She has never done anything to them and they are in a HUGE clump. By huge, I mean there is a mass of "roots" covering an area about 6'x6'. It looks like a huge mass of tangled tree roots.

What is the best way to take some of them from her and move them into my yard. The area she wants me to thin out is about 2'x2' and has probably 15-20 sprouts peeping out their heads.

Thanks for any help you can give me. I have never planted or had anything else to do with gingers.

Dale

I'd hazard to say that it's almost impossible to kill Hedychium coronarium. They are very tough plants an they are quick growers. For us, one stalk with a minimal rhizome fills a 5-gallon container in about 3-4 months!

Underground, you'll find a rhizome that looks (surprise!) much like the "ginger root" that you buy in the supermarket.

The best way to attack them is to get a shovel under one side and pry up a good-sized chunk. Get some of the fiberous roots if you can; but if you can't that's OK. You're not going to be able to get the whole 2x2 area in one piece, so don't even try. What you'll probably end up with is a piece of rhizome with 2-3 stalks coming out of it. That's OK. A piece that size will grow quickly.

At some point you'll have to just cut through the rhizome with a sharp knife. Don't worry. You won't kill it.

Once you get a chunk out, hose off dirt with a high pressure nozzle and see where you can cut the rhizome into reasonably sized pieces. Get many smaller divisions, instead of one big one. That way, you can space them out when you replant them.

Watch out for the pink/white "nubs" on the rhizomes ... that's the next generation of growth. Try not to break off too many of them.

If you end up with a rhizome "stump" don't throw it away. Plant it in a container with about 1/2" of soil on top ... keep it damp, but not wet ... in a month or so that rhizome will start putting up new shoots.

Hope this helps.

-Ray

Thanks again.

Dale

Mother nature was nice enough to lower the temp the day after I got them in the ground to about 34 so I'm hoping they make it. They still look good and we have been having showers about ever day so I know they are getting water.

I'll be sure to keep ya'll posted on their progress. Thanks for the great advice.

Dale

To complicate matters, the river rock that was in the bed as "mulch" (note to self: for plants with culinary rhizome applications, river rock isn't a good choice to work around) has been folded into the soil a bit, so a meat cleaver will not survive in there without first trying to pick out as many of the rocks as I can. The clump is very compact and as a result, I won't be getting any ideally plump "roots" for cooking until I get this thinned out considerably.

If any of you happen to be in Central Florida and would like one, let me know.