Alpinia Species, Shell Ginger, Shellplant

I have this in zone 7a, I left out a test plant this winter to see if it is hardy here. It won't bloom here since the stems get frozen ba...Read Moreck, but it has nice foliage. So far it has gotten down to 10F at night and I can see live Rhizome at the surface. It has only had less than an inch of leaves over it that have blown there. I went ahead and covered it with a foot of leaves today as it is supposed to be down to 5F tomorrow night. So far it looks like this is hardy here, I will update in spring.

I've had this perennial ginger growing along a fence in my FL garden in zone 9B for well over seven years. It has reached a height of six...Read More feet and will stay evergreen in warmer winters. It has survived temperatures below 26 the last two winters with only frost damage to tops of plants, and completely to the ground on outer edges of the bunch, but always come back from the ground in spring. The flowers are some of the first bloomers in my garden each spring and resemble little orchids, or a string of shells. I've never seen any quite like mine in garden centers, my father gave me these from some he had. I've seen a wider variegated leaved one with similar flowers, but none quite a beautiful as mine. I hardly water it and it is in a morning filtered sun light, but shaded during the hot hours of the day. Tolerates drought in shaded area very well once established.

Porto - Portugal (zone 9b/10a)
Partial Shade - semiprotected with taller trees.
Exotic look

Plantings beside the spa are over 8 ft tall! Waited 3 growing seasons before I was awarded with blooms....beautiful, tall plants, great ...Read Morefor screen and/or privacy fencing!