WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Alpinia purpurata, WUCOLS IV

How often to water red ginger in California

In July in the Central Valley, established red ginger in loam needs a deep watering about every 3 days: about 1.5 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 3.0 gallons a week. Red ginger is a tall, evergreen tropical plant from the South Pacific with leafy canes rising from spreading rhizomes. Its showy red cones are bracts that shelter small white flowers. It wants rich, moist, well-drained soil and steady water, since it handles drought poorly. Growth stalls below about 50 degrees, and leaves and flower heads die at 41 degrees or colder.

PerennialRated for 4 of 6 zones

How often to water red ginger, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for red ginger and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1 foot of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry an inch or two down among the canes means red ginger is ready for water
  • Leaves rolling or drooping by midday point to a root zone that is drying out
  • Brown leaf tips and edges after wind or salt spray show exposure damage rather than thirst
  • Yellow-green leaves and small cones that will not open in cool weather reflect cold, not a water shortage
  • Yellowing leaves in poorly drained clay can come from chlorosis or soggy roots, so check drainage first

How to water it

  • Water red ginger across the whole clump at soil level, wetting the rhizomes and spreading roots
  • Moisten the soil about a foot deep and keep it from drying out between waterings
  • Plant in fertile, organically rich, well-drained soil in full sun or light shade, sheltered from wind
  • Mulch thickly with compost or leaf litter to hold moisture around the rhizomes
  • Extend water outward as rhizomes push new canes at the edge of the clump

Through the seasons

Water a new red ginger planting often enough to keep the soil evenly moist while rhizomes settle in. Established clumps still need steady moisture through the warm months, when they grow and flower most. Cool weather slows growth sharply, so winter needs drop, but the soil should not dry out completely. Cut spent flowering canes at the ground. WUCOLS gives red ginger a high water rating on the north-central coast, the south coast, South Inland and the Central Valley. WUCOLS marks the high desert and the low desert as not suited.

In pots

Red ginger can grow in a large container, which makes it easy to move into shelter before cold nights. Use a pot with drainage holes and a rich, moisture-holding mix. In summer, check the top 2 inches every few days and water before the mix dries, since this plant suffers quickly in dry soil. Empty the saucer after watering. When nights fall below about 50 degrees, growth slows, so water less and keep the pot in a warm, bright spot.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
4.27gal per sq ft in JulyHigh water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
27.38 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
1.12.13.24.30.64JAN1.04FEB1.74MAR2.43APR3.32MAY3.97JUN4.27JUL3.82AUG2.88SEP1.88OCT0.89NOV0.55DEC1.12.13.24.30.64JFM2.43AMJ4.27JAS1.88OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 4.27 in Jul, 27.38 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Red Ginger: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.60.641.241.24––
Feb0.841.041.291.39––
Mar1.391.741.842.08––
Apr1.882.432.232.58––
May2.333.322.583.12––
Jun2.583.972.783.67––
Jul2.584.273.174.02––
Aug2.383.822.983.72––
Sep1.982.882.382.98––
Oct1.391.881.842.13––
Nov0.740.891.341.44––
Dec0.50.551.041.09––
Year19.227.3824.829.46––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated high water in the Central Valley, like red ginger. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Japanese Sweet FlagAcorus gramineushigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyShell GingerAlpinia zerumbethigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulySiberian BuglossBrunnera macrophyllahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyMarsh MarigoldCaltha palustrishigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyUmbrella Sedge and PapyrusCyperus spp. (CA native and non-native species)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyUmbrella PlantDarmera peltata (Peltiphyllum)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyFoxgloveDigitalis purpurea cvshigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyLeopard PlantFarfugium japonicum cvs. (Ligularia tussilaginea cvs.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyTransvaal DaisyGerbera jamesonii & hybridshigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyGiant GunneraGunnera manicatahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyWhite Ginger LilyHedychium coronariumhigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyJapanese IrisIris ensatahigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyRushJuncus aquatic spp. (native and non-native spp.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyCardinal FlowerLobelia cardinalis hybrids and cvs. (CA native and non-native spp.)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulyBananaMusa spp. (shade in low desert)high water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in JulySensitive FernOnoclea sensibilishigh water, Central Valley4.27 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than red ginger in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

DahliasDahlia spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyFernsNephrolepis cordifolia (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyDayliliesHemerocallis spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBegoniasBegonia & ssp. & cvs. (shade in the desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCalla LiliesZantedeschia aethiopica SHADE IN DESERTmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySageSalvia officinalis and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBicolor MonkshoodAconitum cammarummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGarden MonkshoodAconitum napellusmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCarpet BugleAjuga reptans (shade)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySnowdrop WindflowerAnemone sylvestrismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMountain SandwortArenaria montanamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySwamp MilkweedAsclepias incarnatamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyOrange MilkweedAsclepias tuberosamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreater MasterwortAstrantia majormoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHardy BegoniaBegonia grandismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyWax BegoniaBegonia semperflorensmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes red ginger, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water red ginger in summer?

In July, established red ginger in loam needs a deep watering about every 3 days in the Central Valley, about every 5 days on the south coast and about every 4 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does red ginger need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established red ginger needs about 0.4 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.7 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for red ginger change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates red ginger separately for each of the six California climate zones: high water in the North-Central Coastal zone, high water in the Central Valley zone, high water in the South Coastal zone, high water in the South Inland zone, not suited to this region in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not suited to this region in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Are the red cones on red ginger flowers?

The red cones are bracts, modified leaves that protect small white flowers tucked inside. The true flowers open a few at a time. Water the clump the same way throughout bloom.

How cold can red ginger take?

It grows best above 60 degrees and slows sharply below 50. At 41 degrees or colder, the leaves and flower heads die. Move potted plants into shelter on cold nights.

Why are my red ginger leaf tips brown?

Wind and salt spray can brown the tips and edges, since red ginger has low salt tolerance. A dry root zone adds to it. Shelter the plant and keep the soil evenly moist.

What are the little plants growing on the flower heads?

Red ginger forms small plantlets in the bracts of older flower heads. You can root them in pots of moist mix to start new plants. Keep the young plants evenly moist until roots form.

Can you overwater red ginger?

It likes moist soil but still needs drainage. In poorly drained clay, leaves can yellow from chlorosis and soggy roots. Keep the soil moist, not waterlogged.

More plant watering guides

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Sources