Ginkgo

Why do Ginkgos' leaves all fall off at the same time?

I don't know, but the phenomenon dented the hood of my car back in 2001.

Scott

They don't, around here - the Ginkgo in my local park takes about 2 weeks or so from the first to the last leaves falling

Resin

??? Scott, please explain.............and........how do you know it wasn't caused by wild young people jumping on your car late at night?

Scott...very heavy leaves?

No, I was going to say that the phenomenon killed my dog, but decided a dented hood was dark enough for the internet. Trying to be funny, you know. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But, literally, all the leaves of my ginkgo will fall overnight, and my wife and I have joked about it for years. Basically, the humor revolves some way or another that you don't want to be caught underneath it when they all come down enmass.

Scott

Whew.....I was gonna say: look out for those late night rowdy people who jump on cars in October.

Is there a way to flavor cheese with ginkgo?

I have 2 young specimens and can't wait till I can camp out under the trees and be buried by the massive drop. I love to sit under trees and have the leaves flutter down to the ground. Special time of year. I bet that the ginkgo spins with its drop. Mine are just starting to turn.

I have a very romantic notion of ginko trees, though, in fact, I am not sure I have ever seen them except in pots in a nursery. Still, I know Koreans eat the nuts and the trees have the most beautiful leaves. I also understand that they are extremely good about surviving pollution.
I would plant a ginko tree in a heartbeat if I didn't have too many trees already. If one more Ponderosa Pine dies ( due to drought and bark beetles) maybe I should replace it with a ginko.
I have seen lots of jars of ginko balboa where are supposed to make you smarter. Does that come from a certain tree? Is it made from leaves, nuts or what? Just curious.

(Paja, I'll give ya a gallon potted Ginkgo or two next spring in Denver)
Mine looses a few leaves here, there, then wham-gone in one day.

I found a large specimen in town (with particularly large leaves, interestingly) and asked the homeowner about it, she says she has only seen it once, but that the whole tree defoliates within about an hour. She says it makes a noise and is like watching a waterfall. Nice for raking just once, she added.

(Unk Owl: To flavour cheese like a ginkgo fruit, simply tie a length of string on to a peice of cheddar, swallow it whole without chewing, then retrieve it via the string after five minutes.)

Scot, I would have gone for a crushed chihuahua.

(K)

LL:

Advent of accelerated abscission.

well why didn't you say so in the first place....now I know. aoaa

You always ask the best questions while I'm out of town; just back from the 40th annual meeting of the Great Rivers Chapter of the Holly Society of America.

What an august gathering (and in October; lesser beings couldn't pull that off) of avid plantspeople, gardeners, nurserymen, and the assorted groupies. Got to see great ginkgos, too.

Any new unusual Ginkgos on the horizon?

You'd be the one to know about it, Dudyabuck...

VV - Did you come across Ilex x meservae 'Heckfee' and 'Heckenstar'? Worth trying?

Don't get me wrong, I love Bonsai but...

How to humiliate and degrade a Ginkgo-

You should have seen what the Itea virginica and the Viburnum cassinoides looked like.

pajaritomt: you asked about Ginkgo Biloba extract:
The Ginkgo nuts, from female Ginkgo trees, are the source.

Female Ginkgo trees are not popular for cultivation, because the fruits smell like vomit. Female Ginkgo trees are not something you can buy in an American nursery, because they will eventually produce fruits that stink like vomit, IF you handle the fruits and stick them near your face.

Upon edit: There is a huge female Gingkgo tree in the city park blocks of Portland, in front of the courthouse. People walk by it daily. No one changes their path to avoid walking by it. People walk past it, with their own business in mind.

I have collected several nuts from that tree, and have sprouted seedlings.

Vicki

This message was edited Oct 23, 2006 10:03 PM

This message was edited Oct 23, 2006 10:05 PM

Forest Farm has sold a female cultivar from one of the stately beasts in Salem, OR. I have seen just G. biloba "female" on grafted seedlings once or twice in tree catalogues.
But most folks have been to a university (or has friends who went to a university) at which, at one point or another, students experienced the delightful odour of trodden fruits on the ground.

There are 13 Ginkgo trees planted in the plaza in front of the building where I work in downtown Minneapolis; 5 of those trees are female. To me, the ripe fruit smells like really bad Parmesan cheese. I'm surprised that seed-grown trees were planted since there is concrete under all of the trees. The trees are not too large so there isn't much fruit being produced, but it is fairly messy, in the fall, when the fruit drops from the trees.

Be sure to plant only male trees.
Mike

Mike, sounds like a good place for an Italian bistro. How bad can it really be if it smells like cheese? ;)

I for one never do what others tell me. I have both a male and female tree. I can't wait until the vomit, bad parmesan, and other issues arise for me to say "Yes I chose that tree" LOL

I understand ginko nuts are a standard component in Korean food! Maybe they boil them first or something to eliminate the smell.
Do you think ginko would survive in my soil which eventually, a couple of feet down is solid rock? If so, perhaps in the spring I will take you up on your offer, Kenton. I wonder if deer eat ginko? It would be nice to have something they detest. They haven't eaten my quince tree yet. They prefer my apple and my neighbor's roses. Grr from both of us.

I think a ginkgo stands as well a chance of living as any. They're pretty tough. Most roots don't go that deep anyway, except anchor roots and water-tapping roots.
These are little 2-3 yr seedlings, so if deer take it up, it's no problem.
Steve, do dear eat Ginkgo, or do you know? (Do your doglets keep them away)

Kenton that is a dumb question. But it is always good to ask dumb questions. Deer eat ANYTHING. I have seen them eating next to my male ginkgo but never seen them actually victualizing on the herbacous stalk, when they do I shall victualize on their carcass. Both of my trees are located near the gate way and we often leave it open and the deer will come in a short way to browse.

True, a dumb question. But I've never seen deer eat a hyena.

Herbaceaous? Do they die to the ground in your winters?

All them Ginkgo leaves falling you need to collect. I don't know what the proces s is but they use the leave s to make the Ginkgo that you buy in the stores for circulation of the brain and supposedly good for the memory. Wonder if it would help me?

I was told that overseas, forget the country, see I really do need some Ginkgo, that they grow these trees by the hundreds and harvest up all the leave s and then ship them off to be processed.

Anybody made their own mind booster from them yet?

Every year I say that I am going to camp out at the house in my neighborhood to keep an eye on that ginkgo tree and catch a photo of the leaves falling. One day the tree is gorgeous and the next day the ground beneath it is gorgeous. The only other thing I know that does a similar thing is a peony flower.

I just read somewhere they can loose their leaves in as little as two hours..at noon the tree has leaves and 2 pm it's leafless..lol..

Both of mine fell off in a very short time this year but it was more related to the frost and snow. My Acer Saccinarium lost theirs also as quickly.

This message was edited Oct 31, 2006 9:23 PM

My tree defoliated yesterday morning. I went out and saw half of the leaves on the ground, shook the little thing slightly, and the latter half fell.
My brain certainly feels better when I have ginkgo leaves- piled up with other material in a compost pile or mulching my plants for winter...

Mine fell off yesterday also. What was your lowest temp. I think that they have a temperature issue to defoliate.

32F

My gingko yesterday.

scott

scott...video the leaves falling tomorrow

My gingko today.

This year we got almost no fall color. I suppose it depends on the weather, for in other falls we have had up to three weeks of outstanding clear, bright yellow. I did see some gingkos in good color this fall, but these were all in other parts of the city and three or four weeks ago.

Where did all those leaves go? On my pool cover, of course. Hours of fun await me fishing those out! Actually quite a few fell in the garden too, making a thick blanket of mulch. The leaves will look like hell by spring, all blechy brown, but things grow up around them quickly enough, and by late June they are altogether gone.

Levelallium, I should have! It is a veritable blizzard when they fall. Amazing.

Scott


This message was edited Nov 3, 2006 4:54 PM

My Gingko 2 days ago

http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL635/2413050/13474297/200400212.jpg

Today it is naked!

it's that aoaa

The ginkgo's here are still green. There is one down the street that I hope I can catch the color on, it was beautiful last year.

Scott,
That's a very nice tree and it looks quite large. Did you plant the tree and/or do you have any idea how old the tree is? Is it a particular cultivar or is it a seed-grown plant?
Thanks,
Mike