I'm slightly more prone to go for soil freezing than rootboundedness. It was a bit rootbound when I bought it, because it was in a little four-inch pot. When potting it up, I spread everything out. Also, none of the roots were particularly lignified and I didn't see anything to indicate root girdling. And I moved it up to a gallon pot when I did repot it, too, so unless the plant's root system really took off over the summer, this doesn't seem likely. Cryptomeria I've been overwintering didn't undergo similar problems; however, that's sitting next to a window and up on some boxes, whereas the ginkgo is sitting on the ground. It's a concrete slab, so while the garage usually stays fairly well above freezing, I guess I could see the floor being substantially colder -- or at the least, having a higher thermal transfer rate. So, assuming just the bottom-most layer of the soil froze, would that be enough to displace the plant? If so, that's probably the problem, and I'll prop the thing up on a box to prevent it from happening again and try and find something to insulate it with. "try to avoid scratching it too much .. if the buds look OK.. why scratch it ??? " People have told me to do a scratch test before. I actually wouldn't do a scratch test even if I could for the reasons you said, coupled with the trunk not really having any girth right now, so any scratching could be potentially very damaging. I just felt like throwing an excuse out for not doing so right away :)

I also have a tree in my front yard that has lost its bark however it is still growing very slowly mind you. Not sure how it happened but it is almost 3/4 around. Can the bark grow back or should I start looking for a new tree. I can't even remember what kind of crab it is purple leaves with pink flowers. The strange thing is the bark was still there but just loose. I peeled off the loose stuff and it has a nicely healed edge I wonder if it was damaged when I bought it but never noticed.

I second the others advice. Clean back the dead material, clear the grass back from the base as its only stealing available nutrients. I would also lightly cultivate the top inch or so around the base. My ginko's did a lot better after I added some time release osmocote and your tree needs either that or perhaps adding some composted mulch around it too. Both will help get it going stronger. They're not difficult to grow and I'm never seen any that were grafted trees. The ground around the tree might well be light on nitrogen so adding some type of fertilizers should help out too. :)

I am fully aware of the cat and wildlife issue and do not need a snarky lecture on that. This area is full of stray/feral cats as almost every yahoo in the area puts out food, and does not get their cats fixed. It was a matter of time until some turned up in our yard, I'm amazed this did not happen sooner. So long story short some, kittens turned up last year our backyard that we could not get adopted/socialized in time, we got them fixed and live out as barn cats. Not ideal and I don't need a lecture on this, and I'm not going to put them down. I am asking for help with the tree. On to the tree damage, here are some pictures of the trunk, the wood is drying out but feels flaky, unlike the rest of the tree that has smooth bark . Worth cutting it down and planting a new one while we're in the growing season or wait a few months? TIA