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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Zingiberaceae (Gingers) |
| Origin: Polynesia (Pacific Ocean) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: White |
| Bloomtime: Summer |
| Synonyms: [Alpinia speciosa, A. nutans, Catimbium speciosum] |
| Height: 6-8 feet |
| Width: Spreading |
| Exposure: Light Shade/Part Sun |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): High Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F |
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Alpinia zerumbet (Shell Ginger) - This ginger displays its wildly fragrant waxy whitish-pink flowers in the late summer on arching stems. Grows to 6 to 8 feet tall and spreads by rhizomes. Plant in morning sun to light shade (tolerates full sun on coast) protected from wind, and water regularly to frequently. An evergreen perennial in Sunset zones 22-24. Creamy white flowers, tinged with pink and yellow (shaped somewhat like shells) appear in summer. Hardy to about 15-20 degrees F.It is a much faster grower than the other Alpinias we propagate. This plant was named after Prospero Alpino (1553-1616) a professor of Botany at Padua in Italy, an early, if not the very first, botanical garden. The specific epithet zerumbet is of Arabic origin and appears to have been first used by Serapion, an eleventh-century physician and scholar, for the aromatic roots of this family. This plant has been in cultivation in the West for over 200 years.
The information displayed on this page about Alpinia zerumbet is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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