A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Ginger Help..

I got some ginger at the market and noticed it was starting to grow... My question is does anyone know if this should grow inside or outside? And has anyone had any luck growing it?

Here's some info on/about growing ginger .

I have some store bought gingers that I planted in containers outdoor last summer and they seem to have survived our winter weather, but will need more protection from your winter weather.

Thank you Papito!!

Papito, I think that the White Ginger lily plants you gave me (a little over a year ago) are "Hedychium coronarium"... right?

I think I must have planted them outdoors a bit too late last spring, so they didn't have enough time to get settled in well enough to flower for me. The plants did well, & were coming right along, but they stopped when the weather cooled down! (I'm also thinking that maybe they were so slow last year because I planted them too deep.)

It's a "warm" day here today (60* & it's only noon), & I'm thinking about going out & switching them around with my Cannas, because last year they got up to 3' tall... & the Cannas (which I'd planted in front of the Ginger) went up to 4'! I'm hoping that there is enough space behind them, so I can move the Cannas without disturbuing the Ginger. (I REALLY want them to bloom this year!)

Since Weezie told me a long time ago that there is no such thing as a "stupid" question around here, here I go....
They never did "die back" all the way, but they dont look very good right now, with the upper leaf tips all brownish. Do I just trim them down to where the nice looking leaves are, or should I whack them off at ground level so they can start over?

Any tips will be appreciated!

You are Welcome spring Fever.

Hi PattyS,

Yes, what you have is Hedychium coronarium. The leaves will turn yellow, then brown. You can cut the stems down to stubs. New plants will sprout in the spring. Sorry, I missed you and your husband the last time you were in the area due to conflict with my schedule.

So what do you think will happen if I only cut them down as far as the the leaf "damage" goes... will they turn out to be taller this year, with the "head start"?
<i>(I didn't get to it yesterday, & am looking for a good reason NOT to move any of those plants!)

You'd do best to cut them clean to the ground allowing for fresh, pretty new growth. Otherwise the ragged ends will always be there. Just a bit of FYI too, other items at the grocery which can be easily rooted is horseradish roots and lemon grass. Fresh-cut prepackaged herbs are fun to root too, especially if you can get them the same day they are put out and know they are really fresh. You can get some interesting varieties like that too.