November Plant of the Month
The lack of frosts or gales have left the leaves on some trees until quite late this year. So many lovely colours and the one that has been catching my attention is the buttery yellow of the Ginkgo tree in my local park.
Ginkgo have distinctive, fan-shaped green leaves (supposedly reminiscent of the maidenhair fern, hence its common name) and are known to have grown at least 200 million years ago. Native to China, they are rare in the wild. Introduced to Japan about 1000 years ago, they are often grown near temples and the first tree planted in Britain, in 1760 at Kew Gardens, still stands today.
A young tree is flagpole in shape but gradually becomes wide-spreading, so really only suitable for larger gardens. It will grow to 10 x 4 metres in 20 years. Ginkgos can cope with many city conditions, including pollution (I have seen a group planted in the centre of a roundabout) and like well drained soil. A distinctive and low maintenance tree providing wonderful autumn interest.
