Ginkgo biloba
ginkgo, maidenhair tree

Notes:

Fall color is exceptional (even in the South) but brief, as the leaves fall quickly. Habit is "gawky" and "very open" in youth (I personally think it looks terrible) but fills out and becomes "denser" and "well proportioned" with age.

Robert Kourik, in The Tree and Shrub Finder, writes that it blocks on average 81% of sunlight in leaf and 37% when bare, which is fairly good but not as good as, say, Liquidambar or Liriodendron.

Legendarily adaptable and trouble-free. May be slow to establish. Water and fertilizer may speed growth once established, if soil is well-drained.

Plant only males, as females bear unfathomably malodorous fruit.

JerseyYards.org and Missouri BG assert clay tolerance, and UFL asserts tolerance of compacted soils.

'Golden Globe' is fuller in youth and is reportedly faster-growing. 'The President' (Presidential Gold) is also fuller and better-looking in youth than most.

Sources: UFL, Sunset, Stoecklein, Missouri BG, JerseyYards.org, UConn, USDA, Dirr/Warren.

Buy it at PlantingTree.com (affiliate link; supports this website)

Tags:

branches strong
clay tolerant
compacted soil tolerant
deer resistant
dioecious
drought tolerant
easy to grow
exposure:full sun
fall color notable
form:tree
full sun preferred
habit:conical/pyramidal
habit:irregular
habit:rounded
infertile soil tolerant
litter:fruit
litter:leaves
long-lived
malodorous fruit
open canopy
persistence:deciduous
pest/disease free
pollution tolerant
pruning not required
rich soil preferred
root competition intolerant
root restriction tolerant
roots:deep
roots:low damage potential
salt tolerant
sandy soil tolerant
slow-growing
type:broadleaf
type:conifer
use:bonsai
use:shade tree
use:specimen
use:street
water:moderate to little
water:regular
wet soil tolerant
wind tolerant


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