Kiwi’s Ginkgos

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Hi all,
I thought I would start a new thread to document my couple of Ginkgo trees.
Although the pot is too large for this tree below, I thought I would use it to see how to grow Ginkgo in a flat bonsai pot.
As you can see from my photos I have a concern about the soil mix I am using which is great for most of the other trees I am growing.
The mix I am using for this and my maples is 2 part Pumice, 1 part Scoria (lava), and 1 part Zeolite. I know that Ginkgo like quite a high pH but I thought both the Scoria and the Zeolite were alkaline enough.
Am I worrying too much about the leaf colour? And which deficiency is this showing?
Tagging @Leo in N E Illinois , @Bonsai Nut , and @0soyoung for their thoughts/help.
Late Summer here if that wasn’t obvious enough!
And a photo of my other Ginkgo happily growing in my garden (pH 6 ish)

Charles

 

[LittleDingus]

Hi all,
I thought I would start a new thread to document my couple of Ginkgo trees.
Although the pot is too large for this tree below, I thought I would use it to see how to grow Ginkgo in a flat bonsai pot.
As you can see from my photos I have a concern about the soil mix I am using which is great for most of the other trees I am growing.
The mix I am using for this and my maples is 2 part Pumice, 1 part Scoria (lava), and 1 part Zeolite. I know that Ginkgo like quite a high pH but I thought both the Scoria and the Zeolite were alkaline enough.
Am I worrying too much about the leaf colour? And which deficiency is this showing?
Tagging @Leo in N E Illinois , @Bonsai Nut , and @0soyoung for their thoughts/help.
Late Summer here if that wasn’t obvious enough! View attachment 474252
And a photo of my other Ginkgo happily growing in my garden (pH 6 ish)
View attachment 474254
Charles

One of the oldest websites in existence:

GINKGO BILOBA - The Ginkgo Pages - Index

kwanten.home.xs4all.nl

And the UI proves it! You can't mimic that kind of nestalgia...it's the real deal! That website may be older than most web site developers!

But the content is current and very useful

I'm not sure where you got that they like alkaline soils. From that website:

"In China they also grow in forests and valleys on acidic, well-drained sandy loam (pH 5-5.5)"

Also I've seen numerous resources...though probably all rooted from that site!...that suggest to keep the pH near 6.7-7.0 to encourage branching otherwise their tendency...especially when young...is towards a single growth shoot and lots of leaf only side buds.

Even your own trees show a healthier looking tree in slightly acidic soil...

 

[HorseloverFat]

One of the oldest websites in existence:

GINKGO BILOBA - The Ginkgo Pages - Index

kwanten.home.xs4all.nl

And the UI proves it! You can't mimic that kind of nestalgia...it's the real deal! That website may be older than most web site developers!

But the content is current and very useful

I'm not sure where you got that they like alkaline soils. From that website:

"In China they also grow in forests and valleys on acidic, well-drained sandy loam (pH 5-5.5)"

Also I've seen numerous resources...though probably all rooted from that site!...that suggest to keep the pH near 6.7-7.0 to encourage branching otherwise their tendency...especially when young...is towards a single growth shoot and lots of leaf only side buds.

Even your own trees show a healthier looking tree in slightly acidic soil...

THANKS!

 

[19Mateo83]

This is awesome, I had no clue ginkgos did this, it’s like the opposite of bald cypress knees.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Most interesting. Now one might suspect Ginkgo fans will seek such source of stalactites to grow better trees than flames. Also one must wonder the utility of such growths?

 

[Shibui]

The mix I am using for this and my maples is 2 part Pumice, 1 part Scoria (lava), and 1 part Zeolite. I know that Ginkgo like quite a high pH but I thought both the Scoria and the Zeolite were alkaline enough.
Am I worrying too much about the leaf colour? And which deficiency is this showing?

My ginkgos generally start to look a bit yellow late summer so maybe this color is normal for this time of year? Not enough detail in the photos to ID any possible deficiencies. Try a close up shot of a few leaves so we can see colour patterns and veining on individual leaves. Yellowing is usually related to Nitrogen.

Ginkgo are surprisingly drought tolerant. The name reminds me of the fern and I was surprised that ginkgo is one of the most dry tolerant species I grow here so don't be fooled into thinking these are anything like maples.

Also very resilient to root pruning and I have chopped roots back very hard with no problems.
Potted up rooted cuttings here today.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Yes, use a soil much like the soil you would use for a maple. Alkaline soil is not required, not desired. They want a mildly acidic soil.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

An easy for the tree to absorb form of nitrogen is ammonia. For your yellowish leaves, try one teaspoon ( 5 ml) of household ammonia (normally sold at 4% active ) per gallon (4 liters) of water. If nitrogen deficiency is the cause of the yellowing, green should return in less than a week.

Zeolites as substrate are problematic because the term covers a very wide range of products with different levels of activity. Zeolites are used in certain water softeners to remove cations from the water. As a potting media they can cause calcium and magnesium deficiencies until the exchange sites in the zeolites are exhausted. I don't have a reference handy for which color pattern indicates which missing nutrients, but usually missing calcium and magnesium with lead to blotchy yellow color. Green veins with yellow between the veins , etc would be classic signs the zeolites are stripping out calcium and magnesium. There are Cal-Mag fertilizers that can limp you through until it is safe to repot and eliminate the zeolites if you agree that they are the problem. MSU Orchid fertilizer formulations are in public domain, it is a Cal-Mag plus micros formula, perhaps a fertilizer company has MSU Orchid formula available in New Zealand. NZ grows a lot of Cymbidium orchids for the cut flower trade.

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

An easy for the tree to absorb form of nitrogen is ammonia. For your yellowish leaves, try one teaspoon ( 5 ml) of household ammonia (normally sold at 4% active ) per gallon (4 liters) of water. If nitrogen deficiency is the cause of the yellowing, green should return in less than a week.

Zeolites as substrate are problematic because the term covers a very wide range of products with different levels of activity. Zeolites are used in certain water softeners to remove cations from the water. As a potting media they can cause calcium and magnesium deficiencies until the exchange sites in the zeolites are exhausted. I don't have a reference handy for which color pattern indicates which missing nutrients, but usually missing calcium and magnesium with lead to blotchy yellow color. Green veins with yellow between the veins , etc would be classic signs the zeolites are stripping out calcium and magnesium. There are Cal-Mag fertilizers that can limp you through until it is safe to repot and eliminate the zeolites if you agree that they are the problem. MSU Orchid fertilizer formulations are in public domain, it is a Cal-Mag plus micros formula, perhaps a fertilizer company has MSU Orchid formula available in New Zealand. NZ grows a lot of Cymbidium orchids for the cut flower trade.

Hi Leo,
Many thanks for your thorough reply . As you can see by initial post I was concerned, and didn’t connect Zeolite to the lock-up problem. I will definitely try some orchid food and report back as it is still a good month or so til Autumn.
Charles