Q: I have a cultivated ginger plant that is about three years old and seems to be thriving, but it has never bloomed. It sits in a chilly room in the winter, probably 50 degrees, and in the summer it goes outside where it is sunny. It is about five feet tall and looks healthy. I live in New England. How do I get it to bloom?
A: Most likely you have common ginger (Zingiber officinale), a native of tropical Asia. The aromatic, edible rhizomes of ginger are extremely versatile and widely used in Asian cuisine and medicine. This perennial herbaceous plant has thin stems and scattered, pointed leaves; it can grow up to five feet tall.
Unfortunately, blooms are rarely produced on this species. The flowers of Zingiber officinale are small and rarely do these plants bloom, particularly in northern climates. Ginger plants thrive in climates where it’s summer most of the year and grow best in Zone 8 or higher. North of USDA Zone 8 the growing season isn’t long enough to ever produce flowers, but you can try to apply diluted fertilizer on a regular basis during the growing season to try to promote flower growth.
Anyone interested in a flowering ginger plant will probably have better results growing Zingiber mioga. an edible ginger grown for its flowers and colorful new shoots, Z. rubens, or Z. spectabile.
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