Will Hawaiian White Ginger Grow in Water?

White Ginger Hardiness Zones

• White ginger plants thrive in zones 7 and higher where temperatures rarely slip below 0 degrees. Gardeners who live further north may cheat with subtropical white ginger by planting them close to the house along a south facing wall with heavy mulch. Plants may be dug from the garden before first freeze and stored indoors for the winter. Remove the foliage and pot the roots to store in a dry, cool space indoors. White ginger goes dormant in cold weather, so watering is unnecessary.

General Care

• White ginger is hearty and rapidly outgrows containers. Under ideal conditions, white ginger can reach 6 feet tall. Every year the plants will need to be divided in late winter or early spring. Light freezes appear to kill them above ground, but they rejuvenate in the spring. White ginger requires some shade and consistently moist, well-drained soil. True late bloomers, flowers appear midsummer to October. To promote new growth, remove old stems once flowers have faded.

Hydroponic White Ginger

• Hydroponics is a soilless method of growing plants in water. When raising white ginger hydroponically, keep the water warm because the root system may rot in cold water. These flowers normally require lots of nutrients from organic matter in the soil, so weekly fertilizing is especially important in water. Balanced hydroponic fertilizers are helpful for flowering plants. The ratio should be two parts nitrogen, three parts phosphorus and two parts potassium, or 2-3-2.

Hawaiian Invasive Species

• Although white ginger popularly adorns Hawaiian leis and hair, this plant is on the state's worst invasive horticultural plants list. Native to eastern India, in Hawaii, white gingers are an introduced species and considered an invasive weed found in forests, pastures and along the roads. According to the Hawaii State Alien Species Coordinator, people are urged to refrain from growing white ginger or any other plant species on the invasive list, in the state of Hawaii.