[Farm] ginkgo tree question

[tropicalfish]

Has anyone ever propagated a ginkgo tree? I have learned that you should only want a male tree because the female trees have an horrendous odor. Anyway, I am interested in propagating a ginkgo tree. Does anyone know how?

 

[goatlady2]

I'm under the impression they are a fairly tropical climate tree. There were 2 on campus when I went to college in N. Fla. and IIRC it was said they were about as far north as they would grow.

 

[Susan4]

Ginkgo grows well around here, a very tough part of Zone 5. It's a neat tree, it's so primitive it's outlived most all bugs or diseases that ever pestered it. It is a bit slow growing though.

Trying to grow it from seed would give you the fifty fifty chance of a female and the stinky fruits down the line so that's out. I think what the nurseries do is a rooted cutting from a known male tree. That or you could graft known male scionwood onto seed grown rootstock.

Susan4

 

[tropicalfish]

Yea, they grow real well around here. There are many trees in our area. I got some softwood cuttings yesterday at the cemetery. I'm positive it is a male tree. It has been there for many many years.

Found this info on a web site:

Ginkgo, Maidenhair tree SW cuttings

"Softwood cuttings are prepared from soft, succulent, new growth of woody plants, just as it begins to harden (mature). Shoots are suitable for making softwood cuttings when they can be snapped easily when bent and when they still have a gradation of leaf size (oldest leaves are mature while newest leaves are still small). For most woody plants, this stage occurs in May, June, or July. The soft shoots are quite tender, and extra care must be taken to keep them from drying out. The extra effort pays off, because they root quickly."

So, do I root them in water or just put them straight into the soil in a humid enviroment? I've never tried this before and find it quite challenging.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Susan4]

You might consider buying a rooting hormone powder to dip it in..One brand is "Rootone" and I've seen it at most nurseries and even Wal-Mart and put the cutting in a soil-less potting mix in a container and baby it for awhile. Do several cuttings as success can be iffy and plant it out maybe this fall or next spring, or heck grow it out for a longer while in containers and let it get some height and root mass before setting it out.

Susan4

 

[bobaloo]

re: female ginko

The female trees really aren't that bad. Dowtown Portland (OR) is full of them. The fruit smells a LOT like dog doo, but there's not that many of them. In fact, they are a favorite food of the Chinese community and in autumn you see chinese folks wandering downtown gathering them as they fall.

One of my favorite memories is sitting in a little Italian cafe across from the Federal Courthouse watching a fall storm pick up the millions of golden ginko leaves and swirling them like snow across the park block.

Ginko trees turn a beautful golden color in autum unlike any other tree I've seen.