Images may show mature specimens and are provided as a guide only. As plants are living products, the size, shape and appearance of the stock supplied may vary from the images shown.

Nursery Direct

Dwarf Cardamom

Alpinia nutans

Regular price $800.00 AUD
Regular price Sale price $800.00 AUD
Sale Sold out

Everything is included in this price: the plant, free delivery and professional installation

The price you see is the whole job: the plant supplied, delivered free and professionally installed. Done for you.

Supplied in 400mm

Want to see the actual plant?

The photo shows this species, not the individual plant reserved for you. Send us an enquiry and we usually reply within 1 business day with photos of the actual stock available in the size you want.

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Getting it in: this size needs about 900mm of clear access. Measure the narrowest point on the route and tell us on the booking call. Standard access is included in the price, and anything unusual is quoted and agreed with you before work begins. What happens on installation day

Looking for a larger size?

Sizes shown are the sizes we currently source in this species. If you need larger specimens, project quantities or a size not listed, our sourcing team can look for it through our national supplier network. We confirm your exact stock with you on the booking call before anything ships.

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You order. We do the rest.

After checkout, our team contacts you to confirm site access and book a day that suits. Most orders are delivered and planted within 2 to 4 weeks of your booking call. Nothing else for you to organise.

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Product Details

Overview & Specifications

Price includes everything: the plant, free delivery and professional installation by our planting team. One price, whole job done.

Dwarf Cardamom - Alpinia nutans

Dwarf cardamom is the clumping ginger landscapers reach for when a shaded bed needs body rather than another fern. Alpinia nutans builds a dense rhizomatous clump of arching, glossy strap leaves that release a warm cardamom scent when brushed or crushed, holding form year round without the die back of true gingers. It sits lower and stays tidier than Alpinia zerumbet, which makes it usable in narrow beds and courtyards where a full shell ginger would swamp the space.

Why Dwarf Cardamom

Aromatic Foliage: Crushed or brushed leaves carry a genuine cardamom fragrance, so it earns its place along paths and seating edges.
Shade Performance: It holds dense, glossy foliage in filtered light and part shade where most tropical foliage plants thin out.
Clumping Habit: Growth spreads by short rhizomes into a slowly widening clump rather than running through a garden bed.
Year Round Cover: Foliage persists through winter in frost free districts, so beds do not go bare in the cooler months.
Low Maintenance: Old canes can be cut to ground level and the clump regenerates from the base without needing lifting or dividing every season.

Ideal Applications

Understorey Planting: Massed beneath established palms, frangipani or mature canopy trees it covers bare soil and lifts the mid layer.
Low Informal Border: Planted in a single row it forms a soft green edge to shaded paths, driveways and pool fencing.
Courtyard and Pool Surrounds: The lush leaf gives a resort feel in small shaded spaces without dropping heavy litter into water.
Large Containers: It holds well in pots and planter boxes on covered patios and balconies, provided the mix stays moist.

Specimen & Installation

Spacing (screening/hedge): 0.6 to 0.8m for a continuous low border
Spacing (feature/avenue): 1 to 1.2m for individual clumps
Best Planting Season: Spring and summer in temperate districts, year round in the subtropics and tropics
Soil & Drainage: Moist, humus rich soil that drains freely; heavy clay should be improved with compost and raised slightly
Establishment Care: Water deeply two or three times a week through the first summer, as the leaf edges brown quickly if the root zone dries out. Keep a 75mm layer of coarse organic mulch clear of the crown and feed with a slow release fertiliser in early spring.

Plant Details

Height: 1 to 1.5m
Width: 1 to 1.5m, slowly widening as the clump matures
Growth Rate: Moderate
Foliage: Evergreen
Light: Filtered light to part shade; tolerates deep shade, but foliage scorches in hot afternoon sun
Native to: Southern China and mainland South East Asia
Flower Colour: White flushed pink, though it flowers only sparsely in cultivation and is grown for foliage

Delivery & Installation

Delivery and installation are included in your price

No freight calculators and no separate installation quote for a standard installation. Your price covers specialist plant transport, positioning and professional planting by our installation team. The whole job, handled.

Delivery & installation Included
  • Wrapped, secured and transported by specialist plant freight.
  • Professionally planted, staked and finished by our install team.
  • Our team confirms site access and schedules a time that suits you.
How It Works

Installation

Professional installation included, never extra

Every plant we sell is planted by our professional installation team, and it's already in the price. We coordinate the delivery, the machinery and the planting for standard site access, so your only job is choosing the tree. Unusual access or engineering requirements? We'll confirm everything with you after checkout before any work begins.

Questions? Send An Enquiry

Why Nursery Direct

Every price includes supply, delivery and installation

Buying a mature tree often means three separate jobs: the plant, the freight and finding someone to plant it. We price the whole job as one: the tree, the delivery and the professional install.

  • One price: supplied, delivered and installed
  • Mature trees and specimen palms at every scale
  • National sourcing for hard-to-find stock
  • Residential, estate and commercial projects
Contact Our Sourcing Team

How It Works

Place your order. We do the rest.

1

We Supply

Premium advanced stock, selected from a national network of wholesale growers.

2

We Deliver

Specialist plant freight brings your order to your door. Free, anywhere in Australia.

3

We Install

Our professional team plants, stakes, mulches and finishes the job on site.

Good To Know

Questions, answered

What exactly is included in the price?

Everything for a standard installation: the plant itself, free specialist delivery to your property, and professional installation by our planting team into prepared or accessible ground, with no freight fees added later. If your site needs a crane or other difficult access work, that is quoted separately and agreed with you before anything is booked, never after. Difficult access has its own question on this page.

How does installation work?

After you order, our team contacts you to confirm site access and book a day that suits. On the day, your plants arrive by specialist freight and our installers position, plant, stake and mulch them, then leave the site tidy.

When will my order arrive?

Most orders are delivered and planted within 2 to 4 weeks of your booking call. After checkout, our team contacts you to confirm details and book the delivery and planting day, so you have a date before anything ships. Timing can vary with stock location and your area, and we confirm your exact day with you.

What if my site has tricky access?

Standard installation covers planting into accessible ground and is included in every price. If your site involves cranes, tight access or special machinery, we assess it with you after you order and agree on everything before any work begins. Always before, never after.

Do you offer a plant guarantee?

Yes, and it runs well past delivery day. Every plant is inspected before dispatch and protected in transit, and we guarantee it arrives alive and in reasonable condition. Beyond that you have a 30 day plant guarantee, and a 1 year conditional replacement warranty: if a plant fails within 12 months of delivery despite following our care recommendations, you can submit a claim for assessment. Claims need photographs of the plant and the planting site plus details of watering, drainage and soil, because living plants depend on the conditions they are put into. The full terms are in our refund policy.

What if the exact plant or size I order is not available?

Every plant is sourced to order from our grower network, so before anything ships we call you to confirm the exact stock we have secured, the size and the delivery day. If the plant you chose is not available in the size you wanted, we tell you on that call and go through the options with you, whether that is a different size, a close alternative or waiting for the right stock. Nothing is loaded onto a truck before you know what is coming. Full details are in our refund policy.

Can I plant outside the best planting season?

Yes. We deliver and plant all year round. The best planting season shown on each listing is about ideal establishment, not a restriction: planting in that window usually means less watering and a faster settling in period. Our team adjusts how a plant is installed and watered in for the conditions on the day, and if you are planting through peak summer heat or a cold snap we will talk you through the extra care it needs on your booking call.

Will this plant suit my climate?

Australia covers a lot of climates, and a plant that thrives in Brisbane can struggle in Ballarat. Every listing states the mature size, the light it wants and where the species comes from. If you are not certain a plant suits your frost, heat, wind or coastal exposure, send us an enquiry before you order and we will tell you honestly whether it is right for your site. We would rather talk you out of the wrong plant than replace it later.

Can I order for a large project?

Yes. For project quantities and commercial supply, use the Request Project Pricing button on any product and our sourcing team will put together a complete package: supplied, delivered and installed.