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I live in subtropical Hong Kong. I know a place in the mountains where some Alpinia hainanensis K. Schum. grow and want to take some cuttings to grow in my garden.

Where exactly do I cut and how should I care for this particular species until it has roots?

I do not want to kill the mother plant in order to get it's cuttings.

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Johan88
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Alpinia hainanensis is a member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). This family of plants is characterized by producing underground rhizomes (underground stems). These rhizomes continuously produce new shoots from under the ground as the plant grows. If you would like to transplant some into your garden, you should cut pieces from the underground rhizome. The pieces should be thick and fibrous and will probably have roots and shoots growing out of them. If you look at the ground around the larger plants, you will be able to locate younger shoots coming up. You can remove these younger plants (dig them up with the rhizome) to transplant to your garden. It will not do any permanent damage to the mother plant. The "ginger family" link below offers additional information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zingiberaceae

user22542
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  • Thanks so much, once again! That's quite a complicated operation, taking time I imagine. Is there no way I can take a top cutting? Can such top cuttings succeed with this species and will that not kill the mother plant I cut from? – Johan88 Feb 27 '19 at 02:07
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    No, top cuttings will not work. There are several videos on Youtube etc. about growing ginger. They might interest you. I grow ginger in pots over the summer. They like warm, humid, semishade. good luck. – user22542 Feb 27 '19 at 10:08