Florida Southern College ... in 7 genera commonly grown in Florida gardens; in 1987 the list had expanded to 39 species and cultivars in 12 genera. A.
Proc. Fla. StateHort. Soc. 111:190-191.1998.
GINGERS - A RISING STAR IN FLORIDA GARDENS Ellen West Demmy
Department of Citrus and Ornamental Horticulture
Florida Southern College
Lakeland, FL 33801
Derek Burch Ellen Demmy
Horticultural Masterworks
Lakeland, FL
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33317
Additional index words. Alpinia, Boesenbergia, Burbidgea, Costus, Curcuma, Etlingera, Globba, Hedychium, Kaempferia, Monocostus, Tapeinochilus, Zingiber, Commercial production figures. Abstract. Ornamental gingers have rapidly increased in popu larity in the past few years. Comparisons of the species readily available now are made to those offered ten and forty years ago.
Professional plant watchers see fashions come and go. Some plants will move from center stage to the last row of the chorus and back again while others will come in faithfully like the understudy and suddenly shine when the chance for star dom occurs. This seems to be happening with gingers in Flor ida nurseries, and indeed all over the country. The well-loved butterfly gingers and red gingers have set the stage for more exotic species, and the way is open for a great burst of interest in the group.
In the forty years since Sheehan (1958) first reviewed the ginger family for the Society and in the ten years since these plants were last discussed in the Proceedings (Burch et al., 1987), the changes are striking. In 1958, there were 15 species
in 7 genera commonly grown in Florida gardens; in 1987 the list had expanded to 39 species and cultivars in 12 genera. A
1998 survey of gingers available without recourse to a special ist nursery showed almost twice as many species and varieties in 14 genera. If specialist lists were included, the number of species and cultivars would double again and bring in approx imately ten more genera.
Is the demand from gardeners driving the new richness in nursery offerings, or is the improved availability sparking gar deners' interest? As always the two things are intertwined. However, there does seem to be a genuine unforced interest originating with the gardeners because there has been no high-powered publicity drive to promote the family as has been the case with a few other commercial successes. The increase in types of plants being grown comes from two sources. Breeders like Tom Wood specializing in Hedychi um and John Banta working with Kaempferia, are one while collectors, particularly those working in the pacific region are the other. For example, a new genus, Comukaempferia, is one of the exciting introductions that will soon be widely available as the result of collections. Horticulturists in Thailand and Malaysia have been active in exploring and developing their indigenous material brought into cultivation and propagated for sale as dormant rhizomes. For the first time there will be 190
four patented gingers this year, thanks to two nurserymen in Hawaii who have been breeding from collections of Globba. The increased interest has also brought more types into tissue culture, which always means improved availability to everyone from wholesale nurseries to the final consumer. It is very hard to get a firm estimate on the number of plants that will be grown this year, but it seems likely to be between 150,000 and 250,000, which is quite a jump from the 1958 situation when most of the propagation was probably done by rhizome pieces passed from neighbor to neighbor.
It might be expected that the greatest activity with this tropical and subtropical group would be in frost-free gardens. There is certainly a wide variety grown in South Florida, but gardening interest there is sluggish on the whole. The more enthusiastic gardeners found in central and northern Florida have accepted and try to meet wholeheartedly any challenge imposed by their cooler winters. There also is great interest throughout the Southeastern US in genera that stay in growth throughout the year in their native habitats but require shel tered spots with dry soil and heavy mulch through the colder months in order to survive. Hedychiums, zingibers, alpinias and even some costus are being tried in many places in Geor gia and the Carolinas. Some hedychiums are actually native to relatively high elevations in the Indian subcontinent, and ap parently feel quite at home given even slightly sheltered spots through the region.
The types that have a natural dormancy can, of course, grow in containers anywhere that the summer conditions are suitable because they spend their winters as underground rhi zomes in their pots under shelter from the winter rages. These, globbas, kaempferias and curcumas, probably account for the greater part of the increase in numbers of plants now grown. They are as easy to handle as gladiolus or caladiums, and add an exotic touch to the patio or the open garden if they can be dug and held inside while dormant. There is no single book which an intrigued gardener could use to help further a developing interest in this group. In part this is because the nomenclature and even the taxon omy of the group is still at a very confused stage. There are some sites on the web with discussion groups, and a printed nursery catalog with good illustrations which is valuable. The best way to see the gingers is to go to a good nursery or to one of the big trade shows where for the past two years the gingers have been making an increasing impact. The authors would be glad to share their lists of suppliers with anyone who is in terested. GINGERS REASONABLY AVAILABLE IN FLORIDA Alpinia calcarata
Alpinia formosana Alpinia galanga Alpinia luteocarpa
Alpinia nutans (sold as Amomum cardamomum)
Alpinia purpurata (cultivars: Eileen McDonald, Jungle King, Jungle Queen, Kimi, Pink)
Alpinia vittata (sanderae) Alpinia zerumbet
Proc. Ha. StateHort. Soc. Ill: 1998.
Alpinia zerumbet variegata
Globba schomburgkii sold as G. bulbifera.
Boesenbergia aurantiac
Globba winitii (cultivars: Blushing Maiden™, Pristina Pink™, Purest An gel™, Ruby Queen™ [these four are patented], White Dragon)
Boesenbergia rotunda Brachychilum horsfieldii
Hedychium chrysoleucum
Burbidgea schizocheila
Hedychium coccineum
Costus amazonicus variegatus
Hedychium coronarium
Costus barbatus
Hedychium flavescens
Costus curvibracteatus
Hedychium gardnerianum
Costus cuspidatus
Hedychium greenei
Costus englerianus
Hedychium thyrsiforme
Costus malortieanus
Hedychium (hybrids and cultivars: dozens on offer)
Costus speciosus
Costus speciosus variegatus Costus stenophyllus
Kaempferia atrovirens Kaempferia galanga Kaempferia gilbertii
Costus tappenbeckianus
Kaempferia gilbertii '3-D'
Curcuma aeruginosa
Curcuma alismatifolia (color forms) Curcuma australasica
Kaempferia pulchra
Kaempferia roscoeana Kaempferia rotunda
Curcuma cordata
Kaempferia (hybrids and cultivars)
Curcuma elata
Curcuma gracillima (cultivars: Burnt Burgundy, Candy Cane, Chocolate Zebra)
Curcuma longa (cultivars: Olena, Panama Purple) Curcuma ornata
Monocostus uniflorus
Siphonochilus decora Siphonochilus kirkii Tapeinochilus ananassae Zingfoer officinale
Curcuma petiolata
Curcuma roscoeana (forms) Curcuma sumatrana Curcuma thorelii 'Chiang Mai Snow'
Zingiber spectabile
Zingiber zerumbet
Zingiber zerumbet 'Darceyi'
Curcuma zedoaria
Curcuma sold as "Amethyst"
Curcuma sold as "Rainbow" (? C. aurantiaca) Etlingera elatior (Pink and red) Globba globulifera
Literature Cited Burch, D. G., E. W. Demmy and H. Donselman. 1987. Gingers for Florida
Gardens. Proc. Fla. Hort. Soc. 100: 222-226.
Sheehan, T. 1958. Zingiberaceae for Florida. Proc. Fla. Hort. Soc 71- 382-
388.
Proc. Ha. State Hort. Soc. 111:191-192. 1998.
FIELD DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASES IN LANDSCAPE PALMS Joe Garofalo University of Florida, IFAS Miami-Dade County Cooperative Extension Service Homestead 33030
Additional index words, ornamentals, palm decline, lethal yel lowing, palm bud rots.
Abstract. During the last several years we have seen an in crease in the incidence of several diseases on landscape palms in Southeast Florida. These diseases include several that are difficult to diagnose in the field with any degree of ac curacy. Laboratory diagnoses are possible for these diseases, but they require time. Consultants and landscape maintenance personnel need a way to make preliminary diagnoses that would allow them to begin treatment immediately without scheduling a return visit. One or two unique/distinct symptoms for each disease that are easy to see and that will either identify the disease or eliminate it would permit field diagnosis in many cases.
Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. Ill: 1998.
Landscape maintenance personnel and horticultural con sultants routinely have difficulty distinguishing among several diseases that occur on landscape palms in South Florida. These diseases cause a general decline and eventually death of the palms. Depending on the stage of development of these diseases, it can be very difficult or impossible to say with any degree of certainty what disease is involved. If this is the case, a plant pathologist or plant disease clinic should be
asked to assist in the diagnosis. However, for each of the major palm diseases, one or two symptoms that are easy for field personnel to see and that will either identify the disease or eliminate it from consideration are available (Table 1). The diseases most often confused are
Phytophthorabud rot, Ganodermabutt rot, and Thielaviopsisbud rot. In some species, the confusion may also include Lethal Yellowing and Fusarium wilt. If we compare the symptoms of these diseases, differences become evident (Table 1). These differences are useful in field diagnoses. For example, with Phytophthora bud rot, only the bud falls over and there is a foul 191
