Ginkgo Biloba growth rate

Question

For years I dream to plant a Ginkgo Biloba. And the other day I found two ones in a shop.

The first one was really cheap, but really little with its head having been cut off... it was something like 20 cm high, with a little note evaluating its height after ten years: 60 cm.

The other one, much more expensive, really good looking, (but costing something like 160 euros) was already circa 60 cm high.

Does the Ginkgo Biloba growth rate is really that slow ? Do you think it's the fact that the first one had its head cut off ?

So... if a plant one from a seed, how much time would it take to be 1 meter old ? (It's for my blaconny, I don't have a garden)

Answer 1

Yes, it is that slow, they are very slow growing compared to other plants. Estimated height of one bought as a good sized plant growing in optimum conditions in the ground after 20 years is 5 metres. I have one myself, bought at around 50 cm - 4 years later, its about 3cm taller. I've been unable to establish how long a seedling might take to reach, say, 40 cm, but I'd guess it might easily be as long as 10 years.

Answer 2

No, it's not that slow. I have 7 Ginkgo trees from seeds. One is 2.10 m in height after 10 years. The smallest one is about 1 m in height. If grown from seeds the hardest and slowest time are the first 4 to 8 years. But after that, they all grew about 30-40 cm per year!