Not frost tolerant, they are unsuitable for areas of frost unless a correct microclimate can be established. In climates well outside their natural range try planting in full shade and keep well-watered and mulched for best results. In their native tropical and subtropical climates native ginger will thrive – in fact, in the tropical north be careful of it taking over – but even in temperate climates they will do well without much maintenance. Being understorey plants with tall upright stems they are best positioned for protection from strong or dry winds. Though native ginger prefers full shade and moist well-drained soil, it is a very hardy plant and will tolerate part to full sun (though very hot sun can burn the leaves). It is said that these people’s pathways could be detected by the trail of discarded seeds. Australian indigenous people traditionally ate the roots and shoots and used the tangy flesh around the seeds to encourage salivation while walking through the forest.

Although it is an understorey plant naturally found in and near the margins of coastal rainforests or disturbed areas from north of Sydney to Cape York, it is an attractive and useful bushfood plant for your garden.Ī relative of edible ginger, cardamom, turmeric and galangal, native ginger also grows from a spicy underground rhizome and both the young root tips, shoots and the fruits are edible. A perennial clumping herb, also known as wild ginger or blue ginger, it has wide, glossy green leaves and bright blue berries and grows up to two metres high and one metre wide. Native ginger Alpinia caerulea/coerulea is an attractive, easy to grow feature plant and also a bushfood with a mild, tangy ginger flavour.

Red button ginger cold tolerance