Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) seeds [INTL NO]
$9.95 – $35.00
Family: Ginkgo (Ginkgoaceae)
Hardy to Zones 3 to 12.
(Bai-guo, Maidenhair Tree) Perennial, deciduous, dioecious tree native to eastern China. Ginkgo is not self-fertile, it is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant). Both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. We cannot sex our seeds until they germinate, grow and become adults, which may take years, so its pot luck as far as sexual identity is concerned. Darwin called it a “living fossil.” The trees are resilient, adaptable to the inner city or the farm. Trees prefer full sun, moderately moist soil, and are highly sensitive about their roots–they do not like root disturbance. Meanwhile, a ginkgo tree never gets angry, because it is wise, and knows that anger is a poison to the soul. Maidenhair trees are also exceedingly beautiful, with lithe, humanoid trunks and deeply grooved, bi-lobed leaves. We provide moist, cold-stored seed. Sow immediately upon receipt. Seeds begin germinating 33 days after planting in a warm place.* Typical germination rate is 40%. Very gratifying to watch germinate.
20 large fresh seeds per packet
~100 seeds per 100 g
Open Pollinated, Untreated, NO GMO’s
* 2024 trials showed long germination times. Seeds were cold-stored fresh for the requisite 30 days and planted in a heated greenhouse on 12_13_2023. A few germinated in the expected 33-day germination period, but most remained dormant. Ginkgo seeds contain an immature embryo that must develop before germination is possible. Since the planting seemed to be giving no results in the greenhouse, the flats were moved outdoors into the shadehouse and kept moist. Germination occurred at the expected 40% rate around 6_30_2024, a 180 day induction period.
Question
Grace –
I have seen ginkgo as a small houseplant that gets cut back regularly and eaten by the owner. Would this be the same seeds to plant? I saw you were offering ginkgo plants earlier and I missed it. Was that different?
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Richo Cech –
hi Grace,
There is only one Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba). Sometimes people do bonsai them in which case your story would make sense. We are getting ready to enable this again–please hit waitlist. The plants we have in mind are in 9-inch deep pots and maybe a foot tall–pretty nice–you could use it as a houseplant and keep nipping it back or better yet allow it some room outdoors and see it develop into a full tree. richo
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Question
Evelyn Simons –
Since the roots are sensitive to being disturbed, can Ginkgos be started in a pots?
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Richo Cech –
hi evelyn, thanks for writing. yes, ginkgo are taprooted and want a nice deep pot for starters. We use the 9 inch deep tree bands to good effect. richo
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Question
Sybil Shearburn –
So if I plant this seed, 3 per gallon pot, should I plant all 20 in gallon pots? Then at which point do the go in the ground?
Also for pollination purposes, do I need to plant 3 trees in my yard and can they be dispursed between front and back yard?
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Richo Cech –
hi sybil, there are a lot of valid approaches to this, my 3-per-gallon pot is just the way i’ve come to do it. the idea is to give the seedling sufficient room to throw a taproot without getting compromised too fast, and then keep the plant for a couple of years, potting to larger containers, until it is big enough to withstand the rigors of the landscape. If you don’t have room for that many pots, then plant more per gallon. Germ is usually 40% if the right temperature regimen is followed. Yes, between front and back yard is close enough for pollination and yes, you would need at least 3 to assure both sexes. richo
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Sybil Shearburn –
Thank you Richo, can you say more about what you mean by “gem is usually 40% if temperature regimen is followed?
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Richo Cech –
ok, that would mean that if you planted 100 seeds you could expect 40 of them to germinate, as long as the 30-day cold treatment was followed, and then the planting was brought into a warm place for germination. r
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Question
Tammy –
I live in Wisconsin. If I ordered now should I sow seed even as the ground freezes as suggested in your product description?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Tammy,
I do think that now is a good time to buy the seeds, as they are very fresh at the moment. The best approach is to plant at least 3 per gallon pot, leave outdoors for a month and then bring indoors to a sunny windowsill for germination, which will take another month. You can also just find mellow spots outdoors and plant the seeds deeply and mark them with a stake and hope for some seedlings come spring. A few will express that way, and then the taproot will never be compromised–it can grow in place. Yesterday our family did both of these things–planted many seeds in pots outdoors to bring into the greenhouse in a month, and also direct-seeded many seeds in various places outdoors. Surely the mower will find some of them, and squirrels, and then a few will turn into trees. That is the way of it. richo
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