Ginko (Ginkgo biloba)
Ginkgo biloba | Randy Harter | CC BY 4.0
Ginkgo features unique fan-shaped leaves and brilliant golden-yellow fall color (one of the earliest to turn color in the fall). In the fall the leaves drop nearly all at once to create a golden carpet beneath the tree, making cleanup a onetime activity.
Ginkgo is a long-lived, medium-maintenance, woody, deciduous tree native to south-central and southeast China. It is often called a living fossil because the ginkgo has existed for hundreds of millions of years. It arrived in North America in 1784, in Philadelphia, via England.
Ginkgos are gymnosperms and do not produce "flowers;" however they are dioecious with separate male and female trees. Fruits from female trees are messy and have foulsmelling, fleshy seeds, so nurseries sell male trees.
Young ginkgo trees tend to look gangly and stark, with irregularly shaped, open canopies. However, they become more picturesque with age as they grow 50- to 80-ft. high and 30- to 40-ft. wide and develop full, round-to-pyramidal crowns. Dormant, mature ginkgo trees showcase an attractive winter silhouette with light gray, furrowed bark.
Ginkgo grows slowly in its youth but more moderately as it matures in full sun to partial shade. Supplemental watering during summer dry spells and periodic fertilization in mid-spring and/or early fall will encourage growth.
Gingko is not difficult to transplant, but late fall/early winter planting favors establishment. Choose a well-drained location. Avoid wet soils. The ginkgo tree is deer-resistant; tolerant of drought, heat, and air pollution; and moderately salt-tolerant.
Ginkgo is relatively free of pests, but it may cause contact dermatitis.
Ginkgo biloba leaves on the ground | Jim Robbins | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Ginkgo biloba 'Golden Globe' Fall Color Form | Jim Robbins | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
By Kathryn Copley, Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteer, Brunswick County, NC
For more information on gardening in Brunswick County, please call the Brunswick County Cooperative Extension Office, 910.253.2610.
SOURCES:
Ginkgo biloba | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Ginkgo (Maidenhair Tree) Care & Growing Guide | Clemson University Cooperative Extension, Home and Garden Information Center