Neglected young Ginkgo.
gulliver
Posts: 11
I have a neglected Ginkgo which I want to look after and help get healthy.
I got it about 12 years ago, as a sapling about 5-feet tall in a maybe 8-10 inch container.
Not knowing enough, I over-potted it (figuring 'they grow well in open ground', so this'll save disturbing it again for a while) into a 16-inch mostly-soil filled pot... since which it doesn't seem to have grown.
It saddens me to see it seemingly unhealthy, and it deserves a better life.
I don't want to do further damage, and I'd like to get it into a smaller pot, not just in the hope of it becoming healthier, but also because the current pot size and weight restricts placement.
I don't know whether it's developed a huge rootball which'll make that impossible, or whether roots can be trimmed so that it can be put into a smaller pot.
Posts
If it needs its roots trimming to get into a smaller pot then you are automatically going to restrict its ability to take up water and nutrients and thus hamper growth. If I were you I'd water it thoroughly so the roots are completely soaked and then hoik it out of the pot and check for pests such as vine weevil grubs that may be eating its roots. Other than that it may just be starving if you've never refreshed the planting medium or fed it or have under or over watered it.
If the actual root ball is small you could try a smaller pot or you could move the original pot to the position you want and then replant the tree with fresh, nutritious compost. You would also need to feed regularly between early spring and end of June - not later as late new growth won't have time to harden before the frosts.
However, these things become huge, parkland trees so you really need to be thinking about planting it in the ground in a permanent position. Whatever you decide, just remember to water it thorougly beforehand to make taking it out of the pot less stressful.
Obelixx... Thanks.