Ginkgo Tree: The Living Fossil [Bonsai]
Today in this article I am sharing photos of my Ginkgo tree. One of many trees in my bonsai collection of trees.
This tree came to me as a trade. A fellow bonsai grower had his eyes on one of my trees grown from a Chinese Elm cutting I developed, and he gave me this Ginkgo tree that grew from a pod in a friendly exchange.
Ginkgo trees are very old, in terms of the evolution of other plants and trees. Any kind of plant that once existed during the same as it did during the Dinosaur age can be called a Living Fossil. They do not reproduce like other trees. You'll have to research Gingko yourself if you are curious about the science of how it reproduces, but I'll simply say it is able to clone itself into a pod without making a true seed.
Another strange thing I discovered about this tree is that it comes in Male and Female varieties. This tree is likely a female tree because it has a slit down the center of the leaves. Male trees are more rare.
The pot and soil have been completely unchanged since I first acquired this Ginkgo tree. It seems to be a soil made up of mostly decomposed bark. This type of soil is great for young trees because it drains well, holds nutrients, keeps roots cool, and retains moisture in the air around the roots. The only thing I have added is fertilizer during certain months to help the tree grow.
The little tea bags and toothpicks often visible in my tree photos are how I apply my fertilizer to feed the soil. The bags ensure the soil is being fed the right amount of fertilizer for the entire month, and it drips through every time I water, without completely washing away. The toothpicks deter the squirrels from digging through the soil, because they like the smell of fertilizer and enjoy tearing the tea bags and roots to pieces.
Although the tree is young, I did perform a major pruning operation on it in Spring. I lopped off the top of the trunk. You can still see the cut mark at the top of tree. Fortunately the tree has responded positively as I predicted. New leaves have appeared lower on the tree. The trunk is thickening. Roots are likely spreading down deep.
Historical Information
ID: 0023
Nickname: Greeny
Type: Ginkgo
Age: 2 years
Grown: pod
Last repotting: Never
Wired: Never
More articles featuring this tree by @creativetruth:
Be sure to follow my work this week. I'm in the process of sharing the whole host of bonsai trees in my collection. There is over thirty trees I am growing. That means you can enjoy more than a month of fresh content from @creativetruth's back porch.
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Photos in this post are all #originalworks by @creativetruth, unless stated otherwise.
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Had been wondering what the little bags with toothpicks were for. Got my answer.