Ginger Plant Help - Leaves Turning Brown?

[kaynava]

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone who's good with plants would know what may be going on with my ginger plant? So here's my little story on this plant:

My father bought some ginger from the store and left it in his kitchen for a while. A little more than 6 months ago I noticed a shoot was growing from a piece of the ginger so I took it since my dad wasn't going to eat it. I then got some potting soil and planted it in an Oreo ice cream tub (it was mint and on sale for $2.99 ).



Eventually my little ginger plant went from a shoot to a full grown plant, but it got too heavy so it started to flop over. To try to keep it upright I duct taped a bunch of sturdy straws together as a prop (yep keeping it ghetto...). Eventually my ginger plant grew over 3 ft tall and another shoot popped up. I decided to cut my first shoot down because it was getting too tall and flimsy, and it was still growing. Eventually my second shoot started growing although it is thinner than the last one despite the leaves staying the same size.



So after I cut my first shoot it leaves at the top started yellowing at the edges and curling a little.



Near the center of the old shoot leaves little flecks have been eaten away, but I've seen no indication of spider mites and I've washed it twice now. The tips of the leaves have also turned yellow/brown. The new shoot has some slight yellow tips on its older, lower leaves.



More recently, I've noticed that one of the old leaves has a big yellow/brown circle on one of the leaves.



My new shoot has continued to grow and the leaves so far look okay. I've tried feeding it a Miracle Grow food spike since I haven't given it fertilizer since I planted it 6-7 months ago. Not sure if it helped or not. I was hesitant with putting too many so I only inserted one in the soil earlier this month. I mist daily since I heard ginger is a tropical plant that likes water and my apartment can get a little dry during the winter.

Is this normal plant behavior or should I be doing something? I've never grown a plant before this so I'm working with a beginner's black thumb of death here.

Thanks for reading!

[GoJays]

http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-ginger.html

[lecale]

Your ginger is gorgeous! I think your brown tips are from dry air...it's the oldest leaves that look the most beaten-up. Once that happens, it's permanent, there is no undoing it until those leaves drop off and you get new ones. My guess is that it's not anything more serious than that because the plant looks happy and healthy and perky. You are going to have to transplant to a larger bucket so that the rhizome (ginger root) can grow and expand. Very nice plant!

Very exciting, thanks for sharing!

ETA: probably you'd have to have a humidifier in the room to successfully prevent browning, but keep spraying

[kaynava]

@GoJays : Hi thanks for replying! I have read that article. I keep my ginger on the other side of my blinds for filtered light to avoid too much sunlight, I mist regularly, I've fed it some fertilizer since I don't have compost and I'm not growing it outside, I make sure to water all the way through but I try not to overwater to prevent root rot, I definitely don't have strong wind since I'm growing it inside, and I cut plenty of holes at the bottom of my tub to allow the water to drain well. As for the leaves dying back I'm not sure if that'll happen since my new shoot is continuing to grow quite rapidly. I wasn't sure if what I'm seeing is nitrogen deficiency, too dry, too much water, too little water, or even a disease, which is why I was wondering if anyone would be able to make a guess from the symptoms my plant has since the article doesn't go into detail on potential problems the plant may encounter.
@lecale : Oh that's reassuring thank you! I've never grown a plant before so I was afraid I was doing something terribly wrong when I saw the browning and curling after I lopped off half of the plant when it was getting too tall. I'm planning on getting a bigger pot soon (my ginger's outgrowing the oreo haha).

[lecale]

I think old age (for that set of leaves) is part of the reason some leaves don't look so hot as well. Your shoot is super healthy and perky so you are not under or over watering. I would just keep doing what you are doing because your ginger seems to like you

[GoJays]

The other problem might be the fact that it's a piece of ginger from the grocery store. I borrowed this from another site:

The best ginger to plant is purchased from a garden center or seed catalog. You’ll have much better luck if you get seed ginger that was meant to be planted. However, ginger can be hard to find from garden suppliers, especially locally.
Ginger purchased from the produce department of your local grocery store can be used to grow a plant, but with spotty results. Grocery store ginger is often sprayed with a growth inhibitor to keep it from sprouting before it’s purchased. That inhibitor also keeps it from sprouting when you stick it in a pot of soil.
Grocery store ginger also could be coated in pesticides and fungicides. The truth is, you have no idea what’s on it. I’ve heard of grocery store ginger growing just fine, and I’ve heard of it sitting in a pot forever and never budging. If you do purchase your ginger from the grocery store, be sure to soak it in water overnight to remove as much growth inhibitor as you can.
http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/11/...inger-indoors/

[GoJays]

I think old age (for that set of leaves) is part of the reason some leaves don't look so hot as well. Your shoot is super healthy and perky so you are not under or over watering. I would just keep doing what you are doing because your ginger seems to like you

Makes me want to go out and buy a chunk if ginger to try it myself

[lecale]

Makes me want to go out and buy a chunk if ginger to try it myself

I have grown it and it is easy to do. Sweet potatoes also grow well & quickly.

[kaynava]

@lecale : Yay I'm liked! I probably have my south facing window to thank. XP
Yeah I was just looking at some of the pictures of ginger plants and they just looked so much more robust than my little fella, but then again the rhizome I planted was pretty small so it has a lot of growing to do.
@GoJays : Yeah my dad bought the ginger from Giant Tiger in a bundle. Don't think it was organic. But my plant was pushing 4 ft after only a few months before I cut it so I don't think it was feeling very inhibited from growing haha.

[Darth Penguin]

Makes me want to go out and buy a chunk if ginger to try it myself

me too...I love fresh ginger...

[lecale]

me too...I love fresh ginger...

Well you want to try and grow some and pick off the bud and nub that @kaynava posted in the first picture. You can peel and cut this into matchsticks or grate it for the juice, and it has a unique flavour that is great in dressings and salads. Baby ginger. Very California

[Darth Penguin]

I used to eat it raw when I was pregnant...great for a natural anti-nausea treatment