Ginkgo biloba ‘Thelma’

Ginkgo biloba ‘Thelma’ is an oddity. There is no getting around that fact, and while some gardeners may look at it in horror, there are many who will delight in the quirkiness of this selected form. 

Neat, upright and slow growing to only 3m, the foliage takes ‘variable’ to a whole different level. There are some leaves of the normal bilobed fan shape, but there are also leaves that are rolled, frilled, hugely bifurcated or needle-like almost as if the foliage is the aftermath of a wild caterpillar party, which is unlikely as Ginkgo trees are pest free, having outlived all their natural pests from the Jurassic era.  

Before I cut and paste the general script from the species form of Ginkgo biloba, here is one last fact with which to leave you: ‘Thelma’ is a male form of Ginkgo. Whether you love it or loathe it, this plant is uniquely different. 

I have a long, (and constantly changing), list of favourite trees, but Ginkgo has to be near the top. Beautiful, heavily veined fan shaped leaves, a matt olive in the summer and the most glorious yellow before they fall in the autumn. There is a stillness and a serenity around this tree.  

The name is thought to have been derived from the Japanese gin kyo, meaning silver apricot, and it is an ancient tree, with fossil records dating from the Jurassic era some 170 million years ago. They were introduced to Korea and Japan, and they were often seen planted around temples. Incredibly, on the eastern seaboard of China there are living trees known to be 3500 years old but having flourished over much of the globe in prehistoric sites, their semi-wild distribution has shrunk to a few tiny areas. There are specimens of this extraordinary tree that have survived the atomic blast at Hiroshima.

They are known to grow along stream-sides where there is disturbed, fine, silty, acid soil. They can sucker from the base when the soil is disturbed, and following crown damage, develop aerial roots from the underside of branches that then root out to create thickets making them excellent candidates for prevention of riverbank erosion. They are best in full sun in well-watered but well drained soil preferring summers hotter than our maritime climate. The ginkgo is diecious with male and female trees and the reproductive process is both complex and fascinating should you care to investigate. 

Tall and slender in shape, the crown spreads with age. It is a mere three hundred years ago that these slow growing survivors were brought to Europe and we now have specimens of 15 or 20m in the UK, while in Italy and Portugal there are trees that have reached 35m. 

Ginkgo has both medicinal and culinary uses but as with all powerful drugs must be used correctly and with respect. One last fact to make you smile… Ginkgoes do not suffer from pests since all their natural pests as well as predators have long since become extinct.