Ginkgo not dropping leaves.

17 years ago

This is basically a small seedling that's about five or six inches tall at this point. I'm still not sure if I'm going to turn it into a bonsai or just plant it once it gets a little bigger, but I've got it in a container outside at this point.

The ginkgo in question had its leaves turn yellow around the same time all of the other ginkgoes in the area were doing the same, except the leaves on mine never dropped. I moved it to a protected area on the porch once it got colder because it's in a container, so it was never exposed to the strong winds we've been getting which caused most of the planted ginkgoes to lose their leaves very quickly.

The rest of the tree appears to be alright. I mean, the buds look fine, I don't have any reason to expect rot, it hasn't been exposed to any terribly strong cold snaps.

Any idea what's going on here?

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Comments (3)

lucy
17 years ago
Other trees (Chinese elms, for one) are doing similar things this year, so just not dropping leaves may not be a problem, but I do wonder if it did get too cold as you haven't said how large the container is. If it's just in a regular bonsai pot proportional to it's size, the roots may have gotten too cold overnight. You can make a firm scratch on the trunk to see if it's still green under the bark, and if so, then get the pot into a larger one of mulch, with 1-2" on top as well, and do keep it on the porch against the house. Even though a particular species might be rated at a certain zone, one has to consider the size of container it's in and think of your climate as being 1-2 zones colder than it actually is in terms of root protection.
amccour
Original Author
17 years ago
It's a larger pot. I'm not sure how many gallons off hand, but it's not a typically small bonsai pot. I haven't mulched it yet, but I'll do that shortly. It's been fairly close to the house for awhile now, and we haven't had any particularly low temps yet. Mid-thirties maybe being the lowest?
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lucy
17 years ago
You don't seem to understand - a 'larger' pot isn't enough. Not close to enough. Please read my note again.