Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold’ – Autumn Gold Ginkgo

Botanical Name: Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold’

Alternate Name: Autumn Gold Maidenhair Tree

Autumn Gold Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold’) is an all-male cultivar. It typically grows to 40-50 feet at maturity, with a symmetrical, broadly spreading habit. The leaves of Autumn Gold Ginkgo turn a luminous yellow-gold in the fall. These trees give a glorious display when highlighted by early morning or evening light. The glowing autumn color remains on the tree for a few weeks. Then the leaves drop together, all at once, forming a beautiful, bright carpet on the ground below the tree. This makes leaf clean-up easy.

This Ginkgo tree is also referred to as the maidenhair tree, as its leaves, which are in the shape of a fan, look similar to maidenhair fern leaflets. Ginkgos tolerate most soils, including compacted and alkaline. Autumn Gold Ginkgo starts off with a very slow growth rate for a few years after it is planted. After this, their growth rate usually picks up. This will happen if conditions are favorable, and the trees are fertilized and watered for optimum growth.

Ginkgo trees do not have any noticeable pest or disease issues, and their strong growing form resists storm damage.

Ginkgo trees are known as living fossils. They are some of the oldest living tree species, first growing on the earth 200 million years ago. Ginkgo biloba trees are tough, and approximately 170 of them, known as Hiroshima Peace Trees, survived Hiroshima’s atomic bombing in 1945. These trees have been found to live over 1,000 years.