Ginkgo biloba 'Green Pagoda'

Does anyone have one of these little guys? I found one with the tag but no price in a broken plastic 4" pot at a nursery in Wisconsin this past weekend. It was the only one they had, next to a tiny mugo that I decided to purchase, so I brought the two to the cash register. The cashier said the price was $4.99 so I could not say "no" to that.

Anyone have one of the little guys? The tag said it was hardy to zone 4 with a 10 year size of 2' tall and 15" wide so I expect it will stay very small for a long time (provided I can keep it alive). It is precious!

Elizabeth

Wow Elizabeth, what nursery was that?! Sounds like I need to make a trip up there next year if they're selling ginkgo babies for $4.99!!! How about a picture of it? I have an Autumn Gold and a tubiformis, but no green pagoda. Sounds like yours would be an ideal specimen to bonsai!
Claire

Claire, the name was K & W Greenery and here is their website: http://www.kwgreenery.com/

We took a different route to Kenosha to visit my hubby's grandfather, and passed this place by sheer luck. Normally we drive a different way, but we wanted to stop at a brewery in New Glaurus to see if they had a beer we liked. They didn't have the beer, but I didn't care after I saw this place! Hubby was getting kind of punchy by then but I insisted that we had to stop. He went to look at the fruit trees and I wandered until I found a table OVERFLOWING with dwarf and mini conifers. I'm used to seeing about the same four Iseli minis at every nursery in town, but I swear they had at least 20 different things. Really reasonable prices, too, many things under $20. They must have given me a special deal on the ginkgo, since the pot was broken (it was really splintered, but I didn't see any damage to the tree so that didn't matter to me). They had a gorgeous dragon's eye "something" (didn't remember the name) but I didn't have room in the truck for it. I'm definitely going to make a special trip up there next May to see what they have at the beginning of the season.

Here is the first of a few pictures I took this afternoon of Ginkgo biloba 'Green Pagoda' in its new home.

Elizabeth

Picture #2

Picture #3

Picture #4

This is such an adorable tree, I hope it does well for me!

Looks great, Elizabeth! I love it with the sempervivum foliage nearby - such a neat contrast in shapes. I should definitely visit that store! I am a fruit tree addict also, and they seem to have 50% off fruit trees right now. Good thing it's not that closeby or I'd be digging even more holes than I currently am! (I went to Lowe's last week and came home with 3 plums, a nectarine, a peach, and 2 cherries from their end of season tree sale. Kind of pathetic specimens, but heck, maybe they'll grow...and they were $7.49 each!)

I bet it was the Japanese Dragon's Eye Pine that you saw. Those are gorgeous, I would love to have one.

maybe you can help . i have a ginkgo thats about 7' tall . i put it in the ground this spring and it was doing good .now the whole tree is yellowing and wilting . the leaves are dropping and frankly i don't know what to do . i fertilized before this problem and could have caused it then . it's at the bottom of a hill and the fertilizer probably washed down on it from the grass giving it a double dose. it was 13-13-13 . would you say to dig it up and move it ? also had been watering it every day or so and noticed the ground was pretty wet .do they take a lot of water or prefer it on the dry side ? any help or suggestions would be appreciated . sally

Hi Sally,
I am by no means a ginkgo expert, but it sounds definitely overwatered to me. I water the ginkgo about once a week here, deeply, unless we are getting a lot of rain (like we have been lately). If you have heavy clay soil, this can make the problem worse because if you dig out the hole, it kind of makes a "bathtub" when the tree goes in and it's hard for the water to drain. I have that kind of soil here, which is why I mention it. The trees I have put at the bottom of my hill, which also gets soggy, are willows and river birch. I don't think ginkgos like "wet feet" so I would try to put it on higher ground or try some drainage techniques.
Claire

thanks , cmoxon , i wasn't sure about it , but thought it was a possibility.it's being moved in a coupla hours . and yes , i have georgia red clay that was dug down to set a modular home in . i did add compost to the backfil when the tree was put in . thanks again , sally

Ginkgo 'Green Pagoda' is a tree that Stanley and Son's is selling wholesale, so I would guess that's where the nursery purchased the plant. The tree wholesales for $7.50 so you got a great deal. 'Green Pagoda' is propagated by rooting cuttings (not the norm for ginkgoes; ginkgoes are usually grafted) so any growth that comes from the plant will be this cultivar.

Here is the description from the S&S catalog:

"Green Pagoda Ginkgo
New dwarf variety of Ginkgo. Plant makes very tight upright conical habit like sheared tree. Plants are done from cuttings. Very nice plant for Bonsai. Found by Leo Gambardella from Northern Pacific Nursery, Albany, OR."

I would sink that planter in the ground for the winter, or otherwise protect the plant during the winter. The roots of plants are not as hardy as the above-ground parts and could be damaged by cold if left above ground. I would guess you already know this, but thought I would throw it out there, just in case. (:o)

I received a 'Green Pagoda' at the conifer society national convention in Dubuque, IA., a couple of weeks ago since it was my first time attending a national convention. I can hardly wait to see how this tree develops.

That's a great find!
Good luck!
Mike
tl³

Mike,

Thanks for the information! I plan on bringing the hypertufa into my unheated garage overwinter. In the alternate, I thought to put it on the ground and surround it with mulch up to the top of the ht. It is very thick (5 inches or so all around). I'm so curious how it will turn out. I think it is really happy in the planter.

Elizabeth

Well after seeing your pics of 'Green Pagoda', I had to get me one. Wasn't easy to find but I located one in the strangest place....Amazon.com! Thanks for the temptation.... Can't wait to see that little bugger.....

It is a little bugger, it is just so cute! If a plant can be "impish" that is certainly how I would describe 'Green Pagoda.'

Wow, Amazon.com! Who knew!?! I think I have purchased some plants from that same vendor, off of eBay.
Mike
tl³

I've gotten a few plants from them before and have been happy with their arrival. Inexpensive but small plants. I like getting them small though...fun to watch them zoom into something....

You might be be waiting awhile before 'Green Pagoda' zooms into anything, though. The growth rate has to put it at one of the tiniest ginkgos! Anyone know which is the smallest?

Well, my 'Green Pagoda' looks like it has put on almost 6" of growth this year so I have reservations that the plant is as small as described.

There was a ginkgo at the Conifer Society convention, in June, called 'Jehosephat' that was many years old and very small. I would guess that 'Jehosephat' grows about an inch a year, if that. It was a very cool tree, but it went for over $500.00 at the aution, so it was a little (a lot) out of my price range.
tl³

So I got mine today and I agree with your reservations as to how small it will be. I measured the new growth at 18"! Should be interesting to watch.

I have another new dwarf called 'Rocky'. Nice looking little guy...

I can't believe how many cultivars there are now. I once fantasized about having them all until I ran into a list online from a foreign specialist and there must have been close to 200---tons I'd never heard. Geesh....


Here's a pic of 'Rocky'....

Well...maybe mine won't stay super tiny! Hopefully it lasts in its container at least another year, I don't like to replant more than every two years.

There are tons of them! Can you post the link to that list, if it is publicly available? I have only three little ones of my own, and a "big" one that is about 15' tall that was already growing in our yard. Unfortunately, it is planted only about 10' from another tree, so I think one of them might have to come down eventually, but I hope I won't be the one who has to make that call!

Elizabeth

I have two pots of ginkgo seedlings from seed I purchased from Schumacher's and all of the seedlings are about a foot tall, except for one that is no more than an inch and a half high. I'll take a pic and post it here. I am hoping that this truely is a dwarf tree, but it's way too early to make that determination.

I also purchased some Balsam fir seed from the same place (a blue form) and I have one seedling that looks like it's going to be golden. (the cotyledons are a light golden anyway and it looks like the growth is going to be golden too.)

I have sown hundreds of seeds over the last 20 years and I have not had this happen. The fact that I have gotten two unusual seedlings in the same year is really weird. Hopefully, this isn't due to being bombarded by radiation from outerspace or something like that! (:o) I guess if I start to grow another limb out of the top of my head I'll know it really was radiation from outerspace!
Mike
tl³

Mike, sounds exciting with the possible dwarf. Look forward to seeing a pic.

Elizabeth, I'll post that link if I can find it again. I was just googling and ran across the site. I printed the list so I should be able to find it.

Todd

I'm paying attention to your thread here and need to interject with a question. You do not need to answer now, but at the appropriate time could you explain how you prepare these small trees/young trees in pots for winter? I'm interested in how you keep your potted trees alive from season to season. thanks

don't mean to take over the thread , but will give one answer to the overwinter question. if your shrubs , trees, are hardy in that area , i just bury the whole pot in the compost bin . or in your case ,ground, if you don't have large compost bin . then mulch after, with straw. sally

I sink the pots up to their rims, in the ground, on the east and north sides of my house. I also surround the pots with chicken wire or some other fencing material to protect the plants from the bunnies during the winter. That's all you really have to do. I carry a couple hundred pots over the winter this way and I have for several years. I have so many potted plants that I don't have the room to sink them all and some sit above ground on the east side of my house all bunched together. I only let those plants that are completely hardy in my area spend the winter above ground. Don't leave plants that are marginal above ground for the winter or you have a good chance of losing them.
Good luck,
Mike
tl³

I just drag mine into the garage or my cold basement. Not a fun day.