Hedychium x moorei ‘Tara’ AGM

Ginger Lily Zingiberaceae

One of the great garden Hedychiums, ‘Tara’ is a vigorous, tall-growing ginger lily with an exotic appearance and remarkably good garden performance. Strong upright stems carry handsome, glaucous green foliage, crowned from late summer with dense spikes of brilliant orange flowers with prominent darker orange stamens. The combination of vivid colour and late-season flowering makes it an outstanding plant for the August and September garden.

Its provenance is particularly noteworthy. ‘Tara’ originated from seed collected by the celebrated plantsman Tony Schilling on Nagarkot Ridge, Nepal, at approximately 2,280m elevation in 1972. From this high-altitude Himalayan collection came the selection subsequently named ‘Tara’. Such a lofty provenance is particularly interesting in a genus containing many plants of considerably warmer origins, and helps explain its excellent performance in the British climate.

The plant has been variously associated with Hedychium coccineum, H. gardnerianum and H. densiflorum, but its nomenclature has been somewhat confused. The RHS currently treats it simply as Hedychium ‘Tara’, avoiding an unnecessarily confident specific or hybrid attribution.

Grow in moist, fertile, humus-rich soil in sun or partial shade, with shelter from cold winds. A generous winter mulch is advisable, particularly during its establishment.

Height: 1.5–2m
Spread: 50–100cm
Flowering: August–October
Hardiness: H4, −10 to −5°C
Scent: Lightly fragrant, particularly in warm conditions

Collection: Nagarkot Ridge, Nepal, 2,280m; seed collected by Tony Schilling, 1972.