Can I grow ginger in zone 6-7?

[dappertophatter]

Hi y'all! I'm new, from BYC, but have been lurking for a very long time.

What I mean about the ginger is, will it grow properly and not keel over on me. I'm wondering primarily if it will survive my mild winter Jersey Shore winter. (I'm OK with having to replant it every year.) There is not a whole lot of info on the 'Net about how well ginger does in gardens, more like stick-it-in-the-ground-and-have-fun!

It would be in a sheltered, deep-shade spot next to my coop in sandy soil and near a well-traveled path.

Thanks for any help!

 

[hoodat]

Your best chance in that area is to pot it. Ginger is a true tropical and cannot take any frost at all. It can be grown as an indoor plant or greehose plant.It is also very slow to produce any root to speak of. Even in organic markets it isn't expensive enough to be worth the trouble unless you just want to do it for fun.
If you want to go to the trouble you would be better off growing galangal which is often hard to find and expensive when you do. It is related to ginger but has a distinctive flavor essential to Southeast Asian cooking.

 

[dragonlaurel]

You'll have better luck at growing it in a pot. It will need a decent sized pot, since they can get fairly tall and you don't want it to blow over in wind. The flowers are beautiful, so I think it's worth the trouble.

It's fairly adaptable about the amount of light, but I'm not sure how dark it would be happy in. I had some in bright and some in dappled shade.

 

[dappertophatter]

Drat. :/ Oh well. Thanks for your help!!

 

[Ariel301]

I'm in zone 8 and it would not grow outdoors here. (We've got the warmth, but not the moisture it needs) I am keeping some as houseplants though.

 

[ducks4you]

You can move the pot from the house to the porch to the house again!! I kept a ficus going for YEARS that way and it got ginormous.