Ginkgo trees are easy to grow. They'll need some room if the trees are to be a specimen with no other trees overlapping or interfering. Around 60' circles are adequate.

Ginkgo is derived from the Japanese word ginkgo, meaning "silver apricot", referring to the fruit, which is eaten in Japan. Biloba translates as "two-lobed", referring to the split-in-the-middle character of its fan-shaped leaf blades. Once thought to be extinct, Ginkgo was discovered in China in the mid-1700s and is now dispersed throughout the world, having lived on Earth for over 150 million years

Perhaps your tree will get as large as the one at the White House on the South lawn, but you won't see it that size in this life. How wide? Five 10 year old hand to hand in a ring around the roses fashion. That's an old tree!

There were many species of Ginkgo that did not make it out of the ages of dinosaurs, but Ginkgo biloba did. The leaf is unmistakable. Leaves in the fall are yellow. A curiosity to a child or an adult if never seen before. The newly fallen leaves are smooth with a bit more body than most. They are fun to scoop and throw in the air or push under a friends sweater. The bark of the ginkgo is gray with deep dark patterns on older ones. With no leaves the tree still has a lot of character.

Fruits of the Ginkgo are borne on female trees. A male tree is needed for fruit. Commonly males are planted more for street trees. They are resistant to insects, disease and smog. When the fruits ripen on the female trees eventually they will fall and squish. Inside the squishy, squash "stinky" slush is a white shelled pistachio size nut. The "meat" of this nut is very good eating. After steaming for about 5 minutes the nut meat has a cheesy texture. The flavor through bland complements a warm rice dish such as a stir fry.

Not much can be done with the fleshy orange fruit around the nut. Though one customer of ours soaked her hands in a bowl of the stuff and exclaimed it cured her arthritis! Grad students take notice. You too masseuses!

Care
As other young plants received from the nursery keep the grass away from the newly planted plant. A three to six foot circle is fine. Water at dry times to ensure optimum juvenile growth during the summer.