White Butterfly Ginger Lily (Hedychium)

About the White Butterfly Ginger Lily (Hedychium)

White butterfly ginger, the mariposa or lirio mariposa, is grown for its perfume. From green cone-like heads at the tips of tall, leafy canes, pure white flowers open a few at a time, each shaped like a butterfly in flight, and release a sweet, gardenia-like fragrance that is strongest in the evening. It flowers through the warm, rainy months and loves moisture, thriving beside ponds, ditches and downpipes. It spreads readily, so give it room or plant it in a large pot or a bed with an edge. 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. Grow in sun to partial shade and keep it moist; it tolerates wet soil. Cut flowered canes to the ground to encourage new shoots. 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

Hedychium coronarium

Family

Zingiberaceae

Native to

The Himalayas and tropical Asia; national flower of Cuba

Mature height

1.5–2 m

Plant spacing

1 m

Time to first flowers

0.75–1 years

Light

Sun to part shade

Water

High, keep moist

Cold tolerance

down to -2 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics, Dry tropics, Subtropical, Mild highlands

Grows in a pot

Yes

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas