I have a question about 2 gingers, Spiral Ginger and Kahili Ginger. I'm not sure if they need to go completely dormant and I cut the tops off, or if they should stay green all winter. All the other gingers I have, I let them go dormant, cut the tops off, keep dry and they sprout again in the spring. I kept these growing all winter last year and was wondering if that was necessary.
Ginger Question
Cala, when i had some butterfly and kahili gingers, i cut them 6" above the rhizomes. i used to live in zone 9 then. i left them on the ground all winter long. when the weather gets warmer they come back and produce lots of beautiful blooms.
here in the desert, where the winter is much colder, i cut them also 6" above the rhizomes, place them in plastic bags once dried. check once in a while to check for moisture. if too dry i spray with water. by the time temperature gets warmer, i see lots of new buds ready for planting the following warmer season. HTH.
hopefully someone will also post how they take care of their ginger plants for winter storing.
oooohhh Lizaaaa where are U :)!
MaVie, that's how I store the others, wasn't sure about these. I'll chop the tops off then and store those babies till spring. I wasn't sure if they bloomed on old or new growth.
i have personal experiences on both mentioned ginger plants.
so far as personal experience is concerned, they bloom on new growths. maybe they vary from zone to zone??? in the Phils. we, chopped off old growths to make room for the new buds to come up. make the plant look neat too.
the alpinia's is a different story. they continously grow all year round up here. i have never tried chopping them off. some sites suggest they take several years before they bloom.
Uh oh, that's the one I shouldn't have chopped!! I knew there was one.
live and learn Cala :)! do not worry, alpinia's are prolific growers. i do not think it would have hurt at all. i myself have moved their site on the ground one too many times. there is no way, they could hurt. they grow in leap and bounds in no time. http://www.nettally.com/skinnerd/gingers.htm