Ginkgo biloba Autumn Gold

Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' is a selection of the Bush of forty ecus that is distinguished by its magnificent autumn foliage in a golden yellow with orange reflections. It is a tree of beautiful stature with a straight trunk that shows a regular habit, with a pyramidal crown in its youth, becoming a spreading pyramid over time. Its fan-shaped leaves are characteristic of the species, but they emerge a little later in spring and remain attached to the branches for a longer time. They all fall at the same time, forming a golden carpet at the foot of the tree. Ginkgo thrives in the sun, in any good garden soil that is not too dry. Reserved for large gardens!

Ginkgo biloba, sometimes called 'Venus Hair' because of the shape of its leaves and the pattern of its veins resembling capillaries, is a very primitive tree from the Ginkgoaceae family, which is now almost extinct. This living fossil, which does not bear flowers, normally reaches a height of up to 24m (78ft 8in) and has an erect habit in its youth, then becomes more spreading over the years, measuring up to 9m (29ft 6in) in diameter. This majestic tree, native to China, has now (and probably for a long time) disappeared in its natural habitat, surviving only thanks to the admiration and respect it has inspired in humans for many generations, who continue to plant and multiply it in their most beautiful parks.

The 'Autumn Gold' Ginkgo is an American horticultural variety obtained from the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation in 1951. It is a male clone that does not produce fruits. The tree shows fairly slow growth, especially during the first years. Ultimately, it reaches an average height of 17.50m (57ft 5in) with a spread of 15m (49ft 2in). Its branching is airy, forming a harmonious pyramid-shaped crown. Its deciduous leaves, rounded and cone-shaped with a split in the middle, are light green and take on a beautiful bluish hue in summer, then an intense dark golden yellow colour at the end of the season before falling. They resemble a fan in their design and measure 7 to 9cm (2.8 to 3.5in) wide. This beautiful tree has a spreading root system and develops quite slowly during the first 10-12 years of its life, slightly faster afterwards.

The 'Autumn Gold' Ginkgo should be planted as a stand-alone specimen on a short grass meadow, where it will become a focal point for much of the year. Its form integrates particularly well into Japanese, exotic, or contemporary landscapes. It can also be associated with red maples, purple beech, or a caramel tree... Owners of small gardens can turn to varieties of Ginkgo with moderate dimensions (Blagon, Mariken, Troll, Globus...).

Strangely, and despite its deciduous leaves, Ginkgo biloba is a conifer from a botanical perspective. It is a very hardy species. It is also very resistant. It was one of the few trees to survive the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945!

It is the oldest species of tree found on Earth: dating back 300 million years, it has survived all the cataclysms that the Earth has experienced. This tree with a thousand ecus has been living for thousands of years in the Tianmushan Mountains in southeastern China. It was reintroduced to Europe in the 18th century. Exceptionally long-lived, Ginkgo is also a medicinal plant whose foliage is used to reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.