what I would like to aim for is this kind of look: (although this is a 'Compacta')

at 4-3-4 ... you are going to have to try hard to over do it ... on the fert side ...

have you ever actually had a soil test??? ... presumptions lead to mistakes ...

where are you ... i had two bad winters in a row ... and things that looked sorta ok after the first ... really took a beating after the second ...

i lost all my nigra ... and thuns ... but havent seen much damage on my densiflora ... maybe i should look closer ... lol ..

you cant force recovery on a stressed plant ... thru fert ... but soil amending is a different animal ...

i would get a soil test thru your local extension or Ag office.. and amend your soil according to such ...

and.. the key is always patience with pruning for effect .. short of buying it in the form you want... there really isnt any speeding the process along ... on instant gratification lines ...

btw ... gingko is extremely slow in my MI ... where are you ...

ken

I notice the 'Compacta' has a lower graft than your species. It looks like most of your pruning will be up on a ladder to achieve the same appearance as your example.
A lot of pruners shear the needles after each pruning job to achieve a more even look, both below and above the 'clouds'.
Mike

Thanks for the feedback! I got on the ladder and ended up going for an all over flat look once I saw that the branches had reverted to this form on their own...I would have had to cut too far to get the tiers.

It looks much better now, more formal for this part of the garden. I added some Ironite 1-0-1 that I had in the garage for now and worked it in.

My son is working on his PhD in soil science at University of Nebraska- while he was getting his Masters at UW Madison he did some soil testing for me! So I know the parameters of my yard, still sometimes it comes down to the individual plant and specific micro-climate and location.

Ken, I am in SE Wisconsin, Sheboygan. I have clay and 7.6 pH. This is a raised berm so drainage is good, but the overall soil is not ideal for pines. I also know I have a manganese deficiency in my clump river birch, so I am expecting chlorosis elsewhere.

The ginkgo is growing pretty fast and really spreading out horizontally. I am surprised how fast it is growing- my ginkgo 'Spring Grove' is growing like crazy too in a nearby spot.

The winter 2 years ago wiped out my boxwoods, moonglow juniper spirals and even my dwarf alberta spruces! Plus a few choice conifers in bad spots. The plants that limped through ended up dying last year, all except for this densiflora- it dropped almost all it's needles 2 years ago and only had 1 year of growth to go on when it budded out- last summer it put on another set so it's coming back. It looked good this year- hopefully shearing it will encourage some new budding.

The future issue I see is the ginkgo over-topping the pine. Pruning the pine will not help with this.

Commercial growers fertilize conifers all the time.

I am hoping I can limb up the ginkgo as it grows- I have been able to remove a few of the lower branches so far....I had less experience at the time I planted these- I was picturing a layered look that I could tweak by pruning. I failed to consider that the pine would need sun! If the ginkgo completely spreads over the top the pine will be too shaded. They both get full sun all day right now.

refuse to admit where you are???

ken

Ken- see post above- I answered you (Sheboygan WI)!

I lived with 7 or higher Ph and added gypsum and or sulphur. We used that in our fields too. I planted loads of different pines and they grew well with minimum additives. Sulphur helps with up take of nitrogen and helps prevent chlorosis...yellow leaves & needles.