Ginger

Zingiber officinale

Ginger is a perennial tropical herb native to southeastern Asia that is popular for its pungent, spicy flavor and beautiful fragrant flowers. Grown indoors, it infuses your home with the scent of fresh ginger. It grows under the ground as a rhizome which is an underground stem, not a root.

When shopping for ginger to plant, be sure to buy organic ginger. This way, you’ll know there are no growth inhibitors sprayed on the ginger, which would slow or even prevent it from sprouting.

Fun fact: Ginger is related to turmeric and cardamom!

Setup

Supplies:

• Organic ginger
• Bowl of water
• Potting soil
• 4” container

Step 1

Prepare the ginger by snapping off segments of the ginger, making sure each segment has at least one ‘eye’. Let the segments dry slightly (‘callus over’) for about 24 hours before moving on to step 2.

Below: the circular calluses on the tips of the ginger are called the "eye"

Below: The ginger is separated and allowed to callus over

Step 2

Soak the segments of ginger in a bowl of water. Fill the bowl with just enough water that the ginger isn’t fully submerged. Let it soak for 24 hours. This helps speed up the sprouting process.

Step 3

Fill a 4” pot with potting mix. Place the ginger about ½” below the surface of the soil. Use a different pot for each segment of the ginger, or else use a larger pot to group them together.

*Ginger grows horizontally rather than vertically and needs enough space in order to grow properly.

Step 4

Once you place the ginger in the container of your choice, give the soil a good soaking as this allows the ginger to essentially “activate”. Place the potted ginger in a warm, sunny location (ginger likes warmer conditions to sprout). You will want to make sure the soil stays moist at all times until it begins to sprout. This can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks.  

Step 5

Once the ginger has begun sprouting, you will see a small green shoot that almost resembles a tall blade of grass. Keep watering regularly and wait until the sprout is about six inches tall before placing outside (if the weather is above 60 degrees F).

Step 6

Ginger can take about a year to harvest, so be patient and enjoy the strong ginger-scented stem and flowers! If you don’t want to harvest the ginger and instead keep it as an ornamental, just let it keep growing, sizing it up if they get too cramped.  

Shop our plant selection

Read our care guides