North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

Weird.  I just read an article about ginkgos in landscaping saying that the intent is to plant or provide only males, but sometimes a female gets through.  But, come to think of it, that was about local plantings by agencies.  That report seems to bear fruit – I haven’t yet run across a female tree in the many city plantings. The writer did interview a man who discovered that his male tree wasn’t.  Neither he nor his immediate neighbors were amused by the smell of the fruit. 

So maybe Tech wanted an all-girl gingko planting?

BTW, my spell check does not object to ginkgo or gingko, which is good.  I can never remember whether it’s k before g except after n, or g before k. 

 

~ Stephen

 

From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Kieran &/or Donna
Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 10:03 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Ginko fruit

 

I've noticed something weird about ginkgos.  Though they supposedly come in male and female, all the trees at Tech bear fruit.  I think that male-only trees may be rarer than we are led to believe, and that when a tree gets old enough (15-25 years I have heard) it's likely to start cropping.   So maybe all you need to do is call your county ag agent and ask him if he's had some complaints about the smell of gingko fruits someplace public.  Another thing you can do is cut long whippy branches and stick them most of the way into the ground.  This is the book "Herbal Emissaries".  I haven't tried it, though I keep thinking I will.  I think you are supposed to cut them in late summer, about 6' long, and leave only a foot or so sticking out.  Donna