Not the faintest

[johnw]

Every year we go to friends' for dinner and every time return puzzled about this plant in their garden.  They had three and are down to one and they say it has lavender flowers in the autumn.

johnw

[Garden Prince]

Looks very much like some form of Roscoea purpurea.

[Brian Ellis]

....it has lavender flowers in the autumn.

What kind John, or were they non specific?

[johnw]

Brian - they could neither recall or describe the flowers as luck would have it. Ken stayed up trying to identify it and decided on Roscoea purpurea and likely one Terra Nova tissue-cultured called 'Cinnamon Stick' or another called 'Spice Island; these are rare as hen's  teeth in Canada. 

http://botanicallyinclined.org/roscoea-purpurea-roscoea-cinnamon-stick/?sa=X&ved=0CBcQ9QEwAWoVChMIgcGi_9T3xgIVw9OACh1-ogN2

Looked remarkably robust for a borderline plant. Garden Prince you got it! 

Thanks john

[ichristie]

Hello I am sure that it is a Roscoea hybrid probably purpurea x with R. Red Gurkha we have similar in the garden which came from Robin White  cheers Ian the Christie kind

[Garden Prince]

My Roscoea purpurea 'Brown Peacock' flowers like this:

[johnw]

Ian  - I wonder if that cross has made it into production here in North America?  It was purchased in a run-of-the-mill garden centre so it had to have been mass-produced.  They believe they got it 3-5 years ago.

john

[johnw]

Having sent the owners the two possibilities they now recall it was indeed R. purpurea 'Spice Island'

john - +18c at 4pm, chilly for July.

[Lesley Cox]

I didn't think Roscoea, but maybe Reineckia?