After looking at the trees this weekend, I have a couple more questions...... As Don noted, some of the biggest branches are too vertical to be good fruiting branches. When I examined the tree up close, it seemed that the branches that were the most horizontal were very small and thin. Where the biggest (and most upright) branches are a couple feet long and a half an inch thick, the small, horizontal branches are only a couple inches long and a quarter inch thick. Should I just go ahead and prune the tree to make these tiny branches the future 4 main fruiting branches? I don't mind losing whatever growth I gained last year by hacking off the biggest branches, but I don't want to do something that will be worse than leaving the big branches and trying to spread them. Any thoughts? Thanks, Bart

When I transplant I cut off all the buds and flowers and trim the plant down so that the roots can get settled without having to put energy into maintaining top growth. I would certainly mulch it very well after transplanting and be very generous with the water. Good luck! In my zone I wouldn't hesitate to transplant now but don't know enough about your conditions to give you advice. Ingrid

Yes, it's been almost exactly a year since my first post. During that time I've done little to the gingko trees besides water. I still would like advice. I posted photos to Photobucket and put them in a public folder. I've never done that before so I hope I did it right... I bought 5 "Philadelphia" variety gingko trees several years ago. At the time I was told they were grown from cuttings taken from the 1st gingko tree planted in the U.S. which is in Fairmont Park in Philadelphia. I bought the trees at a fundraiser, so I suspect they may actually be the Fairmont variety. Originally they were in 2 gallon pots. As they grew I moved them into 15 gallon, and eventually planted them in the ground last year. A few months before that the wind blew one of them over and my gardener cut the main leader of that tree, I think because he didn't realize what he was doing and it had fallen in his way. I stressed about planting it but planted it anyway. In the photos you'll see of my front yard the 3 gingkos are planted at odd angles, not straight up and down. This is because 2 of my neighbors helped me plant them and one of them, who is a master gardener and on the board of a local botanical society, said that it would look more artistic if they were planted leaning. I still have questions about whether this was a good idea. Since being planted they get watered weekly by flooding the area they are planted in.The area where they were planted was a blank slate - all the lawn and everything else was removed. I hired an auger truck and had several holes drilled for drainage. The holes were 18" across and average about 15 feet deep. We drilled till we hit sand for drainage. These holes were filled with large gravel. I then rented a tractor with an huge auger and worked in many cubic yards of organic compost into the planting mound and planting area; I'd say I worked the compost down to an average of about 7ft. The soil throughout my entire yard is hard pan, and it is as hard as concrete before it is amended (or removed). I routinely use an electric jackhammer (demolition hammer) to dig when I am planting things. The gingko trees in my backyard were planted in the ground 4 years ago. I had holes drilled, 18" across, average about 12 ft deep. I didn't do any major soil amending or enlarging on the holes. I had a hope this might stunt the trees and keep them small, and it was also an experiment to see if anything would grow this way. They are are watered on a drip system with shrub emitters and get about 6 minutes a day. Most plants in my neighborhood struggle with the hard pan, and most, including trees, have roots that penetrate only about the first foot or so of soil. The soil is nearly 100% clay, literally the type you'd make pottery with. But it does seem to be very nutritious when it is amended.So my questions: Should I leave the tree with the cut main leader in my front yard, or dig it up and replace it? In the photos of the trees in the back yard, the tree on the right on top of the mound has always been crooked and ugly, but has now sprouted from the root. Should I cut down the original ugly main trunk and let the shoots take over? On the tree to the left in the back yard, should I retain the original trunk and cut down the others? Retain them all because I think it looks nice, or? Besides the soil I have, I also live in a very arid climate. 20% humidity is considered muggy here. It usually averages more between 10 to 15%. Also, especially in the front yard, heat is a major factor. Last year we had over 30 days above 100 degrees, with many days over 110. At the back of the photo of the front yard you can see a big rock. I used an infrared thermometer this summer and measured the rock temperature at more than 145 degrees in direct sun. The trees get direct sun virtually all day. Thanks for all the posts and advice. Here's my attempt at posting photos: Here is the link to my album on photobucket: http://s1131.photobucket.com/albums/m547/halddd/ I had the instructions for posting photos open in another tab. But the instructions aren't working for me. I hope the link above will work. I put links to each photo below. Photos: 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8.

Hi all- I originally posted this as a comment on another thread but it was suggested I repost as new question for clarity. Sorry for any confusion. New to the forum and still obviously confused at navigating ! :) @talpa Thank you very much for posting the link to the treasure trove of prior threads you’ve written over the years. (And thank you Anna for the question ). I regularly read through posts on gardening forums for anything I can learn and maybe it’s just me, but I’ve had a heck of a time navigating the Houzz site and forum in any clear way. The compilation of your prior threads is an excellent springboard of detailed information that I’ve only just started to study, I read and digested the Overview of Good Growing Practices yesterday and I’m glad I started there. I’m fascinated to know the stark differences in potting up vs re-potting with root pruning. I have been collecting several varieties of ficus over the past 1-2 years and some have been potted up once now so this information comes at a critical time. I’m trying my best to learn all I can to help a growing plant collection thrive. Have you written a thread on the details of the root pruning process I can study now should the need arise in the spring for repotting? I also have a beginner question regarding how repotting and root pruning applies to some other plants, for instance Ming and Fabian aralia and also crotons, I’ve read that they are especially sensitive to having their roots disturbed and typically fare poorly if that happens. I’ve potted up these plants one to two times now and I’ve taken great care to move the root ball intact to the next larger pot size without disturbing any roots. What would you advise in the future with these plants? Also, I’ve got a couple Christmas cactuses that I think qualify for being stuck in soil I’ve seen referred to as a “brick”. It’s very dense and takes water a long time to permeate it. The plants were potted up about 5 years ago and I’ve had them maybe 10 years now. One of them has had a large branch break off at the root which I’m rooting now in starter pots. The large old plant is due to be watered any day wondering if I should soak the dry rootball and attempt repotting? thanks so much for sharing your years of knowledge! Abby