How to Grow and Culture Ginger Plants

Ordinary ginger grows into a handsome house plant.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is an herb grown almost extensively for its rhizomes, which spread under the soil. It is a perennial and will grow to be about 4 feet high in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 12. Although you will not usually find the ginger plant in garden centers, you should be able to find it in grocery stores in the produce section. Choose fat tubers with a couple of growth buds to start your ginger plant.

Things You'll Need

• Plant pot
• Sand
• Perlite
• Well-rotted compost
• Ginger rhizome
• Knife
• 10:10:10 fertilizer

Instructions

1. Fill a plant pot with a mixture of equal parts of sand, perlite, and well-rotted compost or potting soil. Leave 1/2-inch of space at the top of the container for watering.

2. Cut 1-inch chunks from the ginger rhizome---ensuring that each has at least one growth bud---using a clean and sharp knife. Bury the ginger 1 inch below the surface of the potting mixture, laying it horizontally and firming the soil over it.

3. Water the soil until the excess begins to drain from the bottom.

4. Place the pot near a window where it will get indirect light during the day, or set it outside in a partly shady place.

5. Fertilize the plant when the shoots emerge, using a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer according to the manufacturer's directions.

6. Grow the ginger over the summer and then harvest the roots in the fall by cutting them off the mother plant when the leaves have all wilted. Save a few rhizomes to restart a new plant for the following growing season. Scrub the fresh ginger roots with a nylon vegetable brush and store them in a cool, dry place until you are ready to use them

References

• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Growing and Using Edible Gingers in North Florida
• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Ginger --- Zingiber officinale Roscoe
• Floridata: Zingiber officinale
• Easy To Grow Bulbs: Ginger Growing Guide