Ginkgo biloba

[Elmore]

Anybody familiar with the superior qualities of the species Ginkgo biloba and it's many cultivars and varieties?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

There are many good cvs out there, fastigiate, contorted, golden fall color. Most are male.

What are you looking for, a group to start propigating?

 

[Elmore]

There are many good cvs out there, fastigiate, contorted, golden fall color. Most are male.

What are you looking for, a group to start propigating?

Always looking for good trees to clone I am currently producing about twenty cultivars and have done about a half dozen local male trees that show good characteristics. Great trees. Strong, beautiful and relatively trouble free. One of the best for the urban forest. Works well on large rural properties too. I am planning on grafting a couple of good fruiting females also.

 

[a_lopa]

ginkos are the oldest tree known,i have one and recomend them.

 

[Elmore]

ginkos are the oldest tree known,i have one and recomend them.

Maybe the oldest living, commonly cultivated tree. I believe Redwood trees, Bristlecone Pine and a fairly recently discovered conifer in Australia...Huon pine, are older. Ginkgo is right up there though. Anywhere between 1,000 to even 2,000 years old and very attractive too. I highly recommend Ginkgo trees for the landscape. You can't get much better.

 

[VTMechEng]

While I don't know much about species' age my wife has a Natural Resource Rec. degree. According to her some believe the Ginkgo dates back to dinosaurs, explainting their simple structure. I don't know if it is true but thought it was interesting (maybe I just like the look of my typing hehe).

 

[Matt Follett]

Elmore

I think what Lopa meant, was that they are the oldest known tree still inhabiting the planet; As in fossils of them have been found back a few gadzillion years... not that they live the longest time.

They are a wonderful tree, finding a young male specimen is difficult, pretty close-up ID required I believe... or perhaps they don't show flowers till older... can't remember. Females of course have the "stinky fruit" which really does stink if you crush it.

My one pet peeve with them, is not directly related to them, but peoples idea of their "habit". It seems around here that as they mature, people want to keep them "excurrant', while in maturity they really do become quite wide and spreading. (got to experience them in "real" maturity in Japan). So if you intend on sending them to market... advise that they do not stay "columnar", "upright" "fastigiate", unless your culitvar shows that tendency. However, even the Sentry cul. I have seem start to go excurrent with time...

Ah rambling now... I'll shut up.. Great tree

 

[Elmore]

The order Ginkgoales flourished throughout the Mesozoic era with numerous genera and species but is now represented by one genus and species, Ginkgo biloba. An even more primitive order is Cycadofilicales, dating back from the early Mesozoic to the present. We know them as Cycads or Sago Palms. There may be about nine genera and sixty species. Not exactly sure about Cycads, it's easier to keep up with the different species of Ginkgo.
As for cloning Ginkgo, the tree has a plagiotropic habit. Wood taken from horizontal branches and grafted have a tendency to continue growing horizontally. I have been told that Princeton Nurseries coppices their 'Princeton Sentry' and obtains their wood from the young upright growth of the stock trees. I graft about a half dozen upright branching, fastigiate or columnar cvs. One from a locally found tree that is about 30' x 8'. It doesn't have a cultivar designation and may well be a species tree. I would refer to it as Ginkgo biloba f. fastigiata. I also have one that I obtained from a local nursery man and it is the cultivar 'Fastigiata'. I stake my young trees and cross my fingers. Many of mine don't show that plagiotropism, regardless of where the wood was obtained but ideally young upright growth from a coppiced plant is something to strive for.

 

[Redbull]

No real info to add. Just a few pics of one I had to remove. I wasn't happy about doing it, but the customer insisted. I think they're beautiful trees.

 

[Elmore]

Nice tree, they should have moved the house. Was it male or female, any fruit?

 

[Redbull]

I believe female produces fruit right? This tree was fruit bearing. That was one of the main factors of removing this tree. The customer didn't like the mess. Too bad. I tried convincing them to just let me prune it away from the house, but they wanted it gone.

 

[Elmore]

What a shame. That's why I recommend planting an unknown or a sexually produced (seedling) Ginkgo far away from any areas frequented by family or guests. Even if it were male, it was too close to the house. As big as some of the broader forms of male Ginkgo get I would probably suggest about a 40' to 50' distance, on center, for planting. Some smaller varieties, dwarf, semi-dwarf or columnar could be planted closer to a structure. If I had a fruit bearing tree I would use the seed for health and wealth. Eat 'em and grow 'em. Here is a nice male tree that would look good about 40' to 50' from someone's house. In my opinion this one would be better a bit further out and centered but as Matt pointed out, people don't always consider the possible habit and mature size of such trees.

 

[a_lopa]

if i could have any big tree on my property it would be a ginko....

 

[Tom D. Wilson]

yeh ginko's rule- had to right an essay on arboricultural reasons for choosing trees- had to write about twenty different species and reasons for choosing - the bit i wrote about ginko went somthing like this - My reasons for including Ginko biloba are as follows; it is one if not the oldest species of tree known, most of the pests and diseases that atc ginko trees are now extinct, and i belive every arboreatum should have at least one ginko tree for one main reason, and that is simply because i like them.
i came across some weeping ginko trees at a nursery a couple of months back when buying tree's with my boss - next time we go there were gonna pinch a branch and graft it!

 

[Elmore]

Yes siree Bob

Ginkgo trees are gaining in popularity but are still underused. There are many different varieties and/or cultivars. Large rotund forms, Pyramidal, upright branching, columnar, dwarf, semi-dwarf, variegates and unusual featured forms. A tree for almost any site. Although it prefers full sun it will tolerate some shade. Few pest and disease problems. Drought resistant. The root system is relatively non-invasive. Compared to other species, I have observed very little curb heave or displacement of pavement. A few years back I read of a survey, published in an Arborist publication, about storm related tree failures and damage. I believe that the survey was made in the upper Midwest, the Chicago area. The results indicated that two species withstood the rigors of inclement weather much better than other species. They are Ginkgo biloba and Taxodium distichum, Bald Cypress. These two species make a great combination for consideration in the landscape.
Ginkgo also has medicinal/health value. It has been used in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. Truly a legacy tree in a fast food world.
Here is the original stock tree of the first male Ginkgo that I produced asexually. My first were rooted and I subsequently started grafting from my rooted stock plants. This tree is male, located in the Tennessee Valley and I call it "Maggie's Male".

 

[begleytree]

beautiful tree, Elmore

 

[Tom D. Wilson]

i drink green tea infused with ginko regulary - it is supposed to help blood flow round the brain which increases the amount of oxygen in the brain helping it work better - aiding in memmory recall and reducing brain ache (caused when trying to take in lots of information) - quite handy for a student really isn't it