Ginkgo pruning

[leatherback]

I guess the answer still the same?

Some species are tricky when it comes to deep-cleaning the rootball, certainly on older specimen. A friend of mine advocates to never clean the core of Yew. Then this spring I sayw a yew where they did not clean the core and .. the first 2 inches from the stem had no roots. Not a big issue untill you realize the roots only extended 2 /12 inches frmo the trunk. Needless to say, the yew was struggling.

Experience & insight are invaluable in judging when to clean out, and when to leave things alone.

 

[Adair M]

Is that the old chichi Gingko on a green pot? Did you remove all the old akadama from the rootball? Some have suggested to leave the rootball of all trees.

This is the tree I bought from Bill. It has a blue pot. Picture taken from the back:

 

[Paulpash]

Ginkgo is so damn slow to thicken, even in the ground. It's probably my longest ever, "grow one from scratch" tree. If ever there was a cash or time decision this one would be cash every time if I had a 20+ year refund as a redo

 

[KingAldamir]

I know typically all gingko's are grown in the flame form but does anybody know of anybody experimenting with the unique "chi chi'" habit of gingko's?

 

[Forsoothe!]

What the Hell is that?

 

[KingAldamir]

What the Hell is that?

I'm not sure if it's well know but older ancient gingko's (usually in China) form these tumorous growths that eventually form stalagmite-looking structures called "chi-chi's". It translates to breast or nipple relatively, it's a weird characteristic unique to Gingko not to be confused with the Chi-Chi cultivar which probably just has a tendency to form these growths more than common Gingko varieties .

There's an old story of a Chinese official who cut one of these off an old tree and turned it into a rare bonsai.

The Gingko Pages has a good description of it:

GINKGO BILOBA -The Ginkgo Pages- Bonsai

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I know typically all gingko's are grown in the flame form but does anybody know of anybody experimenting with the unique "chi chi'" habit of gingko's?

Chichi do develop on ginkgo bonsai, they are kept as a good indicator of maturity. Usually "chichi" don't appear until the tree has some age, usually something over 20 years in a pot. They become a key feature of the bonsai.

Ginkgo cultivars can be propagated by cuttings or grafting. There's a cultivar called 'Chi Chi' that indeed does produce the chichi feature at a younger age and more reliably than the average ginkgo from seed.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I have a Chi Chi since about 2003 and I'll watch for this. I have never heard of this before. If mine does it I'll sell the ugly sucker.

 

[KingAldamir]

I have a Chi Chi since about 2003 and I'll watch for this. I have never heard of this before. If mine does it I'll sell the ugly sucker.

I know they're a bit ugly aren't they? Lol, I'd like to try my hand at controlling the growth and shape it somehow into a natural form. They remind of aerial roots like on a Ficus

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Nah...not so ugly...

 

[LanceMac10]

Nah...not so ugly...
View attachment 337981

I think I should like this more now, and I do. It would seem these "Chi-Chi's" as shown here are pretty expertly managed. As they may give an illusionary effect of reverse taper.
This picture is great.

 

[Shibui]

My ginkgo is around 40? years old now. It has started to produce a couple of chichi at the front, close to the base.