Hi Guest,

If it's the ginger that grows wild and very rampantly over much of the island, then this will be Hedychium gardnerianum, which is a spectacular species that is hardy here, but can be very tricky to get to flower outdoors.

Many Hedychium, this one included, need a longer growing season that our climate allows in order to build up their strength to create flowering spikes. The way to achieve this is to keep the plant in a large pot/container and keep in a warmer environment (greenhouse/porch etc will do fine) from early spring and then again in autumn.

Throughout summer the plant should be outside in a sheltered, sunny location. This sort of regime will add anything up to 4 months of extra growth time, more than enough to allow the fabulous flowers to develop.

In terms of compost they are not very fussy and can be grown in regular multi-purpose or soil/loam based compost. In each case add about 30% extra grit/perlite/composted bark to help drainage. Plant the rhizome just beneath the surface - bury them too deep and they can rot over winter.

Water and feed as much as possible when in full growth, start to dry off in autumn and keep just damp when the plant is dormant.

I take it this is not edible ginger.