Maidenhair Tree

Scientific Name: Ginkgo biloba Linn.
Family: Ginkgoaceae

Recommended Temperature Zone:
Sunset®: 1-12,14-24
USDA: 3-8

Sun Exposure: Full sun to part sun

Origin: China

Growth Habits: Deciduous tree, slow growing until 50 feet tall (15 m), narrow to spreading shape; medium-green, fan-shaped, leathery leaves, turning bright yellow in the fall; deep-rooted

Flowers: Greenish flowers

Watering Needs: Deep watering in summer

Propagation: Cuttings

Propagation: Seed or occasionally cutting, grafting/budding

• by softwood stem tip cuttings, in summer. Apply IBA TALC 8000 PPM. Use intermittent mist. Root in 6-8 weeks. Take cuttings from male ginkgo trees only. Falling seeds from females cause problems. 'Autumn Gold' cuttings root best..
• by cleft, whip grafts, in winter. Use a G. biloba as graftstock. Scion: male Ginkgo. Graft while deciduous at ground level.
• by seeds, in early winter. The seeds can be harvested in autumn. The seeds need 40F for 2mo..

The common name of 'Maidenheair Tree' refers to the similarity between the leaves of the ginkgo and those of the maidenhair fern.

Blooming Habits:
The ginkgo is dioecious. The male trees produce an abundance of catkin-like pollen cones. Female trees produce mass of seeds in the fall, when the seeds fall on the ground, the outer coat rots away rapidly, generating un unpleasant smell of rancid butter. The seeds are actually edible roasted. In general, the trees encountered in nurseries are male trees propagated vegetatively.