Not sure how much help this will be. we have several gonko trees between our house and our neighbors, and the seeds get raked up and put in the compost bin with the leaves every fall. Yesterday, as I was digging out compost for flower beds I noticed lots of of the seeds sprouting. I live in Kentucky...no sea weed here. I set some aside to pot up, but the kids were helping hubby today, and they might be gone now...(most likely in the vegetable garden!)
With my observation, I'd say you could layer them in dead leaves and leave them out in the weather for a year, and see what happens next spring. My compost bin is under the shade of a tree, but not sure how much difference that makes if they are buried in leaves.

anyone have ginko seeds????

I've been trying to germinate Ginkgo seeds and you have to know that these are not easy, if you don't understand their need for stratification.

Ginkgo seeds need to be triggered by a period of cold. As I have yet to be successful getting my Ginkgo Biloba to germinate, I suggest you find a web site that describes how best to proceed. I will be trying again.

Sandy's compost heap description and her location in Kentucky describes the requirements rather well. The seeds should spend a period of cold weather ( at least 3 weeks ) in moist layered ground, layered meaning matted between leaves or other decaying material. Spring warmth will then complete the trigger for germination.

Some sources say you can trick the seeds into germinating by putting them in a plastic baggie with suitable material like soil and leaves and then, putting this into your refrigerator for about three to four weeks. Do NOT put the seeds in the freezer is a caution commonly given.

Good Luck.

Holy crap. I have a female gingko and those darn things dump a ton of stinky fruit (I'm used to it now and it's ok) and one million seedlings in the spring. Now, this is Columbus, Ohio, so we have winter. As much as I love that darn tree I wish germination was low.

Who needs seeds? When should I harvest (from the lawn) and send them? How about a box of saplings? BTW, it is a really beautiful tree and the leaves in the fall are gorgeous.

They are really expensive- sell them on Ebay!

the seed coats cannot have a chance to dry out, so the dried seeds you find at the Chinese supermarkets cannot be used. they are a bit more xostly than most trees and they even thrive up here

When you grow a Ginko from seed you have no control over the sex of the seedling. Very few people want a female tree and the mess they make. Nurseries start Ginkos vegetatively so they can guarantee the sex of the tree. It is many years before your trees sex is apparent. Al

does any one know how long it will take a ginkgo to grow four ft?

I heard that you can use them like bonsai trees is that true?

In my experience, ginkgo seeds aren't all that bad to get growing; I collected one in the fall a few years ago and set it in soil the soil of a lavender bush I was keeping indoors on a cool window sill. A few months later it sprouted and is still doing fine! A period of cold *is* recommended, though. And seaweed is definately not important; I've seen people sprouting them in just moist paper towels.

calistoga mentioned the sexes, but with bonsai ginkgoes it doesn't really matter since one, they don't start to seed until their thirties and starting from a seedling means that's going to be a while, and two, I've heard that female ginkgo bonsais don't seed often anway.

Best of luck with these beautiful trees!

can u get me some ginko seeds

I live in Zone 6, which will accommodate ginko trees, outdoors. I need a source for seeds. Does anyone know a reasonable source for these seeds that reliably sprout?

Also, I'm somewhat in conflict as to their sprouting.

When germinating the seeds, do you remove the hull (hard shell)?

In Asia, where I am from, we use Ginko for many medicinal remedies. When I saw some growing, around here, I felt like I was getting a touch of home and I longed to be able to look out into my back yard and see some ginko trees growing.

Any help that anyone can provide me, regarding a source of seeds and methodology for germinating will be most welcome and I will be grateful.

Just a side note, I went to some Chinese (I'm not Chinese, but they seem to run most of the herbal stores in these parts) herbal store and purchased some. They did not germinate.

So, again, I would be most grateful for the requested information.

I always buy Ginkgo seeds from Chinese market and have no problem germinating from those. The key is timing. You need fresh seeds and usually you can get them from Dec. to March. Crack a few before you buy. Make sure the flesh is plump, not shriveled. Follow the instructions from this site: http://www.ottawahort.org/ginkgo.htm. You will not need to remove the shell before planting. Hope this helps.

John

I also love Ginkgo Biloba tree. I was lucky to see some here in IL and like what bakemom mentioned, they are gorgeous in fall. I did some research about it last year. They are pest free but a slow grower. I wish this tree was a fast grower.

Hi. I'm not sure if this discussion has ended but I recently got some ginkgo seeds and instructions from an online store on ebay. 4 of the 12 sprouted and I have one full fledged seedling. I tried a variety of ways in a variety of places. One- in my office in dampened vermiculite. I think I overdampened the vermiculite and the majority rotted. Two of 10 managed to survive. Two- In a box outside, I planted it in some sort of moss tablet that you can get at any nursery, add water to it and stick in the seed.
I didn't cold stratify them. I just opened the seed, stuck it in the vermiculite or soil. It wasn't the most clever way as I got very low results form all the seeds but I have three growing right now. The funny thing is, I thought I actually planted them the wrong way. There is a white shoot that comes out and then roots downward. From this white shoot, it splits in the middle and that is where the seedling comes up.
I live in zone 10, near the coast and while one seedling is doing really well- the other two took another 2 weeks before I saw sprouts on them.
Hope this helps.