Do You Trim the Bulbs on a Ginger Lily?

Description

• Ginger lily may grow 3 to 7 feet tall. The plant is a perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 7b to 11 and can tolerate light frost. A hard frost will kill it back to the ground, but it grows from the rhizomes again in spring. The leaves are lance shaped and up to 24 inches long. The stalks produce 6- to 12-inch clusters of white, fragrant flowers from summer until fall. Flowers become seed pods with bright pink flat round seeds that may be sown but does not produce flowers for many seasons.

Division

• The ginger lily is easy to propagate. Divide the plant in very early spring when you are dividing the rest of your perennials. Dig up the rhizomes and use a very sharp clean knife to cut apart the rhizomes at the joining points. Then take the rhizome and cut it into 8-inch pieces. It is important to use a clean cutting instrument to prevent the introduction of disease. Each section of the rhizome has the capacity to sprout and produce an entirely new Hedychium plant.

Planting

• Prepare a planting bed for ginger lily that is rich in composted organic matter. The soil must drain well to prevent the roots and rhizomes from rotting but the plant does like moisture. Ginger lily may be planted in full sun or partial shade. The plant may also be grown in a deep pot in 2 parts peat moss, 2 parts loam and 1 part sand. Plant the rhizome as deep as it is long, so for an 8-inch piece you dig a hole 8 inches deep. The best time to plant is early spring but in warm climates you can also plant it in fall.

Care

• Hedychium needs to stay moist all the time. Potted plants may need watering every other day in very hot sunny conditions. Fertilize the rhizomes after they have sprouted every week with a good water soluble balanced fertilizer to promote more blooms. Take off spent flower stems off back to the ground. Cut the spent foliage off when it dies back in winter. Divide the rhizomes after a full year of growth. In climates below 7b keep the rhizomes in pots and then bring them in when winter temperatures begin. Set the pot out after all danger of frost has passed and you get another bloom.