Ginkgo biloba Mariken - Maidenhair Tree - Grafted Standard in 2 L Pot

Ginkgo biloba Mariken is a very distinctive male cultivar. It has been granted the RHS Award of Garden Merit and is noted for its super compact, semi weeping, and dense spreading branches which are packed with typical Ginkgo fan shaped leaves (in season), turning bright golden yellow in autumn. A quite striking plant all year, as in winter the branches have a pleasing architectural effect with distinctive leaf buds. Ginkgo are remarkable and beautiful trees, living fossils of great ornamental botanical and geographical interest. The species trees dating back over 200 million years have survived unchanged and are the only remaining member of their family. Long believed extinct, until a small surviving population was discovered some 180 years ago in China, probably in Zhijiang or Anhui provinces. Regarded as a sacred tree in the Far East, Ginkgo are frequently planted adjacent to Buddhist shrines and are widely used in complementary medicine in many countries. Ginkgos are resistant to most diseases and insect attacks, with unusual powers of regeneration, even in older trees, which has undoubtedly been one of the reasons for their remarkable survival. Some trees in China are reputed to be as much as 2500 years old. As one example of the considerable botanical interest they have acquired, Ginkgo trees do not produce pollen as in the more developed higher orders of plant species but instead produce a motile (moving) sperm that have flagellating cilla which carries them to the female receptacle through moisture on the branches. Pruning is not generally necessary. The trees in this listing are 3 years old and grafted on top of a stem to create a half standard plant. The clear stem is approximately 60cm .