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Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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Posted by arbo_retum z5 ,WinchstrMA (My Page) on Sun, Oct 11, 09 at 0:07
| There are many reasons for growing ginkgos. One of my main reasons for planting one 12 yrs ago- is their glorious yellow fall foliage. That said, our specimen, which is now 25'H and is somewhat shaded next to a taller hemlock,has always lost its leaves en masse (as is the infamous ginkgo nature)BEFORE they turn yellow. Dirr says it's too cold here for them to color before dropping.
I'm hoping tree oracle will weigh in here, as he has reported before that the kendall sq.,cambridge ma. ginkgos DO turn yellow before falling.I think the same is true of those next to the Gardner Museum. All those trees are in the warmth of the city, surrounded by heat reflective surfaces.
I'd love to hear the experiences of others, re: when their ginkgos color. Would you also plse include the zone, town,and environment(sun,shade, open siting or next to building) of what you tell us about? Thanks so much.
best,
Mindy
The Cotton-Arbo retum
p.s. I wonder if I could get my ginkgo to hold onto its leaves a bit longer by setting up spotlights under it??!!
or maybe i could put an electric blanket around its trunk....HA! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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| Hi Mindy, I am in Cheshire, CT which is about halfway between Hartford and New Haven. My ginkgo and my neighbors' do turn yellow, but it's definitely brief. I'd say within days of hitting the ground. That's interesting, I didn't realize the cold weather was what caused that. My tree is about 12' and still a baby. It is in full sun in the middle of the yard. I wonder if some people have years where they do turn and other years where they don't, depending on the weather? Tina |
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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| There is a good sized ginkgo (been around more than 15 years as a good-sized tree) on the U of NH campus that has brick buildings within 30 feet on either side but a large lawn area and a small garden area on its other 2 sides. It always turns yellow before dropping leaves. Durham, NH, is a small town on the NH seacoast, zone 5. I recently saw another mature ginkgo somewhere in mid to south-central NH, but can't off the top of my head remember where. It also had turned yellow but not yet dropped its leaves. |
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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| There are times when Dirr is an idiot. I cannot believe a person with his pedigree would make such as statement about Ginkgos in New England. He also states in his books that Katsuras reportedly turn reddish hues in the fall but that he has never experienced it and doesn't believe it. He is wrong on both counts. I have witnessed both multiple times (as in hundreds). Mindy, you have had some particularly bad luck with your Gingko because I have yet to see one in this area that drops its leaves before changing to yellow. Do you have a particular cultivar? Maybe it changes so late that the frost zaps it before it can change. Ginkgos are one of those trees that should show better further South because they change late. I have two of them and both are the "Autumn Gold" cultivar. Even though they are the same species and cultivar, one of them changes about 2-3 weeks before the other one consistently every year. The one that changes later is in an area of my yard that gets shaded by the high canopy of some nearby oak trees. However, this tree does change to bright yellow every year in spite of changing late. I've included a couple of pics of the first Gingko that I planted several years ago. The pics are from the fall of that first year that it was planted. It's always looked the same every fall since then. It looked like a shrub back then but I've pruned it extensively since so that it looks more like a tree. My early Gingko turned yellow about three weeks ago and held on to those bright yellow leaves until about 2-3 days ago. It still has maybe 25% of it's leaves left. The late one is still dark green. It should be turning soon. 
I work in Cambridge and I'll take some pics of the Ginkgos there when they change. There are many of them in the Kendall Sq - Central Sq area. There are some huge ones on the MIT campus behind the Science Library that put on a good show every year. |
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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| As promised, here are some photos of the Gingkos in Cambridge doing their fall foliage thing. This is not unique to the Gingkos in the city. I haven't had my camera with me to photograph them but the Gingkos along 228 in Hingham are turning yellow, a large one in Kingston turned yellow, and my second Gingko is starting to turn yellow. 
and last but not least, a Ginkgo behind the Science Library at MIT that must be 90 ft tall. It is truly a sight to behold. The tree is so large that I couldn't get all of it in one shot. 
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RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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Hi Mindy,
i have seen ginko trees in 2 locations, both have leaves that turn yellow before falling. !. On Foster Street in Peabody, MA. Downtown area, but not up against any buildings. 2. On the lake in Wakefield, MA- in a park area, near the street.
The Peabody trees are rather young, but the Wakefield tree is mature and quite large.
Hope this helps. |
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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j- NO FAIR!!!! I WANT!!
th you,
mindy |
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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| I just discovered an amazing Ginko in Manomet. It is huge. More than twice as tall as the 3 story house it stands next to, taller than the oaks and maples that surround it. It is on private property, an old ship captain's house. I'd love to know the story of it. How old would a 90 foot tall Ginko be? This tree, by the way, has not turned yellow, but it is loosing it's leaves. I drive by it almost every day and now that I know it's there, I'll keep an eye out on it's progress. Lisa |
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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| I have noticed this week the ginkgos in downtown Portland, Maine are bright yellow. Zone 5, not sure of sun exposure, in a sea of asphalt and concrete with buildings all around. I'm guessing the leaves will fall any day now. |
RE: Seen Ginkgos Turning Yellow Before Losing Their Leaves?
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| Yesterday, I saw two very large Ginkgos off of 123 in Norwell in a wooded area in front of some administrative offices that were bright yellow. I saw a very large one this morning next to a Mobil gas station off of 3A in Cohasset that was an intense clear yellow. It was spectacular. |
Ah, The Torture
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This is funny. As I'm reading all the mouthwatering descriptions of ginkgos in their golden glory, I am cringing, as if i were being pummeled. It made me think of Monty Python and the stoning scene in The Life of Brian. So I'm imagining a Monty Python scenario called "How to Torture a Gardener": A group of men and women in gardener's clothes , with shovels and rakes,are circled around another gardener cringing in the middle. And the gardeneners are yelling things like "The ginkgos in Portland always turn yellow before they drop their leaves!" and " My Echinacea grow like weeds!" and " My Gaura always comes back" and "I'm in Z.4 and I can grow Blood grass" and " My Sorbus pseudohupehensis Pink Diamond has been covered with berries since it was 5' tall!",and with each declaration, the cringing gardener falls to the ground as if hit by a stone...until nothing is left but a crumpled pair of overalls and an old pair of felcos lying in the dust!!........... What d'ya think- should I send it to Eric Idle and see if he can work it into Spamalot somewhere?!!
best,
Mindy, "bruised but forging onward.....!" |
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