One of the Kaempferia rhizomes I have, Kaempferia ‘Silver Diamond’ had been ‘sleeping’ for a long time and I was worried for some time because during this dormancy period, its normally plump rhizomes actually became shrunken and there no signs of growth for a long time. In cases like that, rhizomes would mean that there is no more food stores for the plant to regrow again.
One day as I was watering my other plants, to my surprise, I saw a little white coloured shoot growing out from the rhizome. I quickly potted it up in some fertile medium and resumed normal watering. Interestingly, the little shoot did not unfurl to give leaves, instead, a flower was produced! It was an impressive looking flower that resembles a large orchid.
The lower two petals that make up the lip are violet in colour and there are two darker purple spots near towards the center. The upper two petals and sepals of the flower are white. My plant produces a single flower daily. Each bud opens during early morning but the flower fades by early evening. What a transient beauty! After the flowers faded, what follows is a mass of shrivelled remains that is left on the soil surface.
‘Silver Diamonds’ is a cultivar of the Kaempferia genus of true gingers. Kaempferias can be regarded as the ’shorties’ of the ginger world as mentioned on Dave Skinner’s website. They make good houseplants as they can be grown in pots and under artificial lights. Kaempferias are shade lovers and they make excellent groundcover plants outdoors under trees and other plants from the Zingiberales order. These delightful gingers have beautiful foliage that are georgeously patterned.
The most common species we see here in Singapore is K. pulchra. It is commonly called the “Peacock Ginger” because its leaves has a pattern that is reminiscent of a peacock feather. The sand ginger, which is a medicinal and culinary ginger with plain, jade green leaves, is also a species of Kaempferia. I separately wrote an entry on it on this blog earlier. It can be accessed by clicking on this link.
‘Silver Diamond’ is a cutlivar of K. rotunda and this ginger is often called the the “tropical crocus” or the “resurrection lily” due to the fact that the flowers of this ginger arise from the rhizome before the leaves. Kaempferias in general need to be grown in well-drained fertile soil that is rich in organic matter. The location should be cool, shady and moist as plants hate to dry out. I apply a dilute solution of a balanced fertiliser solution to promote vigorous growth during the period when the plant is actively growing. This will help the plant to build up food stores in the rhizomes, which will help with the development of a stronger plant.
