Growing Ginger
Planting
Ginger is a rhizome rather than a bulb; plant it an inch below the surface.
Use a large pot because this is a very tall plant - a minimum 12-inch heavy clay pot will do, I use 16-inch pots.
I use a regular artificial potting soil and this works quite nicely.
Watering
Water thoroughly immediately after planting and then heavily all summer long or while the plant is actively growing. Growing ginger requires a great deal of water.
In the fall, start to hold off on the water and allow the plant to dry down between waterings. You'll see the plant start to produce brown leaves. This is fine as it is going dormant. Water to keep it alive but not constantly wet as in the summer months.
Propagation
Ginger is a rhizome so it can be easily divided in the early spring before it resumes growing for the spring.
Also repot in the spring if it has outgrown its pot
Summer Care
After all danger of frost has passed, you can put the fast growing ginger outdoors. Pick a spot that gets as much sunlight as you can but is not a full hot afternoon sun location. Lots of light but nothing hot and direct from noon until 5 kind-of-light.
Water regularly and deeply - you can't overwater this plant during the summer.
Winter Care
I keep my plant on the back porch in a north facing sunny windowsill - and the temperatures are in the 50's at night. No problems so far. This temperature allows it to go dormant and holds it in dormancy until the spring light and temperatures kick it back into active growth.
Flowering
The flower sizes and heights depend on the variety you grow - they range from 2-feet tall to 12-feet tall but all will come from an individual flower stalk on the ground, not from a leaf.
Common Varieties
If you want to try your hand at ginger without spending a lot of money, visit your local supermarket and pick up a ginger root. This is Zingeber officinale the common edible ginger and it grows as above. It is easy to grow and a great children's project because it grows quickly (not as quickly as corn, beans and marigolds though)
Z. spectabile is the largest growing ginger and it can easily reach 6-feet tall with yellow flowers.
Z. zerumbet is the most popular and easily available of the ornamental gingers with its many varieties. I have the 'Darceyi' variegated variety and it is quite lovely whether it blooms or not.
Growing ginger is pretty simple tropical gardening and any northern gardener can succeed with this plant by following the above directions.
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