Soil: Gingers prefer quality open soil that has been improved by the addition of compost or manure. In pots, use a premium quality potting mix with added pre-soaked water crystals.

Position: Different varieties prefer varying levels of light, with a few tolerating full sun. In the wild, many gingers grow in dappled light on the forest floor, so most prefer a warm position with partial or filtered light. In cool areas, find or create a position that provides extra warmth, such as near a wall or in a courtyard where heat will be trapped and radiated back at night.

Care: Reliable moisture is needed through the warm months. Mulch deeply, using a fast-breakdown organic mulch, such as lucerne or pea straw, topped with a layer of slow-breakdown coir; top up regularly. Feed well with an organic fertiliser in early spring and again in summer. During the growing season, feed regularly with a combination of a soluble fertiliser and a seaweed tonic, such as Seasol, to improve growth and vigour.

Pruning: Remove dead leaf and flower shoots at ground level and thin out the stand as required. A number of species flower only on two-year-old shoots, so research the habit of your plants before pruning. In cool zones, plants can be treated like perennials and either allowed to die back or be cut back and then mulched heavily as cool weather approaches. Provided the soil doesn't freeze or remain excessively wet, they should pop up again in spring. In the coolest zones you can even lift and store the rhizomes for planting out next spring.

As with any large plant family you'll find individual gingers may have specific requirements, so always read the plant label and retain it for future reference.