Gardening Plant Encyclopedia Herbs Ginger By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on March 8, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Ginger Overview Description Common cooking ginger is a tropical plant that can be grown outdoors year-round in Zones 8-11, or in a container to bring indoors over winter. Ginger prefers moist soil and part shade. If you take the plant indoors over winter, reduce the amount of moisture and light to slow growth. You can start plants from gingerroot (actually rhizomes) sold in grocery stores. The plant has little ornamental value, so it's not often sold in nurseries. Genus Name Zingiber officinale Common Name Ginger Plant Type Herb Light Part Sun Height 3 to 8 feet Width null to 3 feet Special Features Good for Containers Zones 10, 11, 8, 9 Propagation Division Pick healthy plants and build better garden soil More Videos » Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit