How to replicate this ginkgo

[Rid]

I love this tree i have a single trunk ginkgo growing in the ground that id like to develop into this shape at some point. Would I do this by cutting down to a stump and hoping for several leaders to grow out of the base?

 

[Hartinez]

I’m unfamiliar with Gingko, but @Brian Van Fleet and @MACH5 both having stunning specimen. They may be able to help. A picture of yours may help though?

 

[R3x]

I have a large ginkgo in my garden that started as a thin potted tree - a single whip. One day I found my dog chewed the whole thing sticking above the ground off. Was planning to dig the rest and just say good bye to it. When I started uncovering it I saw it was sprouting from the roots. So I guess that would be the method - cut it very low in the spring before it starts growing and it could/should start new shoots from the remaining base.

 

[Rid]

I’m unfamiliar with Gingko, but @Brian Van Fleet and @MACH5 both having stunning specimen. They may be able to help. A picture of yours may help though?

It’s a cutting I have had growing in the ground for two years. It has no distinguishing characteristics.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Would I do this by cutting down to a stump and hoping for several leaders to grow out of the base?

Yes. And they will.

 

[Hartinez]

It’s a cutting I have had growing in the ground for two years. It has no distinguishing characteristics.

I think at this point time would be your best friend. You don’t want to chop too early. Strong top growth foliage will push root growth and in turn push top growth and girth.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Chopping during growing period would be ideal...not when it's heading into dormancy.

 

[0soyoung]

Chopping during growing period would be ideal...not when it's heading into dormancy.

Why not?

It works well with many species (e.g., zelkova, ulmus, pyracantha) but not so well with acer palmatum because of its low phloem pressure.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Why not?

It works well with many species (e.g., zelkova, ulmus, pyracantha) but not so well with acer palmatum because of its low phloem pressure.

I've read ones have done it in spring...and summer. Never heading into their dormant period. My tree is changing to fall color. Which means it will be going dormant soon. How can a tree recover a heavy chop being dormant?

Edit: My ginkgo and pyracantha grow night and day different, my pyracantha...shoot still is growing. My ginkgo stalled a good while back.

 

[Rid]

Thanks everybody. I understand there is nothing to do now or anytime soon. Just wondering about the future steps I’ll need to take.

 

[Rid]

Yes. And they will.

If I wanted to have a tree with a finished height of around 24”, how thick should the base be when I do this low chop?

 

[0soyoung]

If I wanted to have a tree with a finished height of around 24”, how thick should the base be when I do this low chop?

About 4 inches. How about 3 and reset your aims for something a bit shorter, like about 18 inches tall. Of course, it 1:6 is not a hard and fast rule, just a guideline proportion. Larger ratios of trunk base thickness : height go with feminine images. Far more with literati. Less with masculine and far lower with sumo.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

If I wanted to have a tree with a finished height of around 24”, how thick should the base be when I do this low chop?

Well, it really depends on how big of a base you want. This one was chopped pretty low after it had gained some size, and it stooled up from there.

I haven’t seen your tree, but if it’s in the ground, let it grow for a few years, then chop it down to about 1” above the soil, in the spring, then let new trunks grow until they’re about the thickness you want, then dig it up and put branches on it. 10 year project.

 

[Rid]

About 4 inches. How about 3 and reset your aims for something a bit shorter, like about 18 inches tall. Of course, it 1:6 is not a hard and fast rule, just a guideline proportion. Larger ratios of trunk base thickness : height go with feminine images. Far more with literati. Less with masculine and far lower with sumo.[/

Well, it really depends on how big of a base you want. This one was chopped pretty low after it had gained some size, and it stooled up from there.
View attachment 215275
I haven’t seen your tree, but if it’s in the ground, let it grow for a few years, then chop it down to about 1” above the soil, in the spring, then let new trunks grow until they’re about the thickness you want, then dig it up and put branches on it. 10 year project.

Do you think that this trees base is somewhere between 4 and 6 inches?

 

[Rid]

Well, it really depends on how big of a base you want. This one was chopped pretty low after it had gained some size, and it stooled up from there.
View attachment 215275
I haven’t seen your tree, but if it’s in the ground, let it grow for a few years, then chop it down to about 1” above the soil, in the spring, then let new trunks grow until they’re about the thickness you want, then dig it up and put branches on it. 10 year project.

Do you think that this trees base is somewhere between 4”-6”?

Ridley

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Do you think that this trees base is somewhere between 4”-6”?

Ridley

No idea. If this tree is at the National Bonsai & Penjing museum, @rockm may know.
It doesn’t really matter how big it is, if you want a 24” tall tree, you’re likely looking at a 4-6” base to replicate the scale.

 

[Rid]

About 4 inches. How about 3 and reset your aims for something a bit shorter, like about 18 inches tall. Of course, it 1:6 is not a hard and fast rule, just a guideline proportion. Larger ratios of trunk base thickness : height go with feminine images. Far more with literati. Less with masculine and far lower with sumo.

I would have thought the 1:6 Rule would not apply to multiple leader tree like this, but I guess it does. I think I’ll (try to) wait until it gets closer to 4”, as I think the tree needs the extra height to look right with the relatively large ginkgo leaves.

 

[rockm]

I would have thought the 1:6 Rule would not apply to multiple leader tree like this, but I guess it does. I think I’ll (try to) wait until it gets closer to 4”, as I think the tree needs the extra height to look right with the relatively large ginkgo leaves.

Roughly, the same rule can apply to multiple trunked clumps. You have to think of the multiple trunks as a single trunk in some ways. They have to have the same visual "mass" that a single trunk would to keep the clump from looking weak and spindly.

I don't know if that particular gingko is at the National Arb. The background looks to me like the N.C. Arboretum..
There are a couple of Nat. Arb. gingkos here--including one clump. All are pretty big trees, to make up for the larger leaves and growth habits of the species. I don't have a gingko, as good ones are hard to come by.
https://www.bonsai-nbf.org/japanese-collection/