Hi Lillypon,
I live in Tyrone, GA, not far from you, and tried doing what you suggest a couple of years ago. The roots did sprout but didn't make it through the winter (I didn't try taking them inside.) I think you might need to be a bit more south of us but others on this forum will probably have the answer.

Hi Lillypon, I have the same question as you. I had a neighour who noticed her ginger seemed to be growing knobs or bumps on it, so she planted it in a pot and it grew.

When I tried it, nothing happened, so I was also wondering if there is a special way. Deep in the pot ? Half out ? Does the Ginger have to have lots of knobs ? I should have asked my neighbor before I moved.

Maybe someone will give us some advice. Liz

I tried it for the first time myself this year. I potted it just far down enough to have it completely covered. It has grown considerably but it is not the tall type that other gingers are. I do not think it will bloom but my understanding is that you may harvest it and place a portion of it back in the ground to regrow for next year.
Susan

Hi,
I have grown some for 2 years now. You want to plant it like you would an Iris-with a bit of it sticking up out of the ground. It will not make it through the winter outside as far as I know. I take mine in the greenhouse, wait for the leaves to die down then harvest and replant what I want for the next year.

Hi Susan and Bananalover, thanks for the quick response. I will to plant a root tomorrow, in a pot for indooors as our Winters are much too cold for outdoor planting. By the way, How Long before any shoots show ? Just curious.
Thanks Liz.

Thanks for the information everyone.I am planting mine today and will keep it in my kitchen window as we are starting to get cool nights here. A few nights ago it was down to 37. I wonder why they wouldn't bloom, maybe they have to be in the soil for awhile .

I live in Denver, Colorado, and I used to take my ginger
inside in the winter. Here the winter starts in Oct. and often doesn't end until May, so the plant got really
leggy even with grow lights. So, yeah, take 'em indoors.

Just a little add-on here...I have asked this question before as well. Sometimes ginger from the gro store is not fresh enough to sprout. I tried several times before I finally got one to sprout. So, if this first one does not work, the root might not be quite fresh enough.
Becca

I've grown them sucessfully and unsucessfully. Be sure it is a fresh root and don't plant it deep. The suggestion to treat it like an Iris rhizome is good. They can take a looooong time to sprout so be patient. Something else to consider with grocery ginger- if you don't know it's point of origin or even if it's true ginger, you have no way of knowing where it is in it's dormancy cycle.
It's a fun project, not a showy plant but fun.

Hi Lillypon,
I am originally from india where ginger is widely grown and used as a home remedy.I grow it here in OH.You can buy it at Asian grocery stores.Make sure that the rhizomes are not dry.They should feel heavy and succulent.It has to be planted outside in the summer like you do Irises.Parts of it should be exposed.Keep it slightly moist until it roots.In the fall, dig it up and pot it.Keep it in a warm room by a window with lots of light.
I use it in several juices that I make from scratch.It has all sorts of good medicinal properties.you only need a small piece of it each time.
michelle

I grow a ton of it in North Carolina zone 7b. I buy a root from the grocery store in February (make sure it is firm and not wrinkled or shriveled). I wrap it in a wet paper towel and place it inside a plastic sandwich bag. I put the bag in a warm dark place (on top of my fishtank works the best). Every week I open up the bag and unwrap the root to make sure it isn't rotting. If I see mold growing on it I gently clean it off with soapy water and re wrap with a new wet paper towel. Sometimes I see growth in the first week, sometimes it takes a few weeks. Once I see sprouts forming I find a plastic plant pot that is bigger than the whole root but not to much bigger. I fill it with potting soil and dampen it. I lay the unwrapped sprouting root on top of the soil. You can slightly bury it with damp soil or just leave it on top if you want - either way works fine.

I grow it as a houseplant for a month or so until the weather outside is reliably warm (you can just grow it all the time as a houseplant if you want). Ginger likes shade to part sun and rich dark soil that drains well (lots of compost or gravel - keep it fluffy). It likes warm weather but will survive the first frost as long as it isn't too severe.

The hottest flavor is at about 265 days of growth so if you plant them inside in pots in March, by the end of October you will have the best roots. You can tell by looking at them if they are ready or not. I yank them out of the ground and lay them in the shade to dry for a few days before cutting them off the plants and cleaning them up.

I make crystallized ginger candy out of them by boiling the cut up roots in sugar water and give them away as Christmas presents. They are always a big hit.

I have grown ginger and had it bloom. The blooms are small and yellow.My plants grew to four feet in a twelve inch pot and I have had luck getting to come back in the yard as well.The flowers are produced on small cones like its big cusins the shampoo ginger.

Can you share the recipe for the candy? This might not be the best place to do that but I didn't see any better ones.

A few years ago I grew a ginger plant from a grocery store root, however the plant, for unknown reasons, died a few months later (in the middle of August of that year). I tried this again earlier this year, but used the "knobs" on the ends instead of the whole root. One of the knobs started to grow, but then stopped and eventually died. I was wondering if the entire rhizome needed to be used or if only the knobs can be used.

Thanks,
-Stan

I have one that I started last spring. It was real slow to start but once it did it went crazy. It is still outside and has survived a few frosts. The leaves look a little brown and ratty but some are still green. The tuber seems to have multiplied too. It never did get any flowers but I understand they aren't spectacular anyhow. It was a fun experiment.
~SJN

I planted several last fall. I only used the knobs and started it out in a 10 gallon aquarium, I remembered reading that they like humidity and now I have it in a mini green house in my office and I think I'm going to need to repot it! I had thought it would be better to plant several of the knobs in case it didn't work. To be honest it was an experiment on my part I had left the ginger in the bag on top of our microwave in the kitchen and the root went bad but I noticed there were about 5 knobs and so I planted those with just the pointy tips sticking out and VOILA! I have another house plant!

I would like the recipe for the candy also. It sounds good. I have had grocery store ginger growing in a pot for three years. I bring it in my greenhouse in the fall. The leaves die back and starts again in the spring. Linda

I bought a piece of ginger root yesterday at the grocery store. After reading all the posts here, I'm a little confused as to how the root is to be planted....vertically with the tip sticking out of the soil ....or lying horizontally on, or just beneath the soil. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks-
ErthDancr

Thanks in part to this thread, this spring I planted a couple pieces of ginger I bought at the grocery store. Now I wish I'd put it in a bigger pot, because it's doing very well! It has two large, almost palm-like fronds almost 2 feet tall and a third one just coming up, about 6". I like to walk by, rub the leaves between my fingers, and release the scent.

I have a question, though... Are the leaves edible? I'd like to take a leaf, cut it into strips, and use the strips to tie dumplings into pouches.

Great going fliptx I gave up on mine all it did was rot.I planted what I thought to be pretty fresh root, but as you know not much way of knowing. So I may try again
Dorothy

Dorothy- I feared mine had rotted. It took a good 3 or so weeks to come up, and we got hit with a couple of "cold" snaps during that time. It's definitely worth trying again, I think! The largest of my fronds are now almost 3' tall and the shortest is about a foot tall. There's another new one is coming up through the mulch. Once again I'm kicking myself for not putting the rhizome in a larger pot. With the way these puppies are growing, I may get some goodies when I lift them in the fall!

so i got my ginger... hooow am i planting it in the pot? vertically horizontal. should i start it in a bad with paper towl?

I would also like to try this (although I may wait until early spring to start it so I don't have to move it around a bunch) and I'd also like to know: have people had more luck starting it in bags? Or can I just stick it in a pot and expect it to sprout? What are people's experiences with this, and the more specific, the better! I would love to harvest some ginger!

~AOK

Ah, now I know why my shoots kept dying. I put them in water. Plus the cat kept breaking them off trying to get into the water. I never have any problem getting them to sprout. I just buy fresh plump looking ginger and eventually, if I forget to use it all, it will sprout. Keep it out of the light in a darker area of the kitchen and it will eventually sprout.

I was just looking at my sprouted ginger and went to research how to plant and grow it. Thanks for all the info! Seriously, all the bagging stuff really is not necessary. I will plant it barely covered and keep the dirt moist and see if that will get it growing.

I bet if it died for some, it is because it got too dry. Think about it, if the root is pretty close to the top of the dirt, it is way drier that close to the top. Sounds like a moist shady spot will work well.

My mom had ornamental ginger in Houston Texas that died back every year and came back bigger and better. Hers flowered and were gorgeous (Ornamental ginger) and she had it in a real shady spot under a tree near a fence with all around shade. Very little filtered sun. Hope that helps people that want to try it in a hot area.

Please note, I read up and some gingers need MORE sun to bloom and need to be fed monthly. It all depends on the ginger you have and the amount of sun.

Anyone know the name of the ginger from the grocery store? I have tried google but only come up where to buy it and grow it. Listed only as 'ginger'. Any help appreciated. plantbug

It's Zingiber officinale.

Thank you tropicbreezent!

I know this is an old forum but I grew mine in humid plastic bags and containers. I had problems with mold but they grew! Then I planted mine in soil. I left one out on a counter for awhile. It grew but VERY slowly. Anyway, if you get a good rhyzome it should grow vigorously. Also, if anythimg should happen, like your ginger plant breaks or dies, new sprouts should appear soon :)

Here's mine that I grow in a pot.
{{gwi:570381}}

Wow. I love your ginger sultry_jasmine_night!@ Is this a store-bought ginger and how old is it? My home-grown ginger is about 2'; it will be nice to have it set blooms too!

Happy Gardening,

Bo

Hi yaslan, Yes that is a plain old rhizome from the grocery store. I am not sure how old maybe a year? They seem to like to bloom when they get the pot full of roots and the plant is really crowded. I make sure they get some sunlight and lots of water and good drainage. They bloom very easily with these conditions.

Grocery store turmeric grows fine outdoors in central South Carolina. It dies down each winter but comes back in spring.

I know it's an old post,
I live in the Southwest of UK and i planted a 3inch piece i bought from Saisbury's around 3 months ago, now I am quite curious so i dug into the pot and found it had sprouted, i am still waiting for leaves but it's a green house that at a constant 25-40C (night/day) it's in a peat based soil with Perlite, and for 34p it's growing it's second attempt though. bgut i have had more luck with store coconuts,

Leo

The roots seem to take a while to get going sometimes. I think some stores treat their veggie roots with a spray that keeps them from sprouting (or so I've heard). Anyhow once they get going if given warm, light, and water they do pretty well.
~SJN

i have also herd that they treat the root to suppress sprouting.

Six months ago I took some grocery store ginger with a bud and planted it in a pot. I now have a beautiful 3-foot high plant. I'm wondering about winter.

If I keep the plant in a pot, and bring it indoors over the winter, is it likely to last more than a few years? (I am NOT interested in harvesting the root.) That is, when the root develops, does the plant eventually die naturally? Or does it start to put out new shoots?

If I keep it outside in the 8b winter, is it likely to survive? What air temperatures can it endure? I understand I at least need to keep the roots from freezing. I understand that if it dies back, it may or may not come back the next year. So I'm reluctant to let it do that.

I guess I would like some cultivation guidelines for those who want it as a decorative plant, and not to harvest roots.

Well I've had mixed results. According to the Extension Office, they prefer mixed shade here in Hillsborough County. Good soil drainidge is a must, whether pot or open ground. Keeping the soil well nourished is also a plus.

Blood and Bone meals are good for slow release and Peruvian Guano (12-11-1) is a good fast release (soak about 3 tablespoons in about 1 cup of non chlorinated water overnight) and add a gallon more water in the morning,,mix/shake well & drench soil...Add compost tea on a monthly basis as well and, most importantly, mulch with straw or grass clippings to keep soil moist.