i am not aware of cunninghams in z5 .... and i try to have one of everything that will grow in 5 ...

the nurseryman thought it wasnt zone appropriate ...

did it survive winter???? any chance at a picture???

you leave it loosely staked.. until the trunk gets thick enough to support itself ... who knows how long that will be ...

i am surprised our resident latin expert hasnt chimed in ...

i think the first thing you need.. is a proper and complete ID .... pix of leaves and the trunk .. and a cone if possible.. posted here .. will get you an ID ...

googling your name plus zone shows it 6 to 8

remove zone and add size or height... and i see one reference to 45 to 60 feet in height with approximately 1/2 half that in width.

find the annual growth rate.. and you will know how fast it will swallow your garden ...

flip over to the images at google ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: substitute height for zone

The cunninghamia lanceolata 'Glauca' in my Pinetum survived this winter without any damages by temperatures -25 degrees during the night.
When this plant was young I staked it up till 1 meter hight and then the stem was thick enought it could grow upwards by it's own.
When this plant was to big I couldn't see the pond in my Pinetum, I cut it down from 2 metres hight till 30cm above the ground and also cut of all the sidebranches as it looks like a small pole.
After a few weeks the buds on this pole waked up and a few months later a beautiful little 'Glauca' appeard which made it own leader which was strong enough so it don't needed to be staked.
I did the same with the wildform type and cut this one from 3 metres hight till 50cm above the ground.
Now it's a pretty one which I show you at this picture.
{{gwi:664664}}

Ken & Conferjoy thank you for responding

Ken, the nurseryman wasn't sure how it would do in Spokane, WA. He had never had it in before. This year he has gotten in a few more, based on how mine did that first winter. This winter we got over 8' of snow. 6' in a 3 week period. It did very well. I did lose one of the lower branches due to breakage. No needle burn. Although the snow is great protection, we also had almost two weeks at or very close to zero with no snow cover, not to mention the odd 2 or 3 days here and there. It seems to have come through extremely well and healthy. I checked out the link you provided, thank you. Googling, the first one to come up shows my tree. That is definitely it. I don't have a camera, except on my phone and those pics aren't so great.

Coniferjoy, Your tree is lovely. Mine... not so much. Like I mentioned in the OP when I first saw it it was bent over to the ground from that winters snow load. Branches were very sparse and still are. Anything I can do to make it more like yours?

Ken, I'm afraid you may be right about it swallowing up my garden. This is one of those times when I should have used my head, and not the excitement over something unusal. If you were closer I would give you my tree because you have the room and because you don't already have one. Not sure where I'm going to put it, or if I'll even keep it. My space is not unlimited. :-(

Alexis

I have a picture of an ugly specimen. We've had this individual perhaps seven winters during which it's been exposed to below zero (F) perhaps five times and down to about -10 on two occasions. We were wondering if it might be a pendulous or prostrate form because we've tried our best to tie it up, but it continues to grow horizontal. It does get clobbered by heavy wet snow almost every winter. It's tough to tell from the picture, but it may be five or six feet wide.

I was in Spokane on the day of the big snow--dumbest thing I've ever done.

{{gwi:664666}}

Coniferjoy, also like the Ginkgos in the background, which ones are they ? Also can you possibly show some photos of other established Ginkgo cultivars in your collection please ?

Pasadena,
I will advise you the following to get a nice plant:
First of all your plant is more heavy at the top then at it's base, that's why it's hanging over.
Cut it back till 30cm above the ground and look then what happens, it will grow out to a nice and stronger plant which you will enjoy!

Alexis,
I don't know how big your Cunninghamia is now, otherwise you can do the same as I advised Pasadena.
Good luck!

Pasadena,
Ok, you win. LOL. Mine is not quite that sad. I'm sorry you got caught in our storm, it really was a corker.

ConiferJoy,
As much as it will 'hurt' me, I believe you are right. I'm going to cut him back.

Unless someone out there would like to "adopt" it. ;-)

Alexis

Alexis 717,
I have been looking to get one of these for a long time, but there are not a lot of affordable sources. I think yours is a bit too large to ship otherwise I would offer to buy it off of you. If you do end up cutting it down, can I ask for cuttings so that I can try and root one?

They take a long time from cutting because they need to produce a new leader otherwise they will do exactly what Pasadena has. Cuttings taken from side branches will continue to grow horizontally until a sap shoot sprouts and establishes a leader. This can take a number of years. Cutting the tree back will help stimulate the production of such a meristem.

If anyone else has cuttings I would love to trade for them. I can't imagine shipping a four foot tall tree though. USPS would cost more than the tree. 7 day bulk on UPS might work.

Many thanks,
Werner J Stiegler
www.binghamtonmemorialtree.webs.com

Hey Bluespruce,

Sorry for my late reply the your Ginkgo biloba quiestions.
The 3 cultivars of this species in the back of this Cunninghamia lanceolata picture are;
-left side 'Autumn Gold'
-middle grafted on a 2m stem 'Horizontalis'
-recht side 'Tremonia'

At this moment I don't have pictures of the Ginkgo's in my picture collection.
later on I'll come back to this.

ConiferJoy, are you shearing your ginkgos? Thanks.

Hi Dirtslinger,

Every year I cut all the Ginkgo's in my Pinetum.
First I will cut off the scionswood I need and after this job I cut them back very deep, mostly till 3 buds.
My experience is that I'll get every year thick and fresh new scionswood with a lot of energy in it which I can see later on in the growth of the new grafted one's.
In Holland we say "snoeien = groeien" which means "cutting a plant will make it grow".

Thanks, coniferjoy.

Bluespruce,
I just made this pictures which shows my Ginkgo corner.
I plant them all together in the same area.
{{gwi:664669}}

Dirtslinger,
As you can see, some are grafted on a stem.
Talking about cutting back deeply, in the left forside you see the cultivar 'Tit' on a stem which is cut back after taking off the scionswood.
Soon all the others will follow...