Are there family Zingiberaceae which are hardy to z6? You bet!! I just stumbled across Roscoea which includes several cold hardy species. They may be peanuts in stature compared to some of the tropicals but blooms are nothing to scoff at. Roscoea humeana, R. auriculata 'Beesiana' and R. cautleyoides.

I have quite a few varieties of ginger which I have lost a lot of the tags, I know I have editable one which is growing next to another type of ginger, because they are so close to one another now I don't know when I dug them out which is which. This particular ginger is similar to the red ginger but because it still hasn't had a decent flower I don't know what it is.
Now I am worried that when I dug the roots out it might not be editable. Can you help me please. I have attached a photo of the plant.

Hi Lizdon, and welcome to ATP.

I don't think that one in your picture is the edible ginger. Edible one has narrower, longer leaves and a more upright habit, as I recall.

You'll be able to tell when you dig up a root anyway, as the edible ginger has those distinctive fat, golden rhizomes. None of the others will poison you, but they just don't taste as good. eg. Turmeric is a ginger, too and has a very strong, spicy pungency if you eat it fresh and raw. It's one of the ingredients in many types of curry.

Hi Lizdon,

That looks like a Costus to me with the way the leaves spiral around the stem. Looks nice and healthy and not one I recognize. Be interested in seeing a photo of the bloom at the top.

Oh if only I had a large greenhouse the size that'd match those of a botanical garden *sigh* So lovely all of them

Perhaps you should set your sights a bit lower, Lee-Roy.