Help for a Ginkgo

[bonsai-max]

Hi all,

a friend of mine give me a Ginkgo that needs some attention.
The pot as a crack and also the substrate is really bad, the pot is full of roots and the plant is not secured.
Said that I am thinking to do a repotting without touching the roots ( slip in repot ?) in a bigger pot also because he want that the plant develop a bigger trunk in a better substrate ( aka 40% pumice 40% and 20% good soil) and leave as is for the next 2 3 years.
Should i pruning a little bit to keep the plant not so high ?
Another question is related the winter time, here in Switzerland is cold but not so much, he kept always the plant inside the apartment and the plant obviously never go to sleep during the winter, he agree to start keeping outside during the winter time so the plant can recover the usual deciduous pattern, how is the best way to do it ?

that's the plant :

 

[Gabler]

The tree looks like it's doing fine for now. Just pay close attention to the soil so you don't overwater or underwater the tree until you get a better bonsai soil. Repot the tree in spring at the normal time.

Ginkgoes are hardy above the roots, but their roots cannot handle prolonged freezes as easily as some other temperate species. Treat them like Japanese maples. Let the tree experience the first few frosts unprotected in order to prime the tree for winter dormancy, and then nestle the pot into a bed of mulch over the winter, so it stays the same temperature as the ground.

I say this assuming it regularly gets down below -10°C, but not much too much colder.

 

[bonsai-max]

The tree looks like it's doing fine for now. Just pay close attention to the soil so you don't overwater or underwater the tree until you get a better bonsai soil. Repot the tree in spring at the normal time.

Sadly the pot as a crack so I need to do at least a repot in a bigger pot....

 

[Gabler]

I would put the entire cracked pot into a much bigger pot, and fill in around the sides with pumice or some other bonsai substrate. Don't cover the current soil surface, so you can check the level of moisture. In the early spring, do a proper repot, pruning the roots, etc.

It probably wouldn't hurt the tree to repot now. Ginkgoes are tough. But the tree has been kept indoors over the winter, and I suspect that may have weakened it, so I would advise against unnecessary meddling at the wrong time of year.

 

[bonsai-max]

It probably wouldn't hurt the tree to repot now. Ginkgoes are tough. But the tree has been kept indoors over the winter, and I suspect that may have weakened it, so I would advise against unnecessary meddling at the wrong time of year.

Yes, will do it..... Just the repot in a bigger pot without touching anything.

I say this assuming it regularly gets down below -10°C, but not much too much colder.

I can keep in the garden and then recover inside my not heated garage where i keep my grape and maple just for the frozen period, usually maximum two weeks here around -10

 

[Gabler]

For what it's worth, I leave my ginkgoes outdoors, set on the ground, partly nestled into a mulch bed, and we sometimes have hard freezes here below 10°F, which is about -13°C. They handle it just fine, and they explode with rampant growth in the spring.

I've never overwintered a tree outdoors after keeping it indoors for prior years, so I can't say I have any personal knowledge of what you should expect, but I have heard it can shock the tree a little bit, so your idea of keeping the tree in your unheated garage sounds like a good idea. Just don't let it get above 5°C for more than a day or two.

 

[bonsai-max]

sounds like a good idea. Just don't let it get above 5°C for more than a day or two.

Otherwise the plant will start ? But here the winter is always over 5°C except for some weeks

 

[Gabler]

Keep it shaded, and it should be fine. If it starts growing and then there's a cold snap, bring it in to protect it for just a few days.

 

[Shibui]

Ginkgo is a very tough tree. No problem slip potting any time of year. Always tease out some circling roots when slip potting to allow the roots to access the new soil.
Having said that, a cracked pot is no real problem unless the pot is threatening to fall apart completely so you could just leave it as is until spring.
It appears to have been quite some years since this tree was pruned up top. Appears to be strong and relatively healthy so trimming the long shoots should be OK now.

 

[Gabler]

Ginkgo is a very tough tree. No problem slip potting any time of year. Always tease out some circling roots when slip potting to allow the roots to access the new soil.
Having said that, a cracked pot is no real problem unless the pot is threatening to fall apart completely so you could just leave it as is until spring.
It appears to have been quite some years since this tree was pruned up top. Appears to be strong and relatively healthy so trimming the long shoots should be OK now.

Even though it's been kept indoors?

 

[Shibui]

Even though it's been kept indoors?

which part? or all of the above?
The tree I see here is still quite healthy with relatively good growth even if it is a little long and thin from low light.
Slip potting is causes very little stress which is why it is used so definitely no problem with a slip pot. I would not, however, try a full repot and major root reduction at this stage or this time of year in Switzerland.
Pruning is rarely a problem for any tree unless exceptionally weak. Provided a few leaves are left intact pruning should not be a problem and I would still be confident that a ginkgo would bud even if it was weak and pruned back to bare wood.
The fact remains that Ginkgo are strong and resilient. I am constantly amazed at what mine can cope with so I still do not see any problem. Just my take from extensive experience with the species.

 

[bonsai-max]

Hi there, thank you for all your suggestions and help.
At the end I made a slip pot in a 70% pumice 20% akadama 10% fuji sand substrate, I just moved a little bit the roots around and under and placed well, no root cut.
I also cut the last two leafs of the 2 longer branch.
Now I will keep in shadow for the next 2 weeks ( the owner is in holiday), and I will tell my friend to keep outside during next winter.....
In spring he will decide if keep in this pot for the next couple of years or do a repot with root trimming, his choice

 

[bonsai-max]

I use this post without opening a new one, the Gingko was doing well, the owner will pick it up the 10th of august....
In the meantime I have bought a Gingko for me, as I have no gingko in my collection.
The plant is very young and I wonder if you can help to start in a good way.
Tomorrow I will do a slip repot in a large pond pot with the same substrate that I used for my friend's one, should I pruning back ?
Now seems to be too high and of course unstable, he needs a bamboo stick.
My idea is to have a Gingko of about 50cm....

 

[Gabler]

Why will you slip pot the tree? What do you hope to achieve? Why not wait till spring and fully repot?

 

[bonsai-max]

The cultivation pot is really small and the plant is wobbling inside because the substrate is very thin.
I prefer a safer place for the winter...

 

[Gabler]

If the tree is wobbling inside the pot, it sounds like the roots haven't filled the pot yet.

 

[bonsai-max]

If the tree is wobbling inside the pot, it sounds like the roots haven't filled the pot yet.

Probably is a young talea

 

[Gabler]

Probably is a young talea

I don't know what a talea is, but I recommend you prop up the tree to help it balance and let it fill its current pot with roots before you up-pot it. It'll grow fastest if you roughly double the pot volume each time you up-pot it.

There's a reason nursery growers start with small pots and then gradually increase the plants' pot size. It's not because they like doing more work for no reason. It's because it gets the trees bigger faster for a higher sale price.