Am totally new to growing gingers. Not many people grow them up here, but they looked too gorgeous, not to mention fragrant, to resist. Must grow them in pots.
A few weeks ago I got Hedychium coronarium, severely in need of repotting but healthy. Doubled the pot size, but now it's grown so much so quickly, will need to repot again any day now.
Have read that it likes wet conditions and can spread so rapidly it's considered invasive when planted in the ground. (Wish I had some ground to plant it in that's warm all year!)
OK to repot in a pot that's much, much larger? Don't want to have to repot this every few weeks.
Hedychium Pot Size?
Fortunately I live far enough south that I can grow hedychiums in the ground (they are just starting to sprout now). I have grown them in pots temporarily, though. From what I've seen, they do not mind being pot-bound. In fact, if you grow them in the black plastic nursery pots and don't repot them fast enough, they will actually split the pot as they grow. I have seen them bloom in 1-gallon containers. As long as the plant is in active growth, it should be OK to repot it into a much larger pot. If it's totally out of control, you could just discard part of the plant (eventually you will have to anyway, if you're limited to growing in containers). BTW, I've found that H. coronarium is not very rewarding to grow. While it is easy to find and grows fast, it blooms in late fall for me and just about the time it's ready to bloom the frost zaps it. Also, it seems to have a lot of foliage vs. flowers. My favorite so far is 'Daniel Weeks' - lots of flowers. If you like variegated foliage, get 'Dr Moy'. The newer 'Thai' series is also nice. Since you're restricted to growing in containers, I'd look for some of the hedychiums with shorter growth instead of the ones that turn into monsters.
I tried growing ginger in Seattle...and I had a beautiful HUGE pot of it...never/nary a bloom. In the summer it lived outdoors in the winter indoors in a sunny spot. I was told the blooms are triggered by an inner clock dependent upon daylight hours...and with the days getting so much shorter in the fall, the clock went south!!! They don't need a really deep pot...but a wide one....
Carol