Planting Ginger root... Help!

After seeing a friends ginger plant I thought I'd like to try one, so I bought a root at the grocery store and I can't figure out top from bottom. Hopefully, the root hasn't been treated with something to keep it from sprouting...... Will regular potting soil be ok? I really don't know a darn thing about growing a ginger plant. Light requirements? She had hers outside under a grapefruit tree. Water requirements? I know. I know. I should have researched this plant before I bought it.... I once had to keep a pair of rabbits in a large acquarium (sans water, of course...) for a few days until their cage was built. I've tried to be better prepared about things, but sometimes my enthusiasm gets the better of my good sense. Any insight as to the requirements of my ginger root would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi,
i have some gingers growing that I bought from the store. Usually, I only buy when I see a growing tip on the ginger. Otherwise they may have been pretreated(asian stores are the best source). Once you see a growing tip, you can lay it on top of soil and keep it moist only while it is growing. They like part sun/shade in az.

Hey lovetropics, Wow! that was a quick response! I was checking out the castor bean thread and came back and had an answer. Thanks so much. I'm going out right now and put it in a pot!

Forgive me for robing this thread, but I need to know if these Ga summers are too much for ginger in full sun.I have less than what I started with.I also need to ask about water.What I have is white butterfly, and it hasn't bloomed since the first year.Thanks, Mike

Hi Mike,
In our AZ heat, they LOVE water and food and part sun. You can tell if the sun is too much by the leaf burn..etc. Gingers are less sun tolerant than cannas in my opinion. I hope this helps.

Thanks lovetropics, I think I need to move them, will it be OK to move them now?Thanks, Mike

I don't know about your weather, but our summer is already here. If I need to give them temp homes, I keep them in pots well watered.

mqiq, those bloom real late in summer/early fall. be patient . i have gobs of them. morknotm the ginger from the grocery store is'nt the same ,i've never had it bloom, and a freeze will kill it . also, if you cook with ginger, you can at the worst, grow your own.they don't make real pretty plants ,in my opinion .again, on the water,store roots i can't say, but the flowering ginger can be watered like canna, or elephant ears.the more, the better.they can be left in the ground here in 7a. the store roots need to be harvested if any danger of frost

Thats great news, and thanks, we are almost same zone, you might be a little north, but we are no more that 60 Mi. difference.Mike

I have my ginger root in a pot just barely covered with potting soil. I keep it damp. I think I'll put it in full shade until I see some growth. I don't use fresh ginger hardly at all, I just wanted to try and grow one. I have a grapefruit tree about six or seven years old that I planted from a grapefruit I ate. It had already sprouted so I just planted it. It is in a big pot, just transplanted it to a bigger one, and it is about 5 ft. tall. It will probably never bear fruit but I'm attatched to it now, so I move it to a sheltered spot in the winter. It's name is Gilbert.
Thanks for all the feedback.

HI Morknotmindy, I just had a piece of a hidden ginger root that fell into my waater rooting tray. It rooted and is putting up growth in the water. I use a plastic tray on a heat mat with an aerator to root things in oasis blocks, and the ginger just fell in unnoticed.
Try setting it in a dish of water to see if it roots before setting it in soil. Hope this help, Ibartoo

I have killed many ginger roots using that technique. They tend to rot in standing water.
cooking ginger is not grown for it's flowers. There is curcuma root(turmeric) which you can also buy fresh in asian stores has a yellow flower.

i just about let some of my elephant ears dry out .i dropped them in a bucket of water to hydrate them. 24hrs of that works on 'bout anything.gives them roots a head start whether they need it or not. sally

wonder why yours died? i do that on any of my roots that have been dug and in storage over winter. usually just drop them in in evening then out and in ground next morning.probably 12/15 hrs in water. do you know what happened? sally

Hi Sally,
gingers and EEs seem to behave differently before they start growing. Excessive water seems to rot hibernating gingers in my weather but EEs are fine. Though growing conditions are similar to EEs and gingers, the similarities start after they start to show GROWTH!!

lovet , i'll be keeping a closer eye on mine,then. thanks ! sally

Mike, white butterfly gingers, or hydechiums can tolerate more sun. As so long they receive plenty of water, they will bloom later in the season. Tumeric curcumas are hardy here for me. I've planted them in the shades the past few years. They're late to imerge (didn't poke their nose through the ground until a week or so ago), and hadn't bloomed in several years. I think I'll try to move those tumeric curcuma (yellow blooms) to more sunny area ASAP. Other hydechiums seems to enjoy morning sun afternoon shade as well. I believe if we treat them like Liliums, they would do best.
Kim

Thanks Kim, but I'm still learning about liliums.Been looking into making an order for next year.On these white butterfly, do you leave the stalk, after the end of the season, or clip, and use for mulch??I have lots to learn about both.I have only been trying to grow ginger for three years now.BTW, I have cross vine doing great.Thanks,Mike

Mike, the white gingers are evergreen here for me. :-) Lilliums can take some morning sun, afternoon shade. Needed to be mulched to keep the root zone cool.
I'm glad the cv is doing well for you. Not many can root those. Congrats Mike.
Kim

Hey, I finally have a bit of green showing on my ginger root!!!! Yay! It's not very big but I can see it. The root is just nestled in the potting soil, morning sun until about eleven then shade the rest of the day. Water every day depending on the weather. I'm just doing this for the heck of it. If I get a cool plant, that's great. If not, well, that's ok too. I found a tiny pine tree of some kind that had sprouted in a flower bed and potted it up when it got big enough. It's about 2" tall now and starting to grow! Yay! I remember one time when a young woman new to Arizona thought she had a whole yard full of baby pine trees. She was so excited! When I went to see her baby pines I had to gently tell her that they were not baby pine trees but baby tumbleweeds....... We had a good laugh about that.

That's funny about the desert condition for plants. Hey guys and dudettes, FYI, common (cooking ginger) do make flower provided that they're mature enough. It took mine two year to form flower, the 'Up side down egg-shap cone' greenish in appearance, the small dark red to maroon florets will come out of them. I'll see if I can find a pics. to share later...
Happy growing gingers. Mike, how are yours coming along? Nice going there MNM. :-)

Mine are doing so much better since I put logs around them, and added mulch that stays wet longer.We live, and learn.Thanks Kim, Mike