OK, a few years ago, I'd have never thought that ANY kind of ginger could make it in the ground in Zone 6.
I have discivered a few that CAN, and with realatively minimal fussing with, too.
First up is the White Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium something or other) that I got from Brian WIlliams. He has been wintering it in the ground in his Louisville, KY location (Zone 6b) for about 8 years or so.
There is also Roscoea cuatyloides, which is darn near impossible to find, as well as a few other Roscoeas, which are even harder to find....
I just recently discovered some nursery in Michigan (which could not be considered tropical by any stretch of the imagination) that has kept Zingiber mioga 'Dancing Crane' (which they also sell) in the ground for over a decade now.
I was wondering if anyone else has had any success with wintering Gingers in the ground in Z 7a or colder and what type they were and what protection they used.... It would also be nice if maybe we could get some kind of hardy ginger trade going... I bought a HUGE white butterfly off of Brian about a month and a half ago (I'm keeping it inside this winter, due to the fact that it is marginal here and September is too late to be planting such things) that is almost totally root-bound, and will be getting divided this spring when I plant it outside. I'd be willing to part with a division or two at that time.
Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm making this thread to be a sort of Hardy Ginger think-tank/database for experimental gardeners who are willing to push the zones a bit.
Hardy Ginger discussion/discovery thread
lol I think this is a great thread to start Hikaro! I can't do it right now, but soon I will list all the different types of gingers that I have in the ground-including 2 dancing cranes, multiple hedychiums (about 8 different ones-including Dr Moy) 3-4 costus, kaempferia -about 4, different alpinias, curcumas and various others. Can't wait to hear about peoples experience with overwintering them in the ground, and any tips they might have to do that.
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
Hey Wallaby! Yeah, I'd aggree that even though England's winters are milder, your summers are cooler as well.... We usually have a gap of about 105* F or about 55* C between our highest temp of the year and lowest temp of the year here.
I was wondering what kind of soil you've got in your yard? Where I live (and in KY where Brian's Botanicals is located) we have a yellowish clay over limestone, making for some sticky, alkaline soil... I know that there is a good bit of clay soil over chalk in England and Scotland, but there is also a good bit of volcanic soils/substrates as well...
Know where I could get some of those Roscoeas (IIRC, they're supposed to be hardy to ZOne 6 or 7... If they are hardy to 7, I can just mulch them good, like what Brian does with the White Butterfly ginger that I got from him). I'm also half-tempted to try a Shell Ginger (A. zerumpet) to see if it will survive with a good mulch as well.....
I have sandy soil, they do like well drained soil with leaf mould added. You could add plenty of grit and sand.
Right... I have some Perlite, which is currently earmarked for germinating Palm seeds... I'll just use what is left over, and buy more, if necesary, to amend my soil... The soil in the woods already has a 6-12 inch thick layer composed of thoroughly decayed organic material, but the Perlite (a.k.a vermiculite) couldn't hurt any... I have a bag of crushed oak leaves (what's left over from mulching my plants for the winter) that also could be added to the planting site as well (the oak leaves should also help condition the soil, since they are loaded with tannic acid).
I also checked the AHS encyclopedia of Garden Plants, which, for the most part, is very conservative with their zone ratings, and they listed R. auriculata as hardy to Zone 6, so that plant goes in on the list of trial plants for next year!
I am in zone 7a and will be leaving several of my gingers outside this year (but heavily mulched): Dancing Crane, White Butterfly Hedychium, Dr. Moy Hedychium, Curcuma petiolata 'Emperor', Unnamed Hidden Ginger Curcuma, and several other Hedychiums.
Most of my gingers are in raised beds with good drainage, and several are in protected areas close to the house that create "microzones".
I have several new varieties and extras of my older ones that will be stored inside just in case we do have a bad winter. And I have several varieties that are probably not hardy here, like Curcuma zedoaria, that will be lifted and stored inside.
Everyone here leaves their cannas in the ground, even though "technically" they are borderline hardy here. Many of the Hedychiums look like canna tubers and I suspect they would overwinter outside without any problem as long as drainage is good.
I had zingiber dancing crane 2 years ago, close to the house for
protection. It didn't come back in the spring. zingibers aren't as hardy
as hedychiums, as I have killed beehive, and several others placed in a
similar location. Nathalyn, the rest of your gingers should be fine in the
ground.
Janet
Janet, are you sure that you didn't lose your Zingiber mioga to hungry rodents, or root-rot from poorly draining soil? The reason I ask is that Garden Crossings (a Watchdog 30 Nursery) in Michigan has overwintered them in the ground for at least 5 years with no other protection than a layer of leaf mulch. Even Tony "I consider all plants hardy until I've killed them myself at least 3 times" Avent of Plant Delights Nursery rates them as at least hardy to zone 7a.....
Hi,
I guess I am not positive, but I live 1.5 blocks from the Gulf of Mexico and have mostly
sand for soil. My house is the highest one on the street, and I had it planted on the southern side between my house and a privacy fence, right next to the house to add warmth.
I have cypress mulch on the whole area. I saw no signs of digging, but who knows??
Just thought I'd share my experience, although I did have it twice. And I lost it both times.
Janet
Janet,
My dancing crane overwintered outside last year with no problem.
Well, I guess that settles it, then, I am wrong.
Must be "something" I did to it.
Oh, well, win some, lose others.
Janet
Vole damage would not necesarrily be readily appearant... They are a tunneling rodent that can go a good ways (especially in sandy soil) underground in search of plant roots.... If you have any holes that are about 1.25" in diameter in your yard, you have voles... The best solution for them is either (a) plant Cator Bean plants around anything that you don't want them to eat (Caster beans either rpell the rodents, or the voles who are dumb enough to nibble on the roots of a castor bean plant won't be eating any more roots... ever), (b) get some vole traps, or (c) get a few cats, which will keep the vole population in tight check.
I also know that Z. mioga is a woodland plant, and preferrs more woodsy soil (I.e. rotted leaf mold and various other semi-organic components), so maybe if you added some chopped leaves and (dare I say it) a little bit of clay to your beds, it might make it (provided it isn't Voles eating the rhizomes that's killing them)...
I've heard of mioga growing in Chicago in zone 5. Some lady said it grew too well in her garden..lol My sun has Zingiber zerumbet in the ground in western NC Zone 6b. I had him plant it on a bank so water wouldn't settle in that clay and he covered with pine needles about a foot deep. I'll let you know next spring how they fair. Aewsome idea for a thread.
Liz
Wish we could grow Roscoeas here but, they can't take our hot and humid summers :(
Liz... Do you think they'd make it in Zone6b/AHS Heat Zone 7? The reason I'm asking is that I have been growing Fargesia nitida, a VERY cold-hardy clumping bamboo that hates hot, humid summer conditions (it grows at 10,000 -12,000 feet elevation on mountains in Central China), and although it won't grow any further south than DC (I saw a nice-sized clump growing in light shade at the National Zoo), it does fine here, if planted in partial to full shade. My clump gets light-moderate shade all day (except in the winter when the trees lose their leaves), and has done beautifully so far, even with the record droughts and heat-waves we had in the past two years.
I also wish I could grow half the gingers you can down in FL, but they don't like our cold winters, LOL! Can't wait to hear the report on how the Z. zerumpet does... I remember seeing HUGE clumps of blooming Pinecone ginger in Hawaii, and wishing that we had something like that around here. If it proves to be able to be grown in this zone with nothing more than good drainage and mulching, I'll definitely be getting me some.
The alpine varieties should be perfect for you. I have a show this weekend but will look further into it this week and give you an update. lol I know what you mean, it's like people with straight hair wanting curly and curly wantinf straight :).Liz
Hikaro, you are right that Roscoeas do not like hot, humid summers, but I agree they are worth a try there in Pennsylvania. The ideal climate (in the US) is in the Pacific northwest, and perhaps coastal California. I know several people in Washington state and in British Colombia who are growing them, but I think they could be used much more widely. There are also good mail order sources for them there. I tried one once that I got from the well-known Alpine and rock garden nursery - Siskyou Rare Plants in Oregon. A Google search would probably find some others. I subscribe to Alpine-L which is the primary rock garden email group. Every now and then there are discussions on Roscoeas and I am sure they have some in their seed exchange program.
When I tried a Roscoea here, it bloomed the first year, then slowly dwindled away and was gone by the third year.
Another ginger you might want to try there is Cautleya spicata, which is another hardy, cool climate ginger. Below is a photo of a huge patch of it that is growing at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden in California. The Hardy Gingers book only rates it hardy down to 15 degrees F., but there are others rated down to 5 degrees F.
Dave Skinner
www.gingersrus.com
Cautleya spicata at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden
Hedychium forrestii is said to be very hardy, zone 6a in DG PF. I got one this year as a rhizome, it's got a fairly tall stem on it now but took a while to get going. It's in a pot in the greenhouse, and I will bring it inside for this winter, but hope to try it in the ground eventually.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/53908/index.html