Ginkgo Autumn Gold

thundergoat

Hi,

I bought a Ginkgo autumn gold recently; it is in a 15 gallon container and about 10 feet tall. I was about to transplant it and realize that the plant's central leader got broken at the top; it has two healthy branches that grow about 6 inches below the broken tip that are more than 2 feet long. My question is would the tree still grow at a normal pace?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

MoDirt

Tree should be fine. One of those branches will most likely try and achieve Apical Dominance.When this happens the tree will grow as it would with its original leader intact.

Are the 2 branches growing vertically ? You may need to remove 1 to avoid co-dominent stems.
If not just wait.



Ginkos are survivors.

thundergoat

thanks for the quick response.

To answer your question, both branches are pointing upward. Is co dominant stems bad thing for the tree?
Should I wait to see which branch is stronger and cut the other or should I just do it now before planting?

Brent Ferris

I think I would wait until after planting to see how survival goes. The biggest problem of codominant stems (IMHO) -- they often grow together, with no interlocking tissue between then, and are susceptible to storm breakage, resulting in the death of one (usually) and severe damage to the second because of the lack of bark between the stems. I know others here will not agree with me, but if the stems are far enough apart and the union between them is round (as between your thumb and forefinger) both can survive quite well. However, both will tend to grow apart, ie not quite vertical, and if that is not the desired future shape, then one stem should be removed.

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