Pink Ginger Plant (Alpinia purpurata)

About the Pink Ginger Plant (Alpinia purpurata)

Pink ginger is the soft-toned sister of red ginger, with the same tall, glossy leafy canes and long-lasting flower spikes, here in shades of clear pink to rose. The colour is gentler and more versatile, mixing beautifully with white, lilac and green in the garden or in tropical bouquets and wedding arrangements. Like red ginger it flowers generously over much of the year in warm, humid conditions and forms plantlets on old spikes that can be rooted. Available as a rhizome, a potted young plant or a flowering-size clump.

How to Care for It

To plant a rhizome, lay it horizontally 3–5 cm deep in loose, compost-rich, well-drained soil with the buds facing up, water once and keep it barely moist until shoots appear; too much water before then can rot it. Give sun to partial shade, rich soil and plenty of water; it dislikes drought and drying wind. Feed monthly while growing and mulch to keep the roots cool and moist.

Sculptural flowers, fragrant blooms and edible rhizomes. Our tropical gingers include beehive ginger (awapuhi) in golden, red, pink and chocolate, shampoo ginger, red and pink torch ginger, red ginger, shell and butterfly ginger, plus culinary ginger and turmeric. Sold as rhizomes, potted plants or flowering clumps.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Alpinia purpurata (pink form, e.g. 'Eileen McDonald')

Family

Zingiberaceae

Native to

Pink selection of a species from Malesia and the western Pacific

Mature height

1.5–3 m

Plant spacing

1.5 m

Time to first flowers

1–1.5 years

Light

Sun to part shade

Water

High, keep moist

Cold tolerance

down to 5 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics, Dry tropics

Grows in a pot

Yes

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas