The Tribune

By Gardener Jack

Although heliconias and gingers are not related they share similarities and in general are grown under the same conditions. The banana-like heliconia leaves make them popular in garden stands because they are attractive even when not flowering. Some gingers tend to disappear from above ground after flowering but soon come back with renewed intensity.

Both heliconias and gingers are produced from rhizomes that send out shoots periodically. Once established a single rhizome cluster will develop into a healthy stand of plants that produce some of the most remarkable flowering spectacles of all tropical plants. The bracts of heliconias, usually red and yellow, are upright in some species and pendant in others. They range in size from 18 inches to over 12 feet tall. Gingers have a much wider range of colours and many of the blooms, particularly the red ones, are truly flamboyant.

The glory of both gingers and heliconias was brought home to me two weeks ago when members of the Horticultural Society of the Bahamas, Abaco Branch, met at the home of Barbara Foreman in Leisure Lee to hear from Clement Laville, who visited from Nassau for the occasion.

Mr Laville hails from Dominica where the volcanic soil and rainforest canopies provide ideal conditions for both heliconias and gingers. His farm in New Providence is called The Sanctuary and is situated near the Lyndon PIndling International Airport on Fire Trail Road. "Visitors are amazed when they visit the Sanctuary," Mr Laville told us. "They enter a rainforest environment that is completely different from the normal Bahamian landscape."

Mr Laville's enthusiasm for his plants was infectious. He brought along a large selection of flower cuttings to illustrate the different types of ginger and heliconia, and also some budding rhizomes that he gifted to the society's members.

There was a wide selection of torch gingers in Dominica, Mr Laville told us, that included a white variety in addition to the more common reds and pinks. Some gingers in Dominica grew to ten feet tall and had flowers two feet long. In one variety the flower clusters grew shorter and fatter than normal and these were very popular.

Gingers (and heliconias) like rich soil and in the Bahamas should be composted regularly for maximum growth. Once established the rhizomes can be transplanted easily and even cut into individual portions as long as they include a growing point.

The Sanctuary produces heliconias and gingers for the florist trade but Mr Laville bemoaned the fact that many Nassau florists import their flowering bracts from the United States rather than buy locally.

Heliconia heads with bracts can be cut and used for indoor flower arrangements. "Place them in water and back them with a small palm frond to provide contrast." The bracts can last for up to two weeks before needing to be replaced.

The Dominican local names of gingers and heliconias were a little different from those generally used in the Bahamas but there was little confusion because Mr Laville's wide range of plants and blossoms used to illustrate his points. He showed how the Heliconia jacquinii and Heliconia wagneriana lobster claws stored rain in the cups formed by individual bracts. The members were able to feel the velvety texture of Heliconia rostrata and admire the vivid pink or red bracts of flowering ginger.

It was a very pleasant and informative morning in delightful surroundings. Mr Laville's love of his plants was shared by the society members and he promised to send more heliconia and ginger rhizomes for those who wanted them. Of course, I put my name down on the list.

gardenerjack@coralwave.com