Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Hardy Ginger discussion/discovery thread, 1 by wallaby1

wallaby1 wrote:
I have Roscoea auriculata. It's easy to grow from seed, which I did 6 years ago from the original plants, but they take 5 years to flower, a few will flower in 4 years. I have some mature ones now which have made seed and is nearly ready, there is also quite a few self sets which need to be thinned out.

I sowed the seed when fresh and they germinate with being left ouside in a seed tray, I transplanted to a larger tray and they went through frost to -9C with no trouble. They should be put a good 6" deep in the soil, which I did with the originals as they are said to be a little tender. The seedlings had their roots running along the bottom of the tray and it didn't damage them, the tray was only a large seed tray not much more than 3" deep.

The parent plants are now too congested and need to be split, they make seed best when still young. We also had a very hot summer this year, it didn't seem to bother them much, they are in a semi-shaded spot. It was also very dry and that didn't bother them much either, but they are well established and need to be kept moist when younger, although I think any plant grow properly yourself is much more tolerant of a wide range of weather conditions.

Although zone 8a may seem warmer to you, our climate is generally quite cold, except this year we had many temps in the high 20'sC and over 30C. The zone denotes the likely expected minimum temperature. They were in 6" pots last winter and we had a prolonged, cold winter. Worth a try!

This is a seed grown one, the colour is more purple