Ginkgo from seed

[Brian Van Fleet]

Yes, I will never forget the campus bus ride when I brought these seeds home, praying that bag wouldn’t break.

My office is in a small town that was lined with ginkgoes. Last fall I kept smelling what I thought was puke somewhere and looked around and couldn’t find it anywhere, and yet it seemed to be everywhere I was looking. Finally I put it together and found some of the fruit stuck on the bottom of my shoe from the walk back from lunch! Nasty.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I have eaten ginkgo seed, both in fancy yuppy Asian fusion restaurants and that I collected myself. It is a good, mild flavor nut. Adds depth to broths, soups & stews.

Collect seed, and put in bucket of water. Outdoors. Scrub the fleshy, awful smelling outer flesh off the nut. Rinse, put in bucket of clean water. Scrub and rinse again if odor still persists. Clean nuts will be odorless. Boil nuts, in the shells for 20 to 30 minutes, chill then crack open shells. The kernal will be pale yellow and tender. Fully cooked can be eaten as is or added to various recipes. Ginkgo are an important nut crop in areas of China.

 

[Manmountain526]

@Brian Van Fleet This was a great thread and an amazing tree to see. I have a question regarding the trunk chop. I have a nursery ginkgo that has a nice trunk base. I will have to chop this tree as it is about 5 feet tall now. Do I chop this tree in early spring when the buds are breaking or should I do this after leaf drop? It is in need of a repot when spring gets here but i didn't know if I could chop and repot at the same time for these trees. Thank you for your input.

 

[TN_Jim]

I have eaten ginkgo seed, both in fancy yuppy Asian fusion restaurants and that I collected myself. It is a good, mild flavor nut. Adds depth to broths, soups & stews.

Collect seed, and put in bucket of water. Outdoors. Scrub the fleshy, awful smelling outer flesh off the nut. Rinse, put in bucket of clean water. Scrub and rinse again if odor still persists. Clean nuts will be odorless. Boil nuts, in the shells for 20 to 30 minutes, chill then crack open shells. The kernal will be pale yellow and tender. Fully cooked can be eaten as is or added to various recipes. Ginkgo are an important nut crop in areas of China.

Great info, will be trying this!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here is a fall color shot. The leaves got a little roasted this summer because the front of the pot doesn’t quite get enough water.

 

[Cadillactaste]

@Brian Van Fleet ...how thick is that base of the trunk again? It is so impressive this was trained from seed. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

@Brian Van Fleet ...how thick is that base of the trunk again? It is so impressive this was trained from seed. Thanks for sharing!

Around 4”.

 

[Cadillactaste]

It's a beast!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Leafless just one day after the photo above.

 

[JudyB]

They do shed quick. Have you considered a less coarse mix for this one? Mine likes moisture.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

They do shed quick. Have you considered a less coarse mix for this one? Mine likes moisture.

Not less coarse (because the roots are thick), but less pumice. I normally use akadama:lava 2:1, but added some pumice this year because the irrigation system seemed to be keeping things a bit too wet, and may have overcorrected on this one and the Ume. I’ll be back to A:L 2:1 in 2019.

 

[fredtruck]

I think this tree is one of your best, Brian. Very fine.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I think this tree is one of your best, Brian. Very fine.

Thanks Fred!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Repotted today. The roots are finally slowing down just a bit, and maybe it can go 2 years between repots soon.
Before...unpotted...soil combed out...first round of root trimming to remove the longest:

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Cut away anything growing down and from the bottom...comb out radially again...wire to pot...work in soil:

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Water well...

 

[Cadillactaste]

@Brian Van Fleet ...my guy will be going into a 3.25" deep pot minus feet. So, will be removing some roots in the process. (Had the size pot you suggested made for it.) No special care needed in sawing off the roots if they go downward and are of a larger size?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

@Brian Van Fleet ...my guy will be going into a 3.25" deep pot minus feet. So, will be removing some roots in the process. (Had the size pot you suggested made for it.) No special care needed in sawing off the roots if they go downward and are of a larger size?

Nope.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Buds are popping...never got around to pruning this one over the winter, so I’ll be curious to see how much it grows. I see a few shoots that need to be shortened...

 

[ml_work]

Brian, you showed / said you put in the pot and worked in soil. Maybe this is a "known" for everyone else but since I did not see in the picture, did you put a layer of soil in the bottom? Just asking if there is a time that it one would not have a bottom layer.