That back yard ginkgo. The leaves are yellow now. Beautiful! I say it over and over, but I'm proud I grew that from a seed!
The big maple at the battleground place. So beautiful. Dropping leaves. They will make lots of great compost.
Found this little leaf linden, "Greenspire' at HD. Marked down from sale price of $39.99 to $8.00. Can't beat that price. With plans to start beehives, linden trees are a great choice. I read that linden pollen makes the best honey. This tree had a great root mass. Not too root bound. I did have to prune a few. There is no central leader. It will need corrective pruning for 2 or 3 years. But at that price, who can complain? I cut off a couple of small rubbing branches, that's all. Wait for bloom, prune after that next Spring.
About 8 feet tall once planted. The ground was very easy to dig now. No more summer dry soil. Not too much work. It will be a great source of pollen for the honey bees.
What does it take to make me happy? Leaves for compost is a good start. It's like a christmas present. Leafmas.
Looking back, I should have said the Lindens are good for nectar, not pollen. These trees all survived and have grown so far, now 11.3.14
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI noticed you planted a ginko seed, beautiful tree. Did it take yrs. to get that high?
I just bought one that is a foot tall. Any advice in planting it and when??
Thanks so much for your expertise!!
Hi,
DeleteIddf it was me, I would plant it now. Protect from vermin using a small fence. Make sure it is not root bound. If there are roots winding around and around, I would cut them, it will grow new, straighter roots. No soil amendments, just mulch with compost or leaves.
Mine in best conditions grew 2 or 2.5 feet per year. In dry, poor clay they grew 6 inches to a foot per year.
The first year after planting, ginkgos often just make a tuft of leaves and that's all. The second year they take off and grow faster.
Oh, and the gingko in the photo was about 15 years old, from seed, at the time of this photo. It was in the ground in this spot for 12 years.
ReplyDelete