So I went out to my back patio today and there were a bunch of Ginkgos having a get together. These are the guests:
Back row from left: Chase Manhattan, Jade Butterflies, Canopy, Variegata, Blue Lace, Mutant Weeper
Front row from left: Saratoga, Robbie's Twist, Tit, Ding-a-Ling, Tubiformis.
Ok, so I'm a little obessed...
I don't think anyone has such a collection of this single-family single-genus single-species plant as thee. I think there are guests yet unappeared.
Have you 'Magyar?' You should.
What of 'Salem Lady?' 'Kew?'
None of those yet. Next on my list are:
'Tennessee Delta'...No leader globe-form
'Santa Cruz'...Leaves are rimmed in yellow
'Aurea'...Leaves emerge yellow and turn green
and one I haven't seen offered in the US: 'Fabulous Underwear'. No kidding.
This message was edited Aug 4, 2006 12:54 PM
Thats quite a collection. Now all you need to do is plant them.
I have hundreds of potted plants. Well, a lady at work knows somebody that supposed to take them this month.
I have found out that potted plants are much more vulnerable to everything than are plants in the ground. I'm sure you know that. I just went overboard with my 3 hundred or so plants. Well, I thought I'd have a use for most of them before now, but not.
Now, all you need is Sentry something or other, Fairmont and a seed grown one!
There is a very large Ginkgo here in Independence, Missouri.
It is on what is called "Truman's Walk" or something like that. It has a plaque on it and in the sidewalk in front of it. It had some sort of special significance to Truman back then. I have gone to it several times.
I have mailed cuttings of it across the country, so it could be grafted.
They have since pruned it up, and I'm not the tallest sort!
The Ginkgo is supposed to be the only living thing that survived in the path of a nuclear bomb in Japan. Maybe that is why Truman was so fond of it in his later years.
Will
Zounds. Have you any picture links for 'Santa cruz?' Or, more to importance, 'Fabulous Underwear?'
Here's a pic of Santa Cruz...
No pic of 'Fabulous Underwear'. No information on it either. I have emailed the seller but have not heard back yet.
A couple of those look like cilantro. Nice collection. What do you do with them in the winter? I had a tiny one die in my garage last winter, but I am guessing the pot was too small and I should have potted it up prior to the winter like I do with my maples. I think it was a Tubiformis.
Bill
Mine go in the garage or the basement. So far 100% success.
'Santa Cruz:' I'm in lust.
I know, but I can't find a US seller. I think I saw it offered once in The Netherlands.
I also just ran across an interesting article about the famous 'Kew' Ginkgo at Kew Gardens and evidently it is going through a sex change. It's a male that's hundreds of years old but has recently started seeding. Crazy, huh?
You are not too obsessed: I don't see any variegated forms in your collection yet. But a very nice collection it is.
Rick
Yes there's a variegated one there. Back row....4th from the left. Here's a closeup.
It is freaky that it is changing sexes. I can understand it in the animal world where the animal knows there is a lack of the opposite sex in that area and switches, but how would a male tree ever know it isn't getting the job done? Maybe it is just trying to get into the girls locker room.
Bill
Dirty old man.
Here is a link that describes some of the trees that survivied the atomic blast at Hiroshima.
http://www.lang-arts.com/survivors/index.html
Kew can have the female gingko. I have a female myself, and I am terribly allergic to the fruits. I just have to get near them to break out in a poison ivy-like rash. Lasts for weeks. Usually gets my ankles, eyelids, and privates the worst. And it is the worst!
This year, because of the heat (I suppose), the fruits are mostly already fallen. And they are falling green.
Scott
Your privates. And dybbuk thought he was having a ginkgo party.
Bill
Is this the kind of party where the generous, magnanimous host passes out party favors? Or the kind where the greedy, self-absorbed host expects gifts! If the latter, I'll be happy to provide some do-it-yourself Ginkgo kits. All you gotta do is peel the pulp and plant them . . .
Guy S.
Only if they are from Kneevin's liquor store's ginkgo.
Bill
Nice party..
Here's 'Magyar' - nice fastigiate-like growing at The US National Arboretum (May 2006)
'Spring Grove' - same place, same time -
And ya! That 'Santa Cruz' is bold! Love it -
Here's a cool espalier from a plain old Ginkgo (US Arb)
Dax
I saw another offspring from Ginkgo 'Liquor Store' yesterday. I had given it to the person a few years ago. It had the same tattered leaves as mine. Must be the mama's contribution. I'll have to get over to the liquor store later this year and get some more seed.
I'm sure getting to the liquor store is an errand you run with a certain amount of frequency!
Scott
I think that at a ginkgo party you would have great success at playing any of the many memory games. You know Ginkgo fruit and memory. My wife and I planted a female tree for our ageing minds to help with the issues of getting old. I hope I remember to pick the nut. LOL
Scott:
Whatever could you mean??? We have that little refrigerator, and it is always magically stocked with Guinness. I am not sure where it comes from.
Sofer: There is no chance you will forget about the nuts. Even the most feeble mind will think of it as the aroma of fresh vomit wafts through your windows. Ahhhhhh.........
Kevin, must be leprechauns stocking you with that magically delicious brew.
Or the Ginkgo fairy?
Or the Ginkgo fairy?
How long does that vomit smell last? I thought even Ginkgos need a little lovin. LOL My male ginkgo is lonely so I got him a girl friend.
Thanks, Kevin for that somewhat vivid olfactory image of the gingko nut. I was thinking of getting a female just to experience the nuts but now, perhaps not.
Dybbuk,
Fabulous Underwear is amazing! Believe me, I'm not the kind of person who goes around complimenting everyone's underwear but this is pretty spectacular! If you ever find a source, please post it. I'd love to add that to my own small gingko collection!
Soferdig,
My males seem quite happy together but then we're pretty alternative - lifestyle friendly round these parts.
Well I was told that the urine/vomit smell is only about 2 or 3 weeks. A small price to pay for a nut that could spread over all of montana. Again its my Johnnie Appleseed started to surface again. Oops I got the wrong photo.
This message was edited Aug 5, 2006 5:27 PM
Here is my little girl. Please note it is east (down wind of me) but upwind of my very unfriendly neighbor.
Nice Ginkgo collection.
We have 13 ginkgoes in front of the building where I work; 5 of the trees are female and the other 8 are male. I am so afraid that the female trees will be cut down because of the fruit production (the trees are planted in a plaza with a sidewalk/large cement patio-style blocks under the trees.)
To me, the ripe fruit smells like Parmesan cheese, and not at all like vomit. If I remember correctly, I think that Resin said that the same chemical that gives rancid butter it's smell also gives ripe ginkgo fruit a similar smell.
Mike
Great how old were the female Ginkgo's before they started to blossum? And how long did the smell persist. By the way has anyone smelled garlic and we grow that every where.
DiddyaBuck:
Where was that Kew article? What a wild thing.
I wonder if Ginkgoes are set by X and Y chromosomes...
And to make matters worse, must I remind everyone that Ginkgoes have a more virile way to "pollenate" than other trees?
http://ginkgopages.blogspot.com/2006/07/ginkgo-sex-change-in-kew-gardens.html
here's the link....
hope it worked
dybbuk, great collection! We recently picked up G. 'DJ's Bow Tie' but can't find much information on it - is this one you're familiar with?
Debbie
Sofer,
The building opened in 1982 but I'm not sure how old the trees were when they were planted? I would guess that the trees were at least 6' tall when put into the ground. I have heard that ginkgoes start to flower between 20 and 30 years of age. The smell doesn't last too long, but there isn't much fruit being produced. I find it odd that seed-grown trees were planted, and not grafted male trees, to ensure that no fruit would be produced.
Because of the heat-island effect that downtown Minneapolis offers, these trees turn a beautiful butter-yellow color every fall.
Mike
