Growing in Launceston

How to grow ginger in Launceston

Zingiber officinale

Also called ginger root

Frost in Launceston rules out the cool zone's usual months for ginger. Ask the growers at your garden what works locally.

Ginger is a herbaceous perennial grown for its rhizome, the familiar spice. Each year it sends up leafy false stems about 1 m tall, formed from rolled leaf bases, while pale yellow flowers edged in purple rise on separate shoots. Turmeric, cardamom and galangal are all relatives.

When to sow in Launceston

Launceston, TAS is in the cool zone. The zone also plants in Nov to Dec, but Launceston's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.

Not yet checked against a local guide.

Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.

Frost in Launceston

Frost usually arrives in Launceston around late March and finishes by late November. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as late January or as late as late December, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.

From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.

On a shared plot: suits a plot

Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.

Growing details

How to start
Sow directly in the bed
Sowing depth
3cm
Plant spacing
25cm
Row spacing
20cm
Height
100cm
Time to harvest
120-160 days
Frost
Frost tender
Sun
Part sun
Life cycle
perennial

These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.

Ginger elsewhere

Ginger across Australia