Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo
Mature Size, Growth, Longevity
50-80' tall, & 50-70' wide, sometimes over 100' tall & wide. Often wider than tall at maturity. Growth habit in youth starts out gaunt, lanky & open, then upright-pyramidal, then wide-spreading, w/ massive, picturesque branches. Slow to medium growth rate. Ginkgo trees live several hundred years.
Native Range
Native to E. China. Fossils show Ginkgo was once native to N. America.
Flower and Fruit Details
Dioecious. Green male flowers on short shoots in 1" catkins, March/April. The swimming sperm of the male tree depend on fog or mist to transfer them to fertilize the female tree's flowers, which are on a 1.5-2" pedicel, w/ 1-2 greenish ovules. This gymnosperm "fruit" is not a true fruit, but actually just a naked seed (w/out an ovary), plum-shaped, 3/4-1 1/2" long, w/ a fleshy covering on the seed (female gametophyte), green (in July) to Oct. orange, messy & malodorous as it ripens.
Leaf and Bark Features
Deciduous: Alternate, simple leaves, clustered in groups of 3-5 on spurs, or singly on long shoots. Fan-shaped leaves, w/ dichotomous veins, 2-3" long & wide, bright green, glabrous, w/ a 1.5-3.5" petiole. Leaves usually incised or divided, about in the middle of the outer fan margin, thus somewhat 2 lobed, thus the name, "biloba". Excellent yellow fall color. Leaves often shed very quickly after a fall freeze. The bark is made up of gray-brown ridges w/ darker furrows. Younger stems gray, w/ stringy, peeling bark. Older stems w/ prominent blackish spurs.
Culture and Care
Prefers full sun. Tolerates about any soil & any soil pH. Tolerates air pollution, soil salt, & heat. Responds well when adequate water and fertilizer are supplied. Zone 4-8. Almost no diseases or insect pests. A few minor leaf spot problems possible after wet springs.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts
4-season interest: Spring, summer, fall, winter. Seedling-grown trees may not start fruiting for 20-50 years, so only named clones should be purchased to assure you have a male. Otherwise, the bad-smelling fruits will be a messy disappointment. Ginkgo is a true gymnosperm. The growth habit gets better & more impressive w/ age… be patient. The seed is eaten by the Japanese & Chinese.
Suggested Uses
A durable tree for difficult sites. Good urban tolerance, Good in parks & landscapes. Has been used as a street tree.
Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA
The following taxa are (or were) represented in the collections at Boone County Arboretum. Additional taxa may be available in the trade that are not included here.
Ginkgo biloba // Ginkgo ("straight species")
Tree.
BT001300Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' // Autumn Gold Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree
Tree. Grows to 40-50' tall and 25-35' wide. Slow to medium growth rate. This fruitless/seedless male cultivar is upright, broad-conical to pyramidal, symmetrical, and spreading with age. No serious insect pests or diseases. This is one of the best ginkgo cultivars for excellent, uniform, deep golden yellow fall color that persists for several weeks before suddenly shedding the leaves. Bark is usually gray-brown ridges with darker furrows. Is pH adaptable. No serious diseases. Introduced in 1955 in California by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation. Widely adaptable. Zones 4-8. Needs full sun. Makes a good lawn tree, shade tree, street tree, or in city parks or near commercial buildings.
BT001290 - BT001310 - BT007190Ginkgo biloba 'Brooks Road' // Brooks Road Ginkgo
Tree. Found in a yard off Interstate 65 in Brooks, Kentucky. Still under observation, but this appears to be one of the tightest, narrowest and densest columnar forms of Ginkgo so far. Estimated size is 30-40' tall and 5-10' wide. Little is known about the age or growth rate of the original tree, which can be seen on the northbound side of I-65, just before the "Brooks" exit (121), according to the www.chrissummersnursery.com website. First discovered by Paul Cappiello and first propagated by Ben Cecil.
BT001342 - BT001343Ginkgo biloba 'Chi Chi' // Chi Chil Dwarf Ginkgo
Tree. A male, fruitless/seedless clone, grown more as a novelty, w/ a fan-shaped habit like the leaf, and having abnormal growths like stalactites on the lower parts of branches. Densely branched. A dwarf, dense, mounded form, often multi-stemmed & shrub-like. Gets only 15-20% as large as the straight species. Grows 4-5' in ten years, eventually to 10-20' tall & 10-15' wide. Makes a dense, rounded shrub for foundations, shrub borders, hedges, or bonsai. Also known as 'Tschi-Tschi'. The cultivar names translate as "breasts", in reference to the unusual swellings (clusters of dormant buds) appearing to be on the bark of plants after 10 years of growth. Uniform, golden-yellow fall color.
BT001714Ginkgo biloba 'PNI 2720' // Princeton Sentry® Ginkgo, Maidenhair tree
Tree. This is one of the very best of the narrowly-conical to upright-columnar types, but tapered to the apex, and slightly wider at the base. A fruitless/seedless male, with good yellow fall color. Eventually gets 40-60' tall and 15-25' wide. Practically pest-free, resistant to storm damage, and casts light shade, due to the narrow crown. It has a dense, fat-columnar form. Makes a good street tree. Leaves all drop very quickly after a hard fall freeze, creating a golden carpet under the tree. A Princeton Nursery introduction, from Princeton, New Jersey.
BT001121Ginkgo biloba 'Potter Pete' // Potter Pete Ginkgo
Tree.
BT001989Ginkgo biloba 'Saratoga' // Saratoga Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree
Tree. Grows 35-45' tall & 25-30' wide. Slow to medium growth rate. A male cultivar w/ a strong central leader & an upright, compact-oval to upright-spreading, conical/pyramidal habit, with sturdy branches and dense foliage. The elongated, pendulous leaves are somewhat lacey, deeply cut, narrow, V-shaped, often but not always split in the middle, &/or scalloped/toothed on outer margin. Dioecious male flowers borne on short shoots in cylindrical, 1" long catkins, March-April. This male cultivar produces no fruit/seeds. Fall color is an excellent deep golden yellow. Introduced by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation.
BT001320 - BT002650 - BT002660Ginkgo biloba 'Summer Rainbow' // Summer Rainbow Ginkgo
Tree. Small/medium leaves are variegated, green and golden-yellow. Leaves have numerous, yellow stripes or streaks of varying widths, from the petiole to the outer margin on the fan-like leaves, following the pattern of the dichotomous venation. Foliage color intensifies into summer. The variegation has been described as being "fairly stable" by some to "remarkably stable" by others. Ornamental value improves with age. Growth habit is upright-pyramidal. This is a slow-growing, dwarf plant, only 6-15' tall and 2-8' wide after 10 years, possibly growing to 20' tall and 12' wide. Upright-pyramidal growth habit. Verticillium wilt resistant. Golden-yellow fall color. Tolerates full sun to part shade.
-- not currently in our collection --Ginkgo biloba 'The President' // Presidential Gold® Ginkgo
Tree.
BT001908Ginkgo biloba 'Thelma' // Thelma Ginkgo, Maidenhair Tree
Tree. An open, compact/dwarf, oval-rounded, often multi-stemmed tree w/ a bushy habit & extra small, somewhat cup-shaped leaves. A very slow-growing dwarf form, only 8' X 6' after 10 years, eventually 10-20' tall & 10-15' wide, with narrow, contorted foliage. New foliage is small and deeply fringed, then becoming a semi-tubular or cup-shaped mature leaf with divided edges. Leaves are borne in small clusters of 3-5 on short, knobby spurs. A fruitless/seedless male. Makes an interesting accent plant or foundation corner tree. Can be used for topiary or bonsai. Tolerates soil compaction. Good yellow fall color. Furrowed, gray-tan bark & knobby branches add winter interest. Originated as a witch's broom.
BT001111