Thai White Torch Ginger

Before a true white torch ginger existed, Thai White was as close as anyone could get — and the story of this cultivar is worth knowing, because it explains something lovely about the flower itself. Etlingera elatior cv Thai White opens to the palest, most delicate blush pink, so soft it reads almost white in certain lights, then deepens gradually as the flower matures. It is not a flaw but a feature — a flower that changes as you watch it, moving through the most refined end of the pink spectrum with a quiet elegance that the pure whites, for all their drama, cannot match.

It is also, almost without interruption, in flower. Where other torch gingers observe a proper season, Thai White flowers for much of the year — a reliable and generous performer that keeps cutting stems coming when other varieties have finished. For anyone growing torch gingers for the vase, this near-continuous production is as valuable as the flower itself.

At 3.5m it sits a little more compact than the largest torch gingers, well-suited to gardens where the full five-metre form of Etlingera elatior would be too dominant. Thai in origin, it carries something of that refinement in its bearing — upright, elegant, the flower heads perfectly formed and long-lasting once cut. As a cut flower it is, by any measure, superb.

Grow it as you would any torch ginger — rich, moisture-retentive soil, full sun to part shade, generous water through the growing season. Cold tolerant to around five degrees in a sheltered position, making it accessible to gardeners at the warmer end of the subtropics.

For More Information on Growing Torch Gingers