Hi guys. After a great start with what a thought was some good new growth, my 2 1/2 year old ginkgo has some yellowing leaves.
I’m in zone 5b in Canada.
What I noticed :
Yellowing leaves tip on baby leaves
After browsing this sub, I decided to check root flare. Doesn’t seems to be to deep, but I have some suckers that wants to grow. Should I cut it?
I had a white bark protector. When I checked it seem’s it had poor air circulation. Bark was humid but with rain last night.
Thank you for your advice. This tree is pretty important for me since it was planted the same year my son was born.
by dgyme
3 Comments
Ginkgos tend to scar badly. The scars on the trunk are definitely from the moisture retention in the wrap. Keep an eye to make sure there isn’t fungal growth in the wounds, and keep the wrap off. The yellowing of so few leaves is normal, if it becomes more prevalent, it may be a sign of root girdling. You’ve got a thick canopy, looks good to me. Yes, cut any unwanted sucker growth.
If you have rabbits or deer, put up an open barrier around it to keep hungry/curious animals from munching on the stem of the young tree. Something like wire mesh in a ring around the tree pinned with some stakes would work.
Also’s good that you don’t have the mulch piled up on the stem, but you also want to flatten it out a bit so that water can more easily get to the roots – if you move the mulch a bit you’ll probably find that the chips on the bottom are drier than you expected. Also, you need to physically rip up the sod if you want to prevent grass from growing right up over the mulch. Personally I would remove more grass and expand the mulch ring outwards a bit more to give yourself more growing room. Using some shallow surface edging like this ([Amazon.com : EasyFlex Pound-in Landscape Edging with Anchoring Stakes, 4.5 in. Straight Top Plastic Garden Border, 20 Foot Kit, Black, (3500-20C-3) : Patio, Lawn & Garden](https://www.amazon.com/Dimex-LandShark-Plastic-Landscape-3500-20C-3/dp/B0144O1VHS/ref=asc_df_B0144O1VHS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693713553046&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9229838750165182825&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021513&hvtargid=pla-307357665741&mcid=1202cd7ae0da3db2bff25bcd2d66d004&gad_source=1&th=1)) would also help with keeping the grass away without limiting the ability of the tree to grow roots outwards.
Did you plant this yourself or did you hire someone? Was the root ball examined prior to it being planted to check for encircling roots, pot-bound roots and to find the root collar/flare? How was the hole prepped and do you have heavy clay soils? If your native soil doesn’t have good drainage and the planting hole was filled with some other kind of soil from the store, you could end up in a “bathtub”-type situation where all the water tends to stay in the planting hole and keep the roots too wet. Ideally you want to plant using native soil or at least a mix of soil that contains a significant amount of native soil. That way there’s time for the mulch to break down and improve the soil over time as the tree grows/adapts.
As stated in the previous comment try to keep the mulch away from the base. What works well for me is cutting a 3-4’ piece of plastic drainage tubing lengthwise and wrap it around the base going upwards. Check it periodically to make sure nothing is being built up inside. Worked well for me on multiple species.