Ok, so when I say that this is my "first time" growing ginger, I actually mean this may be just about my first time growing much of anything. I have lots of plants that I bought pre-grown and managed to keep alive, but I've never taken the initiative to grow anything on my own just because I really, really wanted to make it grow. Until now. I saw some pictures of ornamental ginger today and I think these plants look just beautiful. I wanted to grow Curcumas maybe.

I have a house and a lawn and can grow these indoors or outdoors. I live near Los Angeles. So my questions are:

1) should I try growing indoors or outdoors?

2) is it too late in the year to plant seeds? I would need to buy them somewhere and get them planted so it could be a few more weeks before I get this underway.

3) are these plants appropriate for my climate? Most of the places on my lawn where I have space to plant get a lot of full sun and it looks like these guys want at least partial shade.

4) can anyone give me tips or suggestions?

Thank you!!