Mark and Gaz

I posted a photo of one of our variegated Ginkgos on our Facebook page yesterday and I was given a nudge by fellow blogger Gerhard to compose a blog post about our Ginkgo collection. I'm not a Ginkgo collector as such, we only have five varieties in our garden but I have a special interest in collecting the variegated forms of this beautiful tree.

Ginkgo bilobas are often found as beautiful and majestic trees in parks and public places and are renowned for its spectacular autumn colour when the leaves turn a vivid, golden yellow, drawing light and attention to the plant. And it looks just as good when the leaves are all shed and it carpets its surrounding area with an intense shade. But apart from its autumn colour it is very garden worthy plant with its lovely foliage and overall graceful habit.

Fantastic autumn colour! Photo taken of a specimen at Kew Gardens

However, despite its beauty I still find that is an underrated and underused plant, perhaps mainly to its reputation of reaching a gigantic size (hence unsuitable for most domestic gardens back gardens) but there are plenty of smaller growing varieties available out there that are suitable for even the smallest of gardens, and some of these varieties look great in a pot (Ginkgo biloba 'Troll' springs to mind). Even a balcony can accommodate this dwarf variety.

'Mariken' is a smaller variety that looks also looks good as a potted specimen

Autumn in a small pot: 'Troll'

As for the variegated types, for years there was only one variety available but recently several more have been cropping up in the market, and I'm hoping a few more will turn up in the coming years as I adore the variegated forms of Ginkgos. Plain green leaves of this conifer are great as it is but add stripes and gradients to it and for me it looks even better, Ginkgos with a pretty twist!

Ginkgo biloba 'Variegata' is the first one to come out and has been available for quite some time now. It is also known by other names (like 'Majestic Butterflies', etc) depending upon where it is sold but essentially they are the same with leaves randomly striped white/cream and occasionally throws out half/half and all white leaves too. It's one of my favourite plants in the garden and one of the most complimented by visitors. Even I cannot help but stop and marvel at the leaves whenever I pass by it and could easily spend lots of time taking close up photos of its foliage.

Ginkgo biloba 'California Sunset' is one of the more recent variegated types to have been introduced and looks distinct with the random white/cream striping occurring instead on fastigiate leaves. A beautiful plant with a weeping habit with the leaves swaying gracefully whenever a breeze passes by. For some reason I couldn't find any of the photos I took of my plant last year so I will have to borrow some from the net.





Ginkgo biloba 'Beijing Gold' is another recent variegated introduction with much smaller leaves that emerge as bright yellow in the spring, gradually developing a gradient from yellow to light green towards the base of the leaf by late spring, then becomes stripy green and white in the summer, before turning bright yellow again the autumn, fantastic! A gorgeous plant that lights up it's own spot, you get that bright yellow tone in the spring and it's interesting to watch how the colour of the leaves change through the rest of the season.

I find that all of the variegated types are slow growing, with the 'Variegata' and 'California Sunset' best sited in a bright spot with indirect sun to avoid scorching of the leaves. The 'Beijing Gold' seems not to mind full sun with the yellow colour becoming more intense with sun exposure. So far I only have the 'Variegata' planted out and it has been for a few years now, I find that it is slow to gain height, about 2" a year! With such a slow growth rate I reckon it is suitable for permanent planting in even the smallest of gardens, in a prominent spot or to the front of a border to best appreciate its beauty.

Ginkgos look great in most styles of gardens, including exotic ones. And every garden should make room for at least one Ginkgo. And if so I highly recommend one the variegated ones!

Mark :-)