hiya ... has anyone had any luck propagating Ginkgo biloba from branch cuttings ? or has any advice re. propagating Ginkgo ??
thnx ...

 

here's a site about propogating for profit :
www.freeplants.com
i have gleaned quite a bit of free info from here.
be diligent & wade through the sales pitch for his books/videos/etc.............there's lots of free,
very useful info.
hope it helps.
jennifer

 

flopsitter -
if know of any female g. biloba (male trees make no seeds) around, like in a park or arboretum, u can collect seeds in the fall.
they smell awful, but clear the flesh from the inner "pit", looks like a pistachio nut somewhat, and keep moist in a sealed container in the fridge. in about 2-8 weeks, some of them will sprout. u might keep some seeds at room temp likewise moist. ttransplnat to pots and put in ground once spring arrives.
by the way, the 'meat' inside the pit is edible, a popular snack in asian countries, after roasting.

 

re. seeds, did not notice any on the specimens around here (just north of Toronto, Ont., Canada) ... my last count, there only seven in the city i live, not includind the four at the garden centre store. There is a big one (40ft high) in a bad spot (by that i mean threatened of being cut down) in the downtown area that i could easily take cuttings. I was sure i heard somewhere that you could do this with this tree ... have you, or anyone, had luck with stem cutting propagation ?

thnx ...

 

Hello flopsitter

We have quite a few Gingkos in the city, but most (if not all) are male (to get around the smell of the fruit, I suppose). I remember my Dad telling us how in Japan they used to collect the fruit, bury it to get the smelly flesh cleaned off, then roast and eat the nuts...

As you probably did, I tried an internet search and got about a gazillion hits, but most were dealing with the medicinal properties of G. biloba , with the ones that actually listed the tree not mentioning propogation.

Only one book that I have says you can propogate "by seed and autumn cuttings", so I guess it is possible - Worth a try if the tree is coming down anyways... (I'd probably try first or second year wood with a number 3 rooting hormone in sand...)

Good Luck

Howie

 

ROOTER POT There is now a company in England that is selling plastic pots that enable anyone to propogate trees and shrubs expertly and without fuss including Gingko(whhich has been very successful)within one season.The pot simply wraps around the stem you want to propogate from and you fill it with compost ,fill the reservoir with water and when you see the roots growing simply cut the stem and hey presto a new plant for your pleasure.hackingbush@aol.com[IMG]A:/LAURUS1.jpg[/IMG]

 

I've propagated plants professionally for many years, so if anyone ever had any detailed questions, lemme know :-)

As far as ginko goes, there are a few different choices.
Most cuttings of trees should be taken in winter. You can always try rooting a small fairly fresh stem.
there is also simple layering, which is the easiest to do for nearbout anyone....
Take a young low laying branch and bend it toward the ground... Take a landscape staple (a big U) and hold it into the ground.
Dig when rooted.

Heel cuttinsg work well too.

There is also french layering, which involves planting out a mother plant, letting it grow for a year. Than cuttings it down to a 1inch plant. All new shoots should be pegged down and slowly covered with dirt.
At each node a new treelet will emerge, when these get 4inches tall, cover half the height with dirt or sawdust.
One tree could in theory produce as many as 200 offspring or more, every other year with the method. It is also known as trench layering.

R.Wyrm

 

Hiya ... thanx to all for the input ... i especially liked "peter tapper"'s idea re. clamping a pot around a live branch , i am sure i can create something like that ..

i have bought an amazing book by the author Micheal Dirr ... it has everything ... wow .. it is fairly indepth, and technical

here is what it says on propagation for G. biloba:

Propagation: Collect (fruit) in mid-fall, remove pulp, place seeds in moist sand for 10 weeks at 60 to 70 deg. F to permit embryos to finish developing; then seeds are stratified (anyoune out there know exactly what "stratified" means in this sense?) for 60 - 90 days at 41 deg. F; reports have also indicated that freshly cleaned seed will germinate if directly sown, apparently some cold exposure (1 - 2 months) improves germination; nursery practice involves fall planting; I have had good success rooting June cuttings from mature trees with 8000 ppm IBA (anyone know what this is ?) quick dip, mist; cuttings root in 7 - 8 weeks; it appears 8000 - 10000 ppm IBA is about ideal for stimulating good rooting; the cultivars are budded on seeding understock.


i guess i will wait 'til June and give it a go ...

thanx again ...

 

Flopsitteer i really meant why don't you buy something which is made specifically for this problem and is cheap and reusable.Not just knock something up which may or nort work.If you want something special buy the right tools or don't play at it.

 

flop,
stratified in that sense seems to mean cold treatment.
This is neccesary for many northern trees, shrubs, and perrenials.
A good way to do it is either plant the seed in late fall and let it overwinter or to wrap it in peat, bag it and stick it in the fridge/freezer.
As far as IBA goes, it is a rooting hormone....
Odd that he has had good success with June cuttings, as the only ones I've rooted were taken in late fall after leaf drop.
But than again June here is averagin 100degrees F a day.

As far as Peter Tappers reply about "get the right tools or don't play"
I wouldn't go buying a fancy overexpensive pot for something like this... A simple cost effective way is to do a small slice wound maybe 1/4 the way into the branch, or peel the bark on a limb, take some moist soil or peat, wrap it around that part and tie a small plastic bag around the peat use of rooting hormone is suggested but not neccesary, roots should form in 1-3months.
Wish I could post a pic, as this would be cleared up alot easier...

 

i dunno re. late fall or june cutting ... since next june comes before next fall, i'll give it a go next summer ...
i just think they are beautiful trees, and have some interesting history and characteristics ...

re. clamping a pot around a branch, i think some sort of cylindrical plastic bottle (pop (soda) bottle, water bottle etc..) with or without holes, and halved top to bottom ... you get what i mean ..
nifty idea ...

i'll let you know in about 5 - 6 months ....

i could just go to the garden store and get a 5 foot high one for $90 or so ... nah .. this is more fun ...

thnx

 

damn $90 for a 5ft....
I sellem around 5ft for roughly $8.

I gotta know where you live..... I'll drive there with 500 ginkos
*laugh*