Curcuma

I have been trying to grow ginger from rhizome that I bought from the supermarket for cooking, here in Texas, but to no avail. My friend who lives in California told me that ginger's rhizome that has gotten too cold in a fridge won't grow. She's been growing ginger purchased from Asian grocery stores that put their produce out in room temperature there and it grows well. So she shipped me a piece of California bought ginger with some new growth stem on it just to make sure it's alive, and besides that she also sent me turmeric and zedoary (white turmeric / cutcherry / kencur) plants.

Turmeric, or Curcuma longa, is a ginger family native to South East Asia. The rhizome is being used widely for spices or traditional medicine in Asia and Middle East, dried or fresh. It gives the orange-yellow color to curry dishes. It is also used outside Asia & Middle East for food coloring in pickles, prepared mustards, even dairy products such as cheese, butter, margarine, ice cream, yogurt, and cake as well, a cheap substitute for saffron. Turmeric's medicinal and cosmetic properties include antiseptic, antibacterial, remedy for gastrointestinal problems, diet supplement, sunscreen agent. It needs to be in temperature between 68˚- 86˚F / 20˚- 30˚C, definitely has to be brought into our house in winter. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric.

Turmeric plant.

The rhizome of turmeric plant used for propagation in this case.

Zedoary, or Curcuma zedoaria, is also a rhizomatous plant in ginger family and used as Asian culinary spices (aka cutcherry / kencur in stores) or as medicinal agent, dried or fresh. It's like white turmeric with stronger fragrant and bitter aftertaste. Besides the culinary and medicinal uses, it apparently posses ornamental quality, too. It could grow to 3 feet / 90 cm with maroon cluster of flowers in spring. I am not sure about its hardiness. One source says it's tropical (not hardy), other says it's hardy up to zone 8. It's in the green house now and I am going to take them into our house when the temperature got really low, for precaution. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zedoary and Stokes Tropical.

Zedoary plant

Photos © Burke's Garden, 2009.