topic Ginko trees in Garden

Ginko trees

FuzzyFace — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:42:10 GMT

I have 2 ginkos, an they're my pride and joy. The older one is doing fine despite the terrible summer we're having: heat wave and wildfire smoke clogging the air.

The younger one--this will be it's 3rd winter with us--just doesn't seem to be doing as well. I've tried to take good care of it but right now the leaves seem to be wilted despite the extra waterings I've given it. Does anyone here know enough to help me figure out whether or not it will survivle?

If I think it'll be ok eventually, I'll keep on taking extra care of it but if it's a goner, I can't see wasting my time, energy, and resources to try to keep it going. What worries me isn't that the leaves are wilted but that they don't seem to plump up after a deep watering. I should add that I DO give it a deep watering but not too often; maybe every 5 or 6 weeks, or even less; since frequent, shallow waterings won't do it any good at all and may even damage it.

Opinions, please!

Re: Ginko trees

x Hedge — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:49:33 GMT

My city plants Ginkos in some public areas, and NOBODY waters them.

They thrive on rainfall and snowmelt.

Stop watering your Ginkos.

Re: Ginko trees

Azcowgirl — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 18:06:14 GMT

@FuzzyFace

I don’t have any Ginko’s, but I share your frustration with trees, and in trying to find out how best to care for them.

The recommendations from the so called experts, are so often complete polar opposite from each other .I thought for sure I was losing some trees and decided to just experiment as a last ditch effort.

My trees came back and look wonderful, and I am doing the opposite of what the master gardeners told me to do !

good luck, I hope you can resolve your ginkgo tree issue!😳

Re: Ginko trees

FuzzyFace — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 18:34:09 GMT

Hedge. where do you live (not trying to be nosey) and what kind of climate do you have? I too thought Ginkos are indestructible so maybe mine will be ok.

You're mostly right about the watering thing: I almost never water my big ginko but the little one seems to be struggling this year. Still, it IS still alive so I'm hoping it will live.

Did you know that for a long time "experts" thought ginkos were extinct till they found a grove of them in China (I think). China seems logical to me, since every king of flower on earth got its start in China.

Re: Ginkgo trees

GingerPeach — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 19:16:49 GMT

Ginkgo trees like well-drained soil kept evenly moist. Perhaps the smaller one is in heavier soil? @FuzzyFace

Re: Ginko trees

shy bobcat — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 19:29:33 GMT

Omg, so happy to see a thread on the Ginko tree. I have had mine for about 20 years. It was a bonsai plant given to me as a gift. I repoted it once into a large container and, it's been thriving all this time. I didn't know how to take care of it so, I watered it when the soil was dryish but not completely dry. I think some roots may have grown into the ground through the pot.

If I were you, I'd buy some tree fertilizer spikes and push them down into the ground about 8 inches around the canopy of the tree. The number of spikes depends on the size of the canopy. I'd also water into the holes you made with the spikes. This may help. I hope the tree roots aren't dry. Moisture needs to penetrate atleast 8 inches down.

How great it would be if you could save this tree!

Re: Ginkgo trees

FuzzyFace — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 20:13:43 GMT

Homegirl, what a beauty!

Re: Ginko trees

jlkz — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 21:32:09 GMT

I hope all your ginkgo trees are males. The female ones drop podlike things in the fall and have a very horrible odor when stepped on.

Found this out the hard way as I was hurrying in to teach an evening class and kept trying to clean my shoe. Someone finally told me what the problem was.

Re: Ginko trees

lulu1 — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 05:57:54 GMT

@jlkz wrote:
I hope all your ginkgo trees are males. The female ones drop podlike things in the fall and have a very horrible odor when stepped on.

Found this out the hard way as I was hurrying in to teach an evening class and kept trying to clean my shoe. Someone finally told me what the problem was.

@jlkz

Our town eventually removed the Ginko trees because the odor was so offensive. They did the same with the Bradford Pear trees.

Re: Ginko trees

FuzzyFace — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:18:17 GMT

@lulu1 wrote:
@jlkz wrote:
I hope all your ginkgo trees are males. The female ones drop podlike things in the fall and have a very horrible odor when stepped on.

Found this out the hard way as I was hurrying in to teach an evening class and kept trying to clean my shoe. Someone finally told me what the problem was.
@jlkz
Our town eventually removed the Ginko trees because the odor was so offensive. They did the same with the Bradford Pear trees.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, mine are probably males. I'd forgtten that the females get real stinky.

Re: Ginko trees

JustJazzmom — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 19:20:37 GMT

In the industry now they are using male clones. The females are wind pollinated by the males. Last time I saw a female ginkgo was at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home.

In regard to your own tree, @FuzzyFace, I suggest calling in an arborist to examine the root system. It’s highly likely that one of the roots is starting to girdle & causing that wilting look of the leaves. The arborist comes in, digs down & looks for evidence of girdling. The root gets cut so the leaves can be fed from a different root area. A deep root feeding is usually done at that time.

Here is the arborist website:

https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/findanarborist

Re: Ginko trees

FuzzyFace — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:59:39 GMT

@JustJazzmom wrote:
In the industry now they are using male clones. The females are wind pollinated by the males. Last time I saw a female ginkgo was at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home.

In regard to your own tree, @FuzzyFace, I suggest calling in an arborist to examine the root system. It’s highly likely that one of the roots is starting to girdle & causing that wilting look of the leaves. The arborist comes in, digs down & looks for evidence of girdling. The root gets cut so the leaves can be fed from a different root area. A deep root feeding is usually done at that time.

Here is the arborist website:

https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/findanarborist

Wow! I never would have thought of that. Thanks for the information.