I am trying gingers for the first time. I don't know what variety I have. It looks similar to the Hidden Ginger http://plantsdatabase.com/showpicture/7971/ but it's variegated (the edges are cream colored). Do they go dormant? Should I cut it back for the winter?
Dormant ginger?
I would not cut it back if I were you. Some gingers bloom on last years growth and you may be cutting back your chance for flowers in the spring.
Butterflygardenr, Your ginger in question could be Curcuma Petiolata Variegated 'Emperor'. It will go dormant right around now, is it turning yellow yet?(mine is) After it yellows off then if you wish you can cut it back, it is not that important if you do or don't. It will come back for you in May. Like toadlilly said, some gingers do bloom on last years growth, but this is not one of them. These Curcuma's are hardy to zone 7. I love gingers..in our zone 9b they love us too!
Thanks Lisa, I knew you would see this thread and help out :-).
ButterflyGardnr, Lisa is our resident expert when it comes to gingers, (and other tropicals for that matter). She is a boatload of information and is always there to answer your questions when you need her.
toadlily you are sweet, thank you, but I am far from the expert..lol..I can only help folks that are in or close to my zone about gingers, I am clueless on what to do for gingers in the colder zones. :-)I don't have to deal with digging them up and storing them, I wouldn't know the first thing about doing that.
Thanks, Lisa. I think they are going dormant. Most of the leaves have now yellowed and died, so I clipped off the yellowed ones. It's been unseasonably cold here, too--almost down to freezing several times since November. They bloomed back in July when I bought them. It looked a little like a big white pinecone with a pale pinkish-purple tinge to the lip of the petals. Very delicate and beautiful...unfortunately no scent. I want to get a butterfly ginger, as they have a heavenly scent. I smell the neighbor's ginger every night I walk by it.
BG, Sounds like the same plant I bought this summer in July. My tag says it is a hidden ginger curcuma alismatifolia. Says it is a dwarf species, has long, narrow, pale green-blue, stiff leaves. A pale purple-pink inflorescence is produced on a terminal spike. Goes dormant in winter and blooms spring and fall. Takes part sun. Grows up to 2ft., but mine was at least 3 ft tall and round. It was beautiful but it did go dorment about the first of Dec. for me also. We will have to compare pictures in the spring!
Oh, mine did not have a scent either and I have butterfly ginger on my list to get next year also. We are lucky here in florida...we only have 3 months of winter AND THEN IT IS SPRING AGAIN!!! =)
AMEN, vred! We are blessed with a very short and mild winter. When my gingers re-emerge from their slumber (thinking positively here that I haven't managed to kill them), I will try to get a picture of them in bloom this time. When I bought them, the blooms were starting to fade already so I didn't bother taking a picture. Mine only got to about 2 ft. tall and I was told to keep them in dappled sun at the most. There was no tag on mine--they're mystery gingers! They were leftovers from a landscape job--homeowner specially requested this variety. I got three 1 gal. gingers for $10. Seemed pretty reasonable to me, so I was willing to try them--in pots (trying to keep the yard mostly native plants).
Looks like my positive thinking back in December has paid off. I finally have ginger sprouts coming up. They are growing quickly. I will definitely take a picture of them and post it here so I can find out what they are :)
Oh, I am glad to see this thread, Floridian sent me two ginger rhizomes last fall and I have planted them and put them in my greenhouse. There is no sign of any foliage. I dug down into the pot last week and sure enough there are what I think are eyes and they look alive but still dormant? My greenhouse has no supplemental heat, we have been very rainy and wet here but the greenhouse does get warmer than outside and please help, I know nothing about gingers. Is there any particular soil I should use? How deep do I plant them?
Lenjo,
Use a light, well draining soil, and plant them about an inch below the soil. The warmer you can keep them the better. A min of 70, but if you can get them up into the 80's and 90's, all the better.
Don't over water. When the top of the soil is dry, water them. Increase watering as need when the foliage appears.
Chris
Lenjo, I did the same thing. I dug mine up last week and it now has it's first BIG leaf sticking up! I thought I lost mine cause we got below 32 degrees a couple of times this past winter. I can't wait to see how big it gets.
My two are in the greenhouse and no sign of life yet. I will be ever so patient because these would be so unique for here.
Lenjo, mine aren't doing anything yet either, I'm trying to be as patient as I can!