or an orange hardy kind. Do not buy on color alone when height and winter hardiness also change what you get.
White butterfly ginger
White Ginger Lily is the evening-scented white butterfly kind. Tahitian Flame has variegated leaves and still sits in that white group. Rock Butterfly Lily is a white kind with red stamens, not a yellow kahili spike.
Kahili and yellow ginger
Kahili Ginger carries a yellow spike with red stamens. Yellow Ginger Lily sits in that same yellow group. Do not plant kahili into Hawaiian wild land.
Orange hardy kinds
Tara is the orange hardy kind most shops sell. Dense Ginger Lily has a packed orange-yellow spike. Both sit in the orange hardy group, not with white butterfly ginger.
If the tag says only ginger lily, check the flower — white butterfly, kahili or yellow, or orange hardy.
FAQ
Is Tahitian Flame a fourth group?
No. Tahitian Flame is a variegated leaf in the white butterfly class. It is still this genus.
Is Rock Butterfly Lily orange?
No. Rock Butterfly Lily is a white kind with red stamens. Sort it with white butterfly ginger, not with Tara.
Are unnamed orange hybrids a fourth group?
No. Most shop plants sold only as orange ginger lily still sit with Tara and densiflorum. Sort them by flower color and whether the tag says kahili.
Related guides
References
- [1] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hedychium/ - [2] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hedychium-coronarium/ - [3] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hedychium-gardnerianum/ - [4] University of Wisconsin Horticulture -
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/kahili-ginger-hedychium-gardnerianum/
This note is part of Hedychium Guides.
More type comparisons by plant are gathered in Types of Plants Guides.
Updated: Reviewed by Bosquelle Editors