Gingko tree in container? Soil needs?

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Hello,

I'm helping a friend with ideas for her yard. She appreciates trees, flowers, etc, but is very new to all this.. She's in zone 6B, western North Carolina.

She just purchased a potted 4-foot "Jade Butterfly" gingko and asked me to figure out the best place for planting it. She has a swath of almost full sun that makes sense for the tree, but she's also about to build a small, permanent, raised block bed there. It'll be about a 5-foot circle and the plan is to plant it with veggies for now. The raised bed will eventually be transitioned to ornamental plants and flowers if shade becomes an issue as nearby trees grow. The bed will be about 16-20 inches tall. It'll be filled with rich garden soil for the veggies.

My question is: What do you think about planting the "Jade Butterfly" ginkgo in the center of the masonry block bed? I know it'll look odd to have an ornamental tree surrounded by tomatoes and cucumbers, but it'll be a planned transition over the years. Is garden soil too rich for a ginkgo?

Thanks.

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Comments (3)

shantony39
Original Author
6 years ago
Here's a pic if that helps. The raised bed isn't in yet but it'll be about a 5' circle and 16-20 inches tall on a very slight slope in sun/partial shade. It'll be filled with bagged garden soil from the nearby big box store.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
the most important thing in a pot .. is the media ..

media for trees is fast draining .. and little water retention ...

bagged garden SOIL .. may or may not be media .. and if soil.. its a death sentence ... mother earth.. aka soil.. does not belong in pots ...

media is all about the retention and drainage of water provided ...

trees prefer a sip of water.. and then near total drainage ... many peat based media are not good for trees.. and they are made for water loving annuals and perennials ...

there are hundreds of posts on making your own media ... i dont have time right now.. to break it down for you ...

ken
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
Le's get some clarification here. A raised bed or planter is not the same as a pot or container, which has a solid bottom. And an open-to-the-ground planter or raised bed is what we are talking about here, yes? And so concerns about the soil media are far less pressing. Regular old garden soil with or without amendments or bagged raised bed soil all work fine. Veggies require a pretty rich mix but that won't bother the ginkgo at all....except it might courage it to grow and root more rapidly and make growing any veggies in that area increasingly problematic.