A Branch Falls from the Mighty Ginkgo Tree at My Farm
The mighty ginkgo tree behind my Summer House continues to thrive after losing one of its big branches.
Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back about 300-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. I have several ginkgo trees planted around my home, but the majestic ginkgo in my sunken garden is original to the property and about 250-years old. Although not as large as others I've seen, my tree is quite massive. Not long ago, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, noticed one of its bigger branches broke and fell - most likely from a recent storm. Fortunately, it did not cause too much damage to the plantings below and the cleanup was quick.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This is the sunken garden behind my Summer House. This parterre garden is very formal and focuses on the giant 250-year old ginkgo tree in the rear. Growing beneath the ginkgo is a beautiful chocolate mimosa tree, a fast-growing, deciduous tree with a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy.
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- This is how the ginkgo looks filled with beautiful bright green foliage. The ginkgo biloba is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees. It prefers a minimum of four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day. The ginkgo has a cone-like shape when young, and becomes irregularly rounded as it ages.
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- The leaves of the ginkgo are unusually fan-shaped, up to three-inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three-inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze.
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- Each mature leaf often has a single vertical slit in the top center. This forms the fan with a cavity in the middle separating it into two lobes. Bi-loba means “with two lobes”.
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- The trunk of the ginkgo tree is a light brown to brownish-gray bark that is deeply furrowed and highly ridged. The ridges become more pronounced as the tree ages. The trunk circumference of the giant tree measures more than 14-feet.
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- A couple of weeks ago, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, noticed one of the branches had fallen – possibly struck by lightning during a recent storm.
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- The branch was pretty large, so it had to be removed in sections. Pasang begins cutting the fallen branch with one of our trusted STIHL chainsaws. STIHL’s most well-known tool is the chainsaw. We use several models here at the farm. STIHL designed and built its first electric chain saw in 1926 and 94 years later, it is still one of its best pieces of equipment. STIHL has chainsaws that are powered by AP 300 S Lithium-Ion Battery and by gas.
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- Pasang is a very skilled chainsaw operator. He cuts smaller branches first, making sure they are not in the way of any other plants or trees in the area.
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- These STIHL chainsaws all have a smooth start-up, quick refuelling feature, and are simple to use. We’ve used STIHL’s chainsaws for years.
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- Some of the branches can be cut using a hand saw. Arborist hand saws are designed to cut quickly in live or dead wood, and the most common pruning saws are curved for increased cutting power.
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- A mature shade tree can survive the loss of a limb – thankfully, this one was not too major. The broken branch will have to be pruned back to the trunk later. The ginkgo tree is a living fossil, with the earliest leaf fossils dating from 270 million years ago. It was rediscovered in 1691 in China and was brought to this country in the late 1700s.
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- Some of the leaves of the tree have already started to drop. Here are some on the ground – most are still green, but they will turn yellow in the coming weeks.
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- The ginkgo leaves turn a brilliant, luminous yellow in mid-fall.
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- My great ginkgo tree is a female specimen. Female ginkgo trees produce tan-orange oval fruits that fall to the ground in October and November. The most noticeable thing about these is their smell – it is hard to miss, and the stench is quite disagreeable. The outer, nasty smelling pulp is known botanically as sarcotesta.
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- Ryan assesses the area after the cleanup is complete. There are also dormant hosta plants here as well. I am relieved no other trees were damaged.
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- Ryan brought in collection of green mimosa trees to add to this space. Mimosa trees are fast-growing, cold weather tolerant, and pollinators absolutely love them.
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- Mimosa tree leaves are medium green in color, which nicely sets off the bright pink of their spring flowers. They do not change color before they drop. The complex composition of the leaves gives the tree a light, feathery appearance.
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- These are the beautiful deep-colored leaves of the chocolate mimosa tree on the other side of the ginkgo. These leaves are bronze-green, fern-like leaves that appear in late spring and then become a deeper rich chocolate-burgundy color in summer.
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- We planted five mimosa trees in the space. They should do well in this location. A mature mimosa grows up to between 20 and 40 feet in height.
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- And soon, this majestic ginkgo and all the other ginkgo trees around the farm will all turn golden yellow, and then on one day after the first frost, all the leaves will just fall, covering the ground beneath them with a gorgeous carpet of autumnal color. I’ll be sure to share those photos. Stay tuned.
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