It's not really a ginger, nor is it really blue, but the deep purple of Dichorisandra thyrsiflora does a great job of bringing cool into the tropical world of warm reds and oranges. While it resembles some of the spiral gingers, with its leaves alternately whorling around a central stem, it is actually closely related to Tradescantia zebrina, or wandering jew. It's a little fussy: blue ginger likes just a bit of morning sun, but not too much, and moist soil, but not too wet. It also shies away from windy conditions. But once you've found the right spot for it, this perennial herb blossoms its thank you with a beautiful thyrse, a type of dense flower cluster from which it gets its specific name. Though it roots easily from sections of the cane, this native to Brazil is listed as a "low risk plant" on the plantpono.org website, which offers gardeners the HPWRAS (Hawai'i Pacific Weed Risk Assessment System) tool for checking a plant's chances for becoming invasive. Many gardeners recommend a good pruning after flowering to keep it from getting too leggy. | |
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