November Tree of the Month-Ginkgo
Admit it, you thought about those ginkgo leaf-shaped earrings…if not for you, for the special tree-geek lady in your life. What’s not to love about Ginkgos? Ginkgo fossils have been found older than 200 million years-Wowzers!. If there is an ancient tree god worth worshiping, it must be the Ginkgo.
Ginkgo biloba is a dioecious tree. The females produce a fruit used in supplements that claim to benefit everything from cognitive reasoning to bladder infections. The catch? Well, they STINK! Any visitor to the old lady ginkgo at Missouri Botanical Garden or the not-so-old female Ginkgo at Oak Knoll Park when the ripe fruits are littering the ground can attest, which is why most ginkgos sold in the trade are males. (Be careful, though, some males have been to revert to female!!)
Ginkgos have no known pests or diseases. Any pest or disease they did have all died off with the dinosaurs, making the tree a desirable landscape or street tree choice. However, the best trait, besides the cute earrings, is the fall color–a brilliant yellow-gold that GLOWS against an autumn-blue St. Louis sky! You need to look fast, though. Ginkgos drop their leaves all at once over a few days, making an equally beautiful show on your lawn or park pathways. Photo-ops galore!
Ginkgos can grow to 80’, so place it well in your landscape. If the size scares you, try one of the many dwarf cultivars.
You would think there could be no improvement on such a perfect tree, but alas, man must always tweak and fine-tune Mother Nature. Some notable cultivars include:
‘Autumn Gold’-oval upright form.
‘Fastigiata’-narrow, columnar form.
‘Princeton Sentry’-also columnar form.
And about a zillion miniature-leaved dwarf cultivars-almost as cute as dwarf ginkgo earrings!
What I love about this tree?
-The fan-shaped leaves of course.
-The disease and pest resistance.
-The tolerance of problematic soils and urban conditions.
-The excellent fall color followed by the leaf drop.
-The unique history!
What I’m not crazy about;
-The smelly fruit if you end up with a female.
–Ginkgos do not have showy flowers, but as I say, there is always a price and sacrifice.
-The habit can be wonky sometimes. (AKA “Character”) If you have an OCD-level need for super strait trunks and balanced forms, go with one of the more columnar cultivars.
-On a side note, from recent professional experience…grafted males have been known sometimes to revert and start producing fruit. There are numerous articles and theories on this, but when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter so much “why” as what you will do if it happens. Something to think about, but I wouldn’t let it prevent me from taking a ginkgo home.
Special thanks to Susan Hackney and Queen Beedz. For more information about where to buy these and other botanically themed jewelry, check out Queen Beedz on facebook! (20+) Queen Beedz | Facebook
Words and photos by Jo Batzer. Additional photos provided by Susan Hackney
© Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com, All rights reserved.
