Ginkgo!

[AlainK]

The brown one actually

It might look a bit too deep, if that's what you mean, but it was in a much smaller pot but needed a bigger one and that's the only one I got that fitted, more or less. It definitely needed to recover from a cold, damp winter when some of the surface roots suffered.

Do you have any suggestion, it would be welcome.

The blue one is a kind of whimsical attempt. I thought that the 'Saratoga' was on its own roots, but the shoot at the base seems to be from the plain species. So I might try to air-layer the top - and give it to a friend because I don't like it that much after all, too skinny

 

[JoeR]

Debating removing this large back branch, it clutters the overall image. However, it would create a large scar as can be understood better in the last picture

 

[JoeR]

@Cadillactaste some pictures you might enjoy. Do you defoliate the outer, larger leaves in favor of the smaller interior leaves? Last picture is what it would look like with them removed

 

[Cadillactaste]

What kind of lighting does this get when leafing out? Are you fertilizing to soon? You lose the entire tree behind the foliage. No I don't defoliate. The leaves on yours seem really large.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I have read where some thin the foliage though.

 

[JoeR]

It gets the best sun in the garden, mostly full sun with late afternoon shade. Its possible I fertilized too early, but the leaves were looking yellow and deficient early on so I decided it would be better to go ahead with some low dose organic fertilizer.

I'm not sure the leaves are all that large, or if the tree itself is not that large It also grew strongly this spring because I didnt repot it

 

[JoeR]

Defoliation of Ginkgo's - Swindon & District Bonsai

Ginkgo biloba are a fascinating species of tree and everyone should have at least one in their bonsai or tree collection. Recently I have been experimenting with defoliation techniques on them to aid with encouraging back budding and improve the density of buds on the branches which in turn will...

swindon-bonsai.co.uk

Total defoliation seems drastic but partial would likely be effective

 

[Cadillactaste]

It gets the best sun in the garden, mostly full sun with late afternoon shade. Its possible I fertilized too early, but the leaves were looking yellow and deficient early on so I decided it would be better to go ahead with some low dose organic fertilizer.

I'm not sure the leaves are all that large, or if the tree itself is not that large It also grew strongly this spring because I didnt repot it

A friend had the same issue with leaves. He offered fish emulsion. Possibly your tree is smaller than mine. Mines in a 12" pot. I don't know the measurement off hand on the tree. I've not fertilized really. Other than weak fish emulsion once. I usually wait for leaves to harden before offering it.

 

[AlainK]

 

[JoeR]

@Cadillactaste

About the leaves- while the leaves themselves are also large, the petioles are actually what makes them look so disproportional. Pic:

 

[Cadillactaste]

@Cadillactaste

About the leaves- while the leaves themselves are also large, the petioles are actually what makes them look so disproportional. Pic:View attachment 308623

So you partially defoliated? I've not done that with mine. Photo of the tree?

 

[JoeR]

So you partially defoliated? I've not done that with mine. Photo of the tree?

I did, but i am out of town for the weekend. I can post it Monday for you

 

[JoeR]

Sorry Darlene forgot about getting you those pictures, here's some shots after a cutback. There's more nebari under the akadama top layer

 

[JoeR]

@Cadillactaste those are after defoliating quite alot of leaves, and could even be thinned further.

 

[Cadillactaste]

@Cadillactaste those are after defoliating quite alot of leaves, and could even be thinned further.

I don't like a bare Ginkgo, I think where it's at is good. Any more, you lose your fall show. I don't really defoliate mine. I may pinch a few to show the main trunk...not the branches. Of course I love the yellow fall colors. I keep as much foliage as I can. But this looks like a good compromise in doing it.

 

[JoeR]

I don't like a bare Ginkgo, I think where it's at is good. Any more, you lose your fall show. I don't really defoliate mine. I may pinch a few to show the main trunk...not the branches. Of course I love the yellow fall colors. I keep as much foliage as I can. But this looks like a good compromise in doing it.

Its absolutely a delicate balance between leaving enough for a fall show, and reducing enough to see the trunk and keep interior buds strong. When you cut yours back, do you ever cut all the new years growth off on a branch, or do you have to leave a new years bud or two? You can see a few branches on mine that I wanted to cut back further, all this years growth off, but I wasn't sure how the tree would respond. May have to wait until fall.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I always cut back to one bud. I'm sure there will come a time I cut more. Last year I cut beyond the new growth I didn't like the silhouette. Into old wood. The left side was to far out. Initially I grew the right side to match what Scott had developed on the left. The entire right side developed while on my bench. So initially I left more than a bud...to match the left side.

 

[JoeR]

I forgot to clean the trunk and soil

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice Joe, this tree has been developing nicely over the 3 years of this thread.

 

[JoeR]

Nice Joe, this tree has been developing nicely over the 3 years of this thread.

Thanks Leo. They're a strong growing species, but the single flush makes it such that they take a long time to actually develop. This one was cut back mid summer thinking I could get a second push, but it instead set buds and didn't grow at all afterwards. I'm expecting it to explode come spring. They are vigorous though, you can tell from the picture that the roots have pushed the tree up exposing too much of the roots. The major flaw with this tree is the large chop scar on the left, unfortunately ive neglected to make an effort to close it