Legendary and glorious - the ginkgo or fan leaf tree is mysterious, but also a "living fossil" because it existed around 180 million years ago. It will also grow old in your garden if you take good care of it.
Young ginkgos need some care
location and soil
It is best to plant your ginkgo so that it is in partial shade in the first few years, but gets more light as it gets older. Because it actually prefers a rather sunny location, but is still quite sensitive at a young age.
It doesn't make too many demands on the soil, but likes it rich in nutrients and slightly loamy. It thrives particularly well there. Only the female tree bears fruit, but these smell rather unpleasant. You should also consider this when choosing a location. In addition, a ginkgo can grow up to 40 meters high.
Water and fertilize
If he feels comfortable in your garden, then a ginkgo tree will be several hundred years old. It does not require any particularly complex care, just sufficient water and some fertilizer in the first few years.
With a layer of bark mulch you can reduce evaporation, so your ginkgo hardly needs any additional water. In this case it makes sense to treat the tree to a portion of horn shavings (32.93€), it ensures a better microclimate in the soil.
diseases and pests
You do not have to worry about an infestation with pests or the outbreak of a disease with the ginkgo, it is considered to be very robust. Yellowing of the leaves is completely normal in autumn. It only sets in relatively late and is a great eye-catcher in the November gray of your garden.
The ginkgo in winter
A normal Central European winter is not particularly challenging for a ginkgo tree, as it is hardy down to around -28 °C. However, this only applies to older ginkgos, a young tree prefers to hibernate frost-free or at least well protected so that the bark does not get frost cracks.
The essentials in brief:
- Location: sunny to semi-shady
- Soil: gravelly or clayey, moderately dry to slightly moist, neutral to slightly acidic, humic
- very adaptable and easy to care for
- Growth: upright and spreading
- Foliage: long-stalked fresh green fan leaves
- Autumn colour: intense golden yellow
- Flowering time: March to April
- Fruits: only on female trees, similar to Mirabelle plums, yellow, unpleasant smell (like butyric acid)
- older tree hardy to approx. - 28 °C
- protect young trees from frost cracks in the bark (plant fleece, jute or cane mat)
tips
If you want to plant a ginkgo near the house or on the balcony, then make sure that the tree is male. The smell of the ripe fruit is not exactly pleasant.