In my opinion and I hope this doesn't provoke anyone but ginkgo is overrated. If you want a full rounded crown then you're going to have to wait a hundred years. They don't seem to like compacted soils. AT ALL.

and you need to make sure you get the male. I love ginkgo but the very slow growth rate pulled me away from it. Saw new ginkgo trees planted in 2007, after 3 years, I have not seen major changes.

I only love ginkgo during fall. I want something that I will enjoy. This is why I kept looking around the area, taking pics of beautiful trees and posting it here to be id'd. I landed with Catalpa. Can be a good shade tree, very fast growth from what I've read and from what I've been told. You can also cut them down to 3 feet in spring so it stays compact. I really love its chartreuse leaf color. One more plus, it has beautiful flowers.

Do not some cultivars grow faster than others?? What about the autumn gold???

Ginkgo is are typically slow to establish. Took ours the 4th growing season to finally put on a nice amount of growth for a ginkgo (15 inches central leader, and up to 18" on branches). It also looked more full this year than it ever has. So when the poster above says three years and no real change, no surprise. Don't get a ginkgo expecting it to shade your house, get a ginkgo because you like them and will enjoy them each year as they are. Just the same with Ginkgo IMHO bigger is better. People will not like that statement, but it's true. Reason being that the growth rate is so slow that the small one (which should establish faster) will never catch a larger one during the time it takes to get established, and therefore the larger one will always be larger, and will be larger from the start. Search this forum for my user name and Ginkgo for a better explanation. That explanation will hold for all slow growing trees.

With all that said, Golden Globe would likely be the cultivar for you. It's supposedly grow approximately 2X as fast as standard ginkgo. BUT, and these are significant buts, it's newer and harder to find anything but small plants, AND you are likely to have to keep it staked and tied until it gets to a height above your head as it tends to do allot of branching which adds to the fullness, but makes getting a central leader problematic. Nice trees, don't just always happen, it can take management since they are not natural trees in a natural environment.

One other cultivar that might work is Princeton Sentry. Tends to grow upward, and there are some in a part near me that are very nice and full. They are about 2x tall as wide. Mayar might work too (supposedly grows faster than standard, but don't know much about it. Shangri La from the patent grows faster as well, but no experience with it.

Arktrees

Agreed with ark. The issue with ginkgos in the UF profession is their delay in putting on growth. Once they get going they are outstanding trees IMHO, I esp like when they are in fall color on the tree, and the light under them, then the next day there is a corona of gold on the green grass when the lvs all drop at once. Personally I like them best in a small grove or planted with a good red or orange.

Dan

I don't understand the fascination with them.
Too finicky. I have not found the leaves all dropping at once to A.) Be true in every case or any more so than something like an autumn blaze maple and B.) make cleanup more convenient, especially if you have trees of varying species.

It's one of those trees that gains a loyal following. Like serviceberry. A great tree? No. But nobody ever says a bad thing about them even though they have a host of liabilities.

It can be decades before you find out if a male clone is really a male. There has been some talk about that problem recently.

It's not like there's a shortage of really great slow growing trees. You have plenty to choose from.

I think their leaves are beautiful, especially in the fall. I, too, however, have found that their growth patterns can be alarmingly diverse. I've seen some scraggly looking stuff and some majestic, full stuff. It seems like a crapshoot.

Finicky? They have gorgeous specimens growing virtually in concrete in the middle of Manhattan Island. Maybe the just don't like Mid-America.

Yeah, anyone that says ginkgos are finicky is obviously totally unfamiliar with the plant. They are about as pest and disease free as any tree. Dirr writes that they are "extremely free of pests". They transplant easily, are very adaptable to different soil types and soil pH levels, pollution tolerant, salt tolerant, and heat tolerant. They prefer full sun, but can grow in partial shade. Heck, ginkgos are even said to be somewhat tolerant of atomic bombs (see link below)!

As for growth rates, I have quite a few ginkgos and the straight species plants average around 18" per year (some more than that). All of my smaller, straight-species ginkgos were grown from seed and planted out when they were about a foot tall. They were very quick to establish and grew like crazy the year after they were planted (most were planted in the fall of their first year).

Here is a link that might be useful: Bomb Tolerant Trees

brandon7, I love ginkgo a lot but like from what I have seen in our area, they are slow growers. Looks like you have a different variety. I would like to retry ginkgo again. Can you please send me few seeds. I'll email you my address.

Thanks for sharing your story.

Neil

I don't think Ginkgo like being in a container and sitting around at a nursery, plus they get pruned hard and topped. They seem to respond to stress by not growing new growth. Give them a few years planted in the same spot, then they grow.

The irregular growth... is this just because of poor quality of grafted branches. If you try to stake a leader to grow straight, does that help? Or will the tree just grow however it is going to grow?

Others have already eluded to this but if you go in with the expectation that they are slow growers, it will be a novel additon to your landscape.

Personlly I admire the tree season long because of it bark and leaf texture. Easily one of my favorite trees.

It IS tough to find one with a good branching habit though.
Took me 2 years to find this one with a dense upright habit (Autumn Gold). The other is a fine speciman at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

Is you give the tree decent drainage it is one of the least finiky trees for the midwest. I can't speak for z7.

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Neil (v1rtu0s1ty),

I have a small grove of larger trees that I collect nuts from. I see approximately the same performance with most of my ginkgo seedlings, so I don't think there is anything special about the seeds I would be able to send you, although I would still be happy to send you some.

I am out of ginkgo seeds this year. I can send you a dozen or so next year if you can remind me, but I don't have a good way to keep up with your request until then.

I do want to emphasize that you'll have about a 50/50 chance of getting a female tree from seed. You won't know the difference for probably two to three decades, but sometime after that, female trees would produce rather odoriferous (like a delightful mixture of poop and puke) fruit. Always plant seedlings away from your house, driveway, or walks so that the fruit doesn't become an unacceptable nuisance. The smell never really bothers me unless I pick the fruit up, but some people (like my mom) claim to be bothered by the smell from long distances.

Thanks brandon. I can wait. :)

I have pictures of really beautiful ginkgo that I posted here long time ago but I cannot find them.

I'm going to continue searching.

Here are the 2 ginkgo biloba trees that I fell in love with. Look how beautiful they are in the picture but honestly, the picture still doesn't do justice. In real life, they look like they're glowing. :)

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Wow, those are beautiful!!!

Yup, I'm in love with them again! :)

Wow, those are gorgeous!! You just can't beat that yellow.

There is a row of Gingkos planted on the street outside our office, and they look like this about now. I have no idea which Gingkos they are, but I've worked there for 11 years and watched them grow, and was just thinking the other day that they don't seem slow at all to me. They're definitely a very upright, narrow tree at this point.

They even do ok here in Florida as long as they get enough moisture. The soil is extremely well drained and pure sand here, so they take a while to establish. There are several fruiting females around town here as well and they get about 5 months of steamy, hot weather and unpredictable winters (generally mild). I am a big fan of the species too.

Okay, I'm thinking Princeton Sentry. I have 20 feet from planting area to the house. This will be planted next to 3 Juniperus V. Monbells on one side and probably a Baby Blue Spruce or Juniper Monbell on the other.

Any other cultivars/varities I may want to look at for more moderate growth? Either way, I'll start with a larger one.