Joyce,

If your soil is very well-drained, you might be able to plant some gingers very deep and get them through the winter. Of course, the more deeply they are planted, the later they emerge in the spring. I have my criunums planted pretty deep and they usually emerge about a month later here in zone 7 than they did in Texas (planted more shallowly) in zone 8.

Many gingers are only hardy to zone 9, so you'd have to plant deep or plant slightly deep but mulch very heavily.

If no one here responds (and maybe no one on this forum grows ginger here), you might want to ask this question at the Ginger Forum here at Garden Web. I know that some people can grow ginger surprisingly far north (in zones 7 znd 6 and sometimes in zone 5) by planting it very, very deeply, but I don't know if those folks are planting a more cold-hardy variety or just any variety. The folks on the Ginger Forum would know, though.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Web Ginger Forum

Thanks Dawn!
One thing I have found out from other gardeners in the same zone but farther north is our temps are not the same. I have a friend on the Brugmansia list that lives in MD and she thought she was warmer than we are in OK. They are much colder there. So I was hoping to find some fellow Okies who grow ginger. Do you have pictures of your crinums in bloom that you can show? I would love to see them!
Happy Gardening!
Joyce

I don't have photos of anything. I guess I must be more verbally oriented than visually oriented, because I never even think about taking photos. Partly, too, it is because when I am outside, I am busy literally from sunup to sundown and barely have time to eat. Maintaining a large property is hard, and I exhaust myself during the spring planting and summer harvesting season. If I had it to do over again, I'd buy 2 or 3 acres and not 15.

If my criunum even bloomed last year, I somehow missed it and I don't know how. We are in an ongoing moderate drought here with drought conditions since August 2007, and I didn't water the veggie garden much last summer as the drought progressed because the water bill was getting outrageously high from all the watering around the home landscape.

My crinum is on the northwestern edge of the cottage border that surrounds the veggie garden, so it gets afternoon shade and is happy there. Unfortunately, I don't spend a lot of time at the end of garden unless I'm harvesting corn, beans or squash from the "Three Sisters" garden.

The four crinums I planted this year are closer to the house where I can see them daily. There are in a bed on the east side of the house so they'll actually get a little more sun than my original crinum does down by the garden because it is shaded by trees that are west of the garden.

I guess if I don't get good blooms from the original crinum this year, I'll move it up closer to the other ones this fall. The foliage was up and thick and lush and a very late freeze froze it back hard a couple of weeks ago.

I got some white ginger from the ABC store on line and started in indoors. It grew to nice start plant and I put it out about a week ago and its growing! I am thrilled and hope it continues to do well. I also have some Ti logs planted that I started in the house...I want to make some lau lau! We just got back from living in Hawaii for 3 years so I am trying to make my yard as "tropical" as I can...helps with the homesickness....I have giant elephant ears, canna, ferns, tuberose, jasmine, caladiums, and anything else I could think of for that look. I hope it all thrives for a few months, anyway!

Dawn,
I am tired just thinking of all the work you are doing! LOL!! I think it is interesting that you never take pictures. I am the opposite and take pictures all the time. I think digital cameras are one of the all time great inventions! I have looked online at crinums and they have many beautiful colors!

*Momfryhover* I bet your yard is beautiful. Must be quite a change for you here after Hawaii. I love Hawaii and my favorite island is Kuaii. Those ABC stores are great and seem to have everything you need. I had a seed of a tuberose and grew it last summer but it died this winter in the garage. I might try to get some more seeds. I just bought a book from Amazon called Encyclopedia of 'Exotic Plants for Temperate Climates'. I started growing Brugmansia last year and bought a few plumeria, banana trees, & other tropicals at the end of the year so I need help on growing them. I hope your tropical yard will bring you much pleasure!
Happy Gardening!
Joyce

Luvmy3afhounds, i have a brugmansia has been in ground 4 yrs. I had a friend who moved here from louisiana, with her butterfly gingers that came bk every yr on southside of house. Andd, momfryhover, cannas, and castorbeans , also look kinda tropical. I have crinums, and even amaryllis in flowerbed that come back ev yr.