Red Torch Ginger Plant (Etlingera elatior)

About the Red Torch Ginger Plant (Etlingera elatior)

Torch ginger, known in Mexico as bastón del emperador, is the most regal of the gingers. From the ground beside its towering leafy canes rise long stalks crowned by a waxy, porcelain-like flower head of layered red bracts, each one as big as a fist or larger. In Southeast Asia the young buds are used in cooking. The plant needs space, heat and humidity, and patience while it builds up a clump, but in the humid tropics it will flower for much of the year. 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 5–10 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. Choose a sheltered spot in sun to partial shade with deep, rich soil and constant moisture. 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

Etlingera elatior (red form)

Family

Zingiberaceae

Native to

Indonesia and Malaysia

Mature height

3–5 m

Plant spacing

2.5 m

Time to first flowers

2–3 years

Light

Sun to part shade

Water

High, keep moist

Cold tolerance

down to 7 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics

Grows in a pot

Best in the ground

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas