About Winter Care of Red Ginger in Zone 6

Tropicals in Zone 6

• Red ginger (Alpinia purpurata) comes from tropical climates where temperatures remain constantly above freezing. In USDA zone 6, winter temperatures drop down to zero or minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Red ginger requires consistent temperatures above 60 F to produce new growth and the plants flower only when temperatures remain above 70 F for four to five months. Below 50 F, red ginger turns yellow, grows slowly or dies. To care for red ginger in the winter in USDA zone 6, bring the plants indoors in the fall.

Planting Ginger Outdoors

• Plant red ginger in the garden in spring once temperatures warm up to 60 F or above. Select a spot that gets full sun or part sun with deep loamy soil. Dig up the plants in the fall before the weather drops below 50 or 60 F and pot them up for a winter indoors. Place a shovel on the edge of the plant outside the root ball. Dig out the rhizomes and shake off any excess soil. Pot in containers filled with potting soil.

Planting Red Ginger in Containers

• Plant red ginger in containers. Select pots 2 inches larger than the nursery pot. Use a potting soil designed to drain well. Keep the ginger plants outdoors on a patio or porch in spring and summer and move them indoors for the winter. To get the effect of soil-planted ginger while reducing transplant shock, dig a hole slightly deeper than the container and sink it into the garden bed. Dig out the pot in the fall and bring it indoors.

Bringing Ginger Indoors

• Spray the foliage and flowers with water to remove insects and rinse off the outside of the pot. Sink the whole pot in slightly warm water for 15 minutes to drown insects hiding in the soil. Place the red ginger pots in a bright sunny spot. Water when the top of the soil starts to dry out. Soak the pot at each watering. Fertilize red ginger once a month using a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer. Follow the directions on the package label.