Hi,
Here is a picture of my ginger after my gardener hacked it to death (grrrr). It was blocking a sliding glass door, so it needed to be done, but I would have preferred to wait until after the blooms had finished. Oh well, my bad for not communicating well enough...
I would like to divide the rhizome since it is outgrowing this bed. Is now a good time since the plant doesn't look that great anyway? Or is it best to wait until the fall?
Thanks a bunch, Christina
I would move the whole thing, I can see where it would be a constant agravation getting in that door!! lol. I think you could easily move it now, unless you think there are some more blooms coming and want to wait for that. In your zone, I don't think the timing is that big an issue.
I would move the whole thing...just to get it away from the door..
I'd actually love to move it, but this is literally the only shade I have in the whole yard front and back. I have a fairly new landscape, so all my trees are small. Luckily, this door is seldom used as we have two other entrances to the rear yard. I do use it for ventilation however, and the smell of the blooms fills my house on warm summer nights. It's pure heaven!
If timing isn't that big of an issue, I'll give it a go. I'd like to spruce up the bed below it too, so it's a good time to divide and conquer! I'm still deciding what will be fun to grow below it - any suggestions? Since I usually am limited to only full sun plants, this gives me something different to plant. I was thinking of just some common impatients, since I see them around the neighborhood and am always envious that I can't use them anywhere. I don't want anything tooooo permanent or large since I'll probably need to divide this ginger every few years. This had tripled in size in the year and half since it was originally planted! It seems to love this spot.
Thanks for the fast responses! I seem to have written a 'book' in return. :)
Here is a photo of it a few weeks prior, when it was blooming.
Hedychium gingers can be grown in full sun. I do it here and also when I lived in Hawaii.
Wow what a beautiful plant! It really does love that spot!
Janet
Your H. gardnerianum can grow in morning sun until even 1pm or so, I don't know how intense the sun is there, here in central Florida that would fry in full sun. On any of the pseudostems that have been cut already you might as well just cut them back to the ground, they're not going to rebloom and it will also make it easier to divide and move around. As long as it isn't in full non-stop sun from like 1-4 you can try it in different places, but more sun means more water, don't forget. The new pseudostems will sprout being used to more sun, older ones may burn a little but new ones will replace old ones in no time. Als super phosphate is great after you cut up and divide your gingers, stimulates root growth as well as blooms.
Liz
leneobrien@aol.com
I think I'll leave it where it's at, since it seems to like it here. It does get some sun in the morning only, but everywhere else is very hot all day, at least during the summer months. The concrete and stucco from the house radiate the heat and it's not uncommon for it to be over 100 degrees. Good to know that I can cut them all the way to the ground, as it certainly will make it much easier to work with. Can I cut them ALL to the base? I'm kind of thinking a fresh new start will be nice and I know it grows fast.
I read on the internet that when you divide you should wash away all the old dirt and dip it into fungicide for 30 minutes, is that necessary? I never used fungicide when I divided my agapanthus, and they did just fine (knock on wood). Plus, there isn't a way to 'dip' the part that is remaining in the ground - so what can you do with that to replicate the fungicide treatment??
Glad you like it Janet, me too! It's a favorite.
This message was edited Aug 12, 2006 11:49 AM
You may certainly cut them all back before you work with the rhizomes. Your hedychium will be fine no need for fungicide. You should always make sure that your tools are clean, no matter what you're working with. Actually bleach and water is used commercially as a fungicide for edible gingers since it's considered safe for human consumption. I have used it before.
Liz
Here is a photo of Hedychium gardnerianum rhizome division. I took pics for a seminar we did several months ago.on gingers in the landscape.
Good to know, thank you! I really appreciate your advice. :)
Ok, I'm nervous but I did it. It was actually bigger than I thought and took A LOT of effort to get out. I tried to be so careful at first but it was a bear and in the end I had to stand on the end of my shovel and pry it out. I hope I didn't sever too many roots. I took your advise and made a mild bleach and water solution to clean the tools and then did a quick dip for the roots. I don't know if it did any good, but hopefully any fungus germs are long gone. I ended up with three additional plants and still a very sizable chunk remaining in the original spot. I hope they live! I'm shocked at how huge it grew in such little time. thanks again to everyone for holding my hand through this. :)
I like where your ginger is. It is a nice place you can enjoy them. I am sure they smell wonderful!!!!That being said, if it bothers you that they keep falling over in your path - just stake them up.
I agree, about staking them, just get some larger heavy bamboo stakes and tie with strips of panty hose (it's less likely to cut pseudostem (we use a ty'um up that has green tape). congrats on dividing your ginger. I'm sure it will do fine, just water aftre it begins to dry out and give it some good food and it'll be up full size again before you know it. I like it by the door too, it allows to smell ..... and watch the butterfkies and hummers up close.
Liz
I put an eye hook into the stucco a while back, but then got lazy and forgot to tie them up. Once they got big I didn't want to disturb them and risk losing a bloom, so that's why I left it so long. I am vowing to keep them under control this time around, so they're tied now and I plan to reign in any new shoots that try to lean out. I planted some cute annuals underneath, so now I also need to make sure all their light isn't blocked - an added incentive to keep them in check. I planted some correopsis and purble fan flowers at the base. :)))
It sounds beautiful. Please take pics again when it has grown back in.
Liz
I will add my admiration of your plant, and I love it in that spot. I have one I grew from seed and it's in a large pot, multiplying rapidly and sprawling. I had it inside over winter, from the beginning of January it threw up 3 new shoots, I put it outside for summer but it went form very cold to very hot and the new leaves did get quite scorched. No flowers as yet.
I had a vision of a metal frame work in front of your plant, just high enough to stop it from falling over the door. It might save some of that tying back that we hate doing, the plant would also fall more naturally. A dwarf clematis or other climber could be grown up the framework.
I have a ground cover growing on a bank which dies back quite a lot here, in your climate I doubt it would, Delosperma ecklonis latifolia. It is perennial and requires no real maintenance. Lovely bright purple flowers like mini Mesembryanthemum. They also set seed, thay are supposed to like the heat, mine have done really well this year. If happy they can make a huge mound, but keeps low.
This shows the colour best, it's a self set across the path growng in front of the fuchsias by a south wall, it's much bigger than those on the bank. I'm thinking of putting them in other places as ground cover, they grow easily from pieces too.
thanks for the ideas and the admiration! I love the ground cover you photographed. I have a hillside swarming with hungry bunnies, and this looks like a nice choice to add since I doubt they'd like to nibble on this one. :)
The reason I added the correopsis, was because I had them on the hillside mentioned above, and the bunnies chewed them to the stem. They're still alive and healthy, so I know they'll do better at the base of my ginger. Now I just have to worry about my lab stepping on them and trying to dig them up!
This message was edited Aug 15, 2006 6:44 AM
