The best Variegated Ginger for your northern yard.

Variegated plants are ALL the rage and gigner might be my favorite way to bring those happy white splotches into the garden. Did you know there are dozens of different types?  

The most popular, Variegated Shell Ginger, Alpinia zerumbet, is actually not the easiest for us northern gardeners. They do fantastic as summer annuals, but they don't have strong rhizomes so they have to stay alive in the winter as indoor houseplants. They can usually stick it out if you have a warm garage though and are definitely worth planting. Mine looks great next to my pond. 

My personal favorite is Zingiber mioga. It is a reliable perennial here in zone 7 and can actually survive in zone 6. It does not have showy blooms but is a great choice in part shade. Unfortunately, mine did eventually die because it got too much shade. It had a great run though. Here's a photo from 2019.

Hedychium is an incredible genus of gingers for northern Gardeners. You can treat them like cannas, except with fragrant blooms that appear much later in the season. Some cultivars are actually variegated like "Vanilla Ice". I dig the rhizomes up in Autumn. It blooms in September and October at about 3 to 4 feet tall.

june 1

Variegated Spiral Ginger is a really fun one to grow. It a little more complicated, but does have a strong rhizome and is so pretty!