Overwintering pet ginkgo

16 years ago

Hi

I have a pet ginkgo tree that needs to be overwintered.

The reason it's a pet is that I bought it as a 6-inch seedling in home depot and have nursed it for the past four years in a pot. I don't have any space to plant such a potentially huge tree, anyway. Someday, maybe :)

Anyway, it grew quite well for two seasons, overwintering nicely in the glassed-in porch where it could go dormant but not end up too exposed.

But then I moved and it suffered horribly. It was left out (my fault) in a hot, exposed spot for too long and lost all its leaves, but then put out two new shoots at its base. I sank it into the ground with its pot over the winter and covered its roots with mulch.

It came back this spring, from the base, sending up two shoots. The main, original trunk is dead. The two shoots are now about 6-8 inches tall but mostly green, rather than woody. So now what?

Store this plant in the basement? Not too cool down there, but it works for the Canna tubers. An unheated garage? Freezing in there, but no freeze-thaw heaving to worry about. Sink the pot into the ground again?

In any of these cases, I can't see the green stems surviving. Can this plant be kept from going dormant and treated as a houseplant for a season?

I've become quite attached to this little guy and the challenge of trying to keep it going is rather interesting.

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Comments (10)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
trees or conifers [i am not sure if ginkgo has been moved from the conifer world] ... belong outside ...

i have 4 of them in the ground in my zone 5 ... and they seem to do just fine ....

any chance you know which ginkgo it is????

ken
chris_ont
Original Author
16 years ago
Which ginkgo? No idea. Biloba, I'm assuming. The kind with the nifty leaves that turn very yellow in the fall. Maidenhair tree.

I don't WANT it in the ground. I have a small yard and I doubt this tree would make it past 100 without someone wanting it out of the way. It's a pet. I'm thinking of trying to bonzai it.
I found a ginkgo bonsai web site, but it doesn't deal with overwintering a baby plant in very cold climates before its stem has turned woody.
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in my zone 5.. adrian mi ... october is the PRIME time to plant conifers.. get it in the ground.... ASAP ... unwind the roots... plant in native soil but for clay ... water deeply mulch properly ... water properly thru about thxgvng .... and wait for next year ... odds are.. you will kill it in the pot .. in my experience anyway ken
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pineresin
16 years ago
Maybe post on the Bonsai Forum here then - they'll still tell you to keep it outdoors, just in a suitable pot with suitable soil. And a load of other very useful ideas, too!

Resin
greenlarry
16 years ago
Even if in a pot its gonna have to live outside;why would anyone want to miss out on that brilliant autumn foliage?!
(I know theres technically only one Gingko species, but are there that many culitvars? Just curious because of the 'which gingko' question above.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
larry.. better than a book.. sorta.. hit the link... use the database ... they list 40 ginkgo by my count ...

i am sure the BCS has a website

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: how many ginkgo ....
greenlarry
16 years ago
Thanks ken,the BCS does indeed have a website under construction,hope they get a forum!
chris_ont
Original Author
16 years ago
Perhaps I wasn't clear.
I mean, could I keep it inside THIS winter? I'm not proposing that a ginkgo will work as a houseplant!
I had a closer look at the plant today and the stems are actually sort of woody, but still very tender looking. I can't imagine they'd survive some of the deep freezes we get up here.
dirtslinger2
16 years ago
If you're worried about that soft new growth, why not leave it out through some good frosts, long enough to harden up somewhat, then bring it into your cellar. Leave it in the coldest corner physically possible. Now hope buds don't break dormancy before it's warm enough outside to go back out.
At that time, choose one of the two shoots to be the leader and remove #2.
Not going to guarantee survival, but I know your winter, anything with soft new growth can get burned right off, and since yours was already burned off it is less likely to bounce back again.
lucy
16 years ago
It needs to be outside. Period. What you can do is sink the pot into a much larger one (with drain holes) full of mulch, and maybe keep it in an unheated shed, porch, etc. preferably near a window so it does get light (in Feb.) to start the buds going. I've done it with gingko bonsai in Toronto and if you don't water once the soil freezes, and do pile snow on top for insulation and natural watering, you should be fine.
Dibbit
16 years ago
I would agree with the above advice - in the house would be too warm. But I don't think that's what you want to do, or am I wrong? I would, as Dirtslinger suggested, let it get a couple of frosts, lose all its leaves, and then put it in as sheltered a spot as you can outside - beside the house or an outbuilding, surround it in mulch or straw/hay bales or leaves - or use the double-pot method, or sink it in the ground - all means of protecting it to some degree - and make sure it is well watered up until it freezes. Another option is to place it in an unheated building, crawlspace or porch, keeping it as cold as you can - if the soil and roots don't then freeze, make sure they don't dry out - and protect it from leafing out before it gets warm outside by keeping it out of any sun. Once it warms up outside, then move it out to a sheltered area, and gradually acclimate it to "real life" again.

I would check either in a bonsai book (one suited to your area, not one for southern CA, or the PNW, where winter climate is very different!) or over on the bonsai forum, since what you have at the moment is effectively a bonsai-ed young tree. They may have more specific advice.

Overwintering pet ginkgo

Comments (10)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

chris_ont
Original Author

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Overwintering pet ginkgo

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