FUSING GINKGO?

Hi

I was wondering whether it is possible to fuse two young ginkgo plants together thw way you whould do with ficus or a maple ,considering the slow growth and delicate bark.

Does any one has an opinion before i make a futile atempt?

Thanx

Noam

I see no reason why not. Most trees will self graft, if held firmly together for long enough and I'm sure that some Ginkgo varieties are grafted.

But i guess theres a slight difrence between inserting a graft through the Cambium ,and holding two plants firmly togather .isnt it?

Just time. Self grafting takes a lot longer as it relies on the pressure exerted as the tree swells. That is why they have to be firmly held together. I would wrap with something like raffia and replace it when it rots. That way there should be minimal scarring. You could speed the process by carefully taking off a sliver of bark, with a very sharp blade, on the inside of both trees, so that the cambium layers are in contact all the way up the part you wish to fuse.

I have a fused ginkgo which works well. You dont need to cut through the cambium layer - the best bet is to strap them together with raffia.

I'm sure you don't "need" to strip the bark between the trees, but I suspect that the graft will take a lot faster if you do, because as both trees "heal" themselves the cambium layers will grow together more quickly.

I think I'd use "grip tape" (anti-sweat grip for tennis racket and golf club handles) to hold the trees together.

Interesting...ginkgo doesn't heal scars very well in general.

Harry ,how long from your experience ,it took the ginkgos to fuse? ,how old where they?

Odely from the few ginkgos i grow ,the largest of them had been trimed havily ,and heald its scars so fast and so nicely ,it resembeled the healing rate of a ficus ,but i live in a warm place,so that could be the reason..

Good day

Noam

Um about five years if you feed them well. Depends how many saplings you use. Also depends on what style you are planning to make. I think that the typical flame style looks the best for ginkgo.

My saplings are one year old and about 15 cm in length ,do you think i should let them grow a few years more before applying this method?

Do you by any chance have some pictures of the process or of the current view of the plant?

Thank you

Noam

sorry i dont have any pictures but i sugest you let them grow on for another year or so

Here is an example. I have seen it done in demos in bits as you can see on this one. In time they fuse together quite well. I have got another enample but I do not have pictures at the moment. I have done it with maples too.

That will do

Thanx

here is a more up to date image