Guide to growing garden plants - Asarum (Wild Ginger)
Asarum is a hardy perennial.
It has long lasting flowers, that may still be present several months after the flowering season that occurs in the early spring.
One of the common names for Asarum is wild ginger.
Description of Wild Ginger
Plants in the Asarum genus are low growing, and are often grown for their dark green evergreen heart shaped leaves. The flowers of wild ginger are pretty unnoticeable. Due to their low growing nature wild ginger makes an ideal plant for covering up small spaces in the gardens.
How to grow Wild Ginger
If planning to grow Asarum outdoors from the off it is best to sow out the seed in the autumn, simply cover the seeds. If planning to grow wild ginger indoors before transplanting, then seeds should be imbibed by placing the seeds (within soil) in a black bag, then placing in the fridge for three weeks. Seeds should then be sown out at a temperature of 15 Celsius; they normally take about 19 to 20 days to germinate. Seedlings should be transplanted following the last frost of winter / spring at a spacing of 20 plants per square metre into a partially or fully shaded area. Ideally wild ginger should be grown in a humus rich soil, that has a pH close to 7.
Caring for wild ginger
Plants of the Asarum genus are easy to look after. They should be fertilised in the spring and watered in dry periods. In the autumn they should be given peat moss and protected from slugs. If you require more wild ginger plants, then cuttings can be taken in the summer, or the rootstock can be divided in the autumn.