question on pruning

i just received a beautiful order of four different Hedychiums from Plant Delights and they are really tall. we are having a lot of wind issues right now and i'm wondering if i can trim these stems back without doing any harm to the plants. i know i can prune them after flowering and after a frost, but not sure about now since they are actively growing. i don't expect blooms this year. if i do get them, that will be an added bonus. right now i just want to insure that they get a good strong root system going without blowing all over the place. i have the root ball weighted down with bricks so they can't topple over and i made sure not to cover any new "eyes".
any help will be appreciated.
thanks!

Hi,
You will not hurt the plant if you cut the stalk back..it just tells the ginger to grow eyes and roots.. When I get new ones, I cut the stalk in half so I can have more eyes n roots to get the ginger settled in before the winter and be rewarded with blooms next year..

thank you, moodene. your advice is very much appreciated!

You will simply be eliminating the prospect of blooms. Hedychium's are vigorous growers and the last thing you have to worry about is their rooting. Generally speaking, the 'White Butterfly' Ginger rhizomes I ship out in the spring/early summer will bloom mid-summer. I put up metal, 6' landscape stakes, one about every 6-8', string wire (or you can use twine) starting about 2' from the ground, then 4' and finally at the top of the stake, and the wire supports the tall gingers as well as my equally tall 'Sunset' Canna. I have a lot of it.

Are your plants in pots and then the pots sunk into the ground?

Ken Ramsey, Certified Mississippi Master Gardener

mine are all "dwarf" types. i have wind issues year round here and purposely purchased plants that wouldn't need staking. i just wanted to make sure that they got the chance to root and not be blown over and uprooted. as far as blooms are concerned, if i don't get any this year, it's not the end of the world. they'll bloom next year.
maybe you were misled by my reference to "really tall". they are only a couple of feet tall. i just didn't expect such large plants with this shipment.

although i do have plants in large, bottomless planters scattered throughout my garden, these are planted in-ground. here in florida, i don't have to worry about lifting these in fall.

Yes, I was confused by the "tall" label. The 'White Butterfly's' are 5-7' tall in my landscape, as are the Canna's.

Its time for the open house at Plants Delight. If you have never been its a real treat.
I will look for gingers if I go I have over looked them in the past

Lavina

lavina, check out the 'Slim's Orange'. mine is already starting to bloom and putting out a lot of new canes. it seems to be the hardiest so far in full sun and very delicate looking, almost like bamboo.

As the plant reabsorbs nutrients from old stalks, it is best not to trim off the stalks until they are yellowing and beginning to turn brown.
It is especially important to wait to trim, when the plants are young, so they can develop.

hey, thanks for this info.
i've since moved all but the 'Slim's Orange' to a less drastic sun situation. all did or are blooming now and i will leave the old canes until they are withered and brown.

Perhaps the canes, while they are in their last weeks before completely going brown, do contribute to the nourishment of the rhizomes. That being said, I don't like the dying leaves/stalks in my landscape. They are simply un-aesthetic to say the least. I have already cut both my 'White Butterfly' ginger and 'Sunset' canna back. They were anything but brown/withered. I find these two species to be so robust in their growth habit, it is all I can do to keep them from taking over the landscape. I have done this for years and have never seen the least bit of damage to the rhizomes or future plants the following spring. I will cut back my 'Shampoo' ginger this weekend. It comes up later than the other two plants and still is mostly green.

Ken

as my plants are very young, i will follow the advice given by dave but i appreciate your input.
i don't have either of those you mention....i don't cut any of my Cannas back until after the first frost. they're all still blooming.

A major difference in central FL and NE MS.

I will try to revive this thread since after re-subscribing I can't finned the routine and signs for pruningd a way to post new threads/questions.
I grow white butterfly ginger here in zone 9a. I have learned the plants' routine and signs for pruning and helping these gingers prosper.
In my ginger enthusiasm I recently purchased a variety of gingers: some hedychium cordarium,gardnerianum and corcineum; alpinia vittata, purpura, and luteocarpum; etlingera eliator and finally some curcuma longa and a dichorsandra thrisiflora.

They seem to have quite varying needs.Re pruning: is it proper to prune back dry/dead or dying leaves and stalks so as to encourage new growth? Several are Very dry and look like the white Butterfly stalks when they are "done".
The Dichorysandra is the only one that seem happy and healthy although all of these came to me in good condition.
I placed them in a green house once the temperatures dropped here.

Can anyone refer me to reading and information please?
Any feedback is much appreciated!

I only grow two gingers, the "White Butterfly" and the "Shampoo". I don't think it makes any difference whether you prune the dead growth back or not. I do prune mine in the fall just for esthetic reasons, nothing more.

Ken

Interesting reading this thread. Enjoy your comments Ken.

You say you cut back your Shampoo ginger. My Shampoo actually dies back completely and disappears before it shows new shoots for the next season so I just leave it along. have to be careful to remember the location so I don't plant on top.

As for the White Butterfly I wish I lived closer, I would give it away. That's invasive. I have it under control now but had used a pickax to get rid of the rhizome. Any minute piece left in the ground would grow. Maybe I should advertise on Ebay - $3 for a root in a sandwich bag plus shipping :)

I grow a lot of Costus and shell ginger - about six different shell, same number of different torch ginger and lost count of the Costus. Great plants to grow in tropical climate.