Siam Splash Ornamental Ginger

Siam Splash ornamental ginger (Curcuma sparganiifolia 'Siam Splash') turns a shaded subtropical bed into something worth looking at over summer. It reaches about 60cm tall and 50cm wide, sending up pink and white flower bracts above broad, softly pleated leaves from late spring through to autumn. It dies back over winter and reshoots from the rhizome in spring, which is the one thing worth understanding before you buy it.

Why you'll love it

• Months of flowering, not weeks. The pink and white bracts hold their colour for a long stretch through the warm season, well beyond the life of the true flowers inside them.
• It thrives in heat and humidity. Wet subtropical and tropical summers are its natural growing season, not something it merely endures.
• Lush foliage between flushes. Broad ribbed leaves give a genuinely tropical texture at a size that suits a border.
• It disappears when you want it to. Winter dormancy means no tired looking plant sitting in the bed through the cold months.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. A 300mm pot suits one rhizome well, and a pot lets you move it into a prominent spot while it is flowering and out of the way once it dies back.

Mass planting and borders. Plant 40cm apart for a lush block. At that spacing the leaves overlap into a continuous canopy and the flower bracts stand clear above it.

Growing Siam Splash ornamental ginger in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade or filtered light. Full sun scorches the leaf margins, and deep shade cuts the flowering right back. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It is frost tender, so in cooler areas grow it in a pot that comes under cover.

Soil. Rich, moist and free draining, with plenty of compost worked through. The rhizome rots if water sits around it over the dormant winter months, so drainage matters most when the plant is doing nothing.

Water and feed. Water generously through the growing season from spring to autumn, keeping the soil consistently moist. Reduce watering sharply as the foliage yellows, then keep it nearly dry through winter. Feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertiliser while it is in active growth.

Dormancy. The leaves yellow and collapse in late autumn. This is normal. Cut the dead foliage back to ground level, leave the rhizome undisturbed, and new shoots appear as the soil warms in spring.

What to expect when it arrives

Siam Splash is grown as tube stock, currently on backorder. A tube contains a young plant with a developing rhizome and one or two leaves, not a flowering specimen. Plants ordered in the warmer months arrive in leaf. Ordered near winter, a tube may arrive dormant or with yellowing foliage, which is the plant behaving exactly as it should.

Pot it up or plant it out within a week, water in and be patient. First season plants usually put on foliage and may flower lightly, with a full display from the second summer once the rhizome has bulked up. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Designing a tropical garden that stays lush
• Browse the tropical garden plant range
• More plants for part shade positions
• Plants selected for subtropical gardens

Common questions

Why has it lost all its leaves?

It is deciduous and dies back to the rhizome every winter. Cut the spent foliage off at ground level, keep the soil barely moist, and it will reshoot in spring once the soil warms.

How far apart should I plant it?

Forty centimetres apart for a lush mass planting. That is close enough for the leaves to knit into a continuous canopy in a single season while leaving each rhizome room to divide.

Can I grow it in Melbourne or Adelaide?

Only in a pot that spends winter under cover. It is frost tender and needs warm soil to break dormancy, so a container you can move is the practical approach in cool temperate gardens.