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Vegetable Gardening

cultivation of ginger -- the plant

daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)

9 years ago

Six months ago I took some grocery store ginger with a bud and, on a lark, planted it in a pot. I now have a beautiful, vigorous, 3-foot high plant. I'm wondering about winter.

If I keep the plant in a pot, and bring it indoors over the winter, is it likely to last more than a few years? (I am NOT interested in harvesting the root.) That is, when the root develops, does the plant eventually die naturally? Or does it start to put out new shoots? Is it perennial? I guess I could always pull the root, chop off half of it (with half the foliage), and replant the other half.

If I keep it outside in the 8b winter, is it likely to survive? What air temperatures can it endure? I understand that it doesn't like cold, and I at least need to keep the roots from freezing. I understand that if it dies back, it may or may not come back the next year. So I'm reluctant to let it do that.

I guess I would like some cultivation guidelines for those who want it as a decorative plant, and not to harvest roots. I tried asking this on the Ginger Forum, but it's not clear anyone is at home there. Since I'm not going to use it as a vegetable, maybe this question doesn't even belong here. But I figure some folks here might grow it routinely as a vegetable.

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Comments (4)

zzackey
9 years ago
I have a pine cone ginger in a pot outside. It died back to the ground in winter, but it came back up in the spring. I would leave it outside.
sunnibel7 Md 7
9 years ago
Hmm, I believe the ginger that we eat is a tropical to sub-tropical plant. Not sure if winter is good for it. Try the herb forum, maybe. That's jumping more and I think many people would consider gigner an herb. I've tried sprouting a few that showed signs of life but they always died on me without doing more than showing a green pointy bump.
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renais1
9 years ago
I've grown ginger in pots for years. It should continue to do fairly well in a bright indoor spot in the winter. You should watch the development of the root; I've had ginger root grow big enough that it broke through the side of a plastic pot. Store bought ginger gets around four feet tall, and can make very nice clumps. If the root is starting to get too big, just cut some of it out. Depending on the variety, you might also get some flowers on your plant; not very spectacular, but certainly interesting.
Renais
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
Original Author
9 years ago
That's helpful. Thanks. So basically, the limiting factor is the root getting too big for the pot. But as you say, that's just a matter of cutting some of it out. But it just keeps growing after that? I guess every year or so I have to do some delicate poking through the soil to see where the root is.

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