Ginkgo
Ginkgo biloba
Almost nothing troubles it, though it does resent having its roots disturbed while young.
- Type
- Tree · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Foliage color
- Green
- Sunlight
- Sun or partial shade, either suits.
- Watering
- Little once established; moderate while young.
- Feeding
- Rarely called for.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- May
- Pruning
- Minimal — dead wood out in late winter, and no more.
- Overwintering
- Fully hardy; no protection needed.
- Apr–May Bud Break
- May–Nov Flowering
- Nov–Dec Leaf Fall
- Jan–Apr Leaf Fall
- Plant spacing
- 19 ft 8 in
- In-row spacing
- 19 ft 8 in
- Between rows
- 24 ft 7 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
- Root system
- Woody, with a taproot it keeps
- Working depth
- 24 in–5 ft
- Can reach
- 10 ft down where the soil allows
- Spread
- 30–49 ft across, about 1.5–2.5× the width of the plant
It anchors downwards as well as sideways, which is what lets it stand in a gale and what makes it hate being moved. Plant it small: past a few years in the ground a taprooted tree transplants badly, and often not at all.
The habit is Ginkgo’s own; the figures are what that habit usually comes to at this size, not a measurement of this species. Roots follow the soil either way: a compacted pan, a high water table or heavy clay stops them well short of any of it, and deep open ground lets them go further.
- Almost nothing in the way of pests or diseases
- Leaf scorch in a hot, dry summer
- Root disturbance while it is young
Hakonechloa, Hosta, Fern, Heuchera
Green-leaved trees, like this one.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com