How to Transplant Ginger Lilies
- 1). Dig up the ginger lily plant or a section of it, or remove it from its pot. Zone Ten Nursery recommends starting a trench 6 to 8 inches away from the visible stems and working carefully toward the plant to uncover the rhizomes and figure out how deep they are growing.
- 2). Separate the ginger lilies from a clump by placing the shovel at the point where you want to divide them and forcing it straight down to the bottom of the rhizome ball to make a clean cut.
- 3). Move around the rhizome ball with the shovel, wiggling it carefully back and forth to work the ginger lily plants loose from the ground.
- 4). Cut back any dry or dying leaves in fall and early winter, or cut back tall stalks in the spring or summer just above where they change color so they don't fall over when they are transplanted.
- 5). Rinse the rhizomes off using a garden hose, inspecting the rhizomes and roots during the process to remove any that show signs of damage or decay such as a dark brown, slimy or mushy texture.
- 6). Cut the rhizomes into segments at points where they become narrow, with a plant stalk or growth bud on each piece.
- 7). Rinse the separated rhizomes and remove any last bits of soil or decayed roots.
- 8). Fill the 5-gallon bucket with water, add fungicide and stir it well. Zone Ten Nursery recommends about 1/4 cup of Captan, Cleary's 3336 WP, or Fungo 50 WSB in a powder form.
- 9). Submerge the separated ginger lily rhizomes in the fungicide mixture so that it covers any cuts made on the plants.
- 10
Leave the ginger lily rhizomes to soak in the fungicide for at least 30 minutes to overnight. - 11
Remove the ginger lily rhizomes from the fungicide solution and plant them immediately without rinsing in the new bed or pot, 1 to 3 inches deep and about 20 to 30 inches apart, with any stems sticking up out of the ground. Place them in a position as close to their previous orientation in the ground as possible. If they cannot be planted immediately, wrap them loosely in a damp material, such as sphagnum moss, to keep them from drying out. - 12
Apply fertilizer lightly, after visible growth starts, every two weeks with a Zone Ten Nursery recommended solution of 1 gallon of water, 1 tablespoon of 20-20-20 fertilizer, 1 tablespoon of potassium nitrate and 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts. Once the foliage emerges fully and is healthy, reduce the fertilization to once per month.
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