Cold-Hardy Variegated Ginger Plants

About Ginger

• Wild gingers are typically divided into two genera: Asarum and Hexastylis. In North America, most members of the Asarum genus are deciduous, dying back to the ground with frost, while Hexastylis largely stay evergreen. Petite plants hug the ground, growing between 6 and 10 inches tall to 20 inches wide, and prefer to grow in moist, well-shaded locations in acidic soil. Though gingers produce squatty, bell-shaped flowers, most are hidden beneath the plant’s leaves and are far from showy. Growth rate is slow, but a nice clump usually forms within several years. Gingers are also considered to be deer-resistant, though no plant is ever completely safe from a hungry browser.

Native Gingers

• Several wild ginger types native to North America sport silver veining or mottling that helps them stand out even in deep shade. Arrowleaf ginger (Hexastylis arifolia), has pointed, silver-mottled leaves and is a hardier type, growing from U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8. Large flower heartleaf (Asarum shuttleworthii) has larger leaves, and the cultivar “Callaway” features silver veining. It is hardy from USDA zones 4 through 7. The Virginia or heart-leaf ginger (Asarum virginica) is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8. It has 2-inch-wide leaves with silver veining or mottling, which varies greatly from plant to plant.

Asian Gingers

• Though many Asian gingers are stunning to behold, larger than native gingers and with a wide array of glossy textures and colors, few will survive North American winters. If you have a sheltered location and are willing to do some extra work to protect your investment, try Asian wild ginger (Asarum splendens) or Chinese wild ginger (Asarum magnificum), both reliably hardy from USDA zones 6 through 10. These variegated, evergreen varieties may survive lower temperatures if treated with an anti-desiccant, according to research conducted at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum. This helps prevent the plant from drying out during the winter months.

Hardy Non-Variegated Types

• If everything you’ve tried has simply up and died during the winter, a variegated ginger just may not be in the cards for your shade garden. Take heart, however, as two extremely hardy types of ginger might just do the trick for the border, even if they do lack the dramatic coloration of variegated types. Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is hardy from USDA zones 2 through 8, making it an option for some of the toughest North American winters. It is deciduous, but during the growing months unfurls fuzzy, heart-shaped leaves that form a bright and tidy clump. A European counterpart, European wild ginger (Asarum europaeum) is hardy from USDA zones 4 through 7, and has much glossier, evergreen leaves.