Help! Landscaper planted a topped gingko.

[kaylalala]

I hired a landscaper to acquire a ginkgo tree and plant it in my yard. The tree he planted is roughly 7 - 8 feet tall and has a 3/4 inch diameter, healed-over wound in the center where the leading branch was removed some time ago. I believe that this tree will not develop normally into the symmetrical, conifer-like shape characteristic of a ginkgo in it's first few decades of life. I also doubt that the tree will be as healthy as one that hasn't been similarly mutilated. Am I wrong? Do I have a right to ask the landscaper to remove this tree and replace it with one that has not been the victim of ill-considered pruning?

I want to love this tree but when I look at it, all I see is damage.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The quality of nursery stock available is often, uhh, how can I say it so the naughty word editor won't get me, let's just say, not so good.
In any case, we will need you to post a picture.
Let us know if you need help with that, basically just go down and click the "Manage Attachments" button when you post, then follow instructions.

 

[Ekka]

Good trees come from good form ... when they're planted.

Without a picture it's hard to tell, however from your comments it's clear that the main trunk at approx 1/2 way was cut and the tree grew another trunk from that point upwards ... so is there like a kink or something?

Nurserymen often think tall is best or bushiest is best, it sounds like the tree was growing tall and thin ... perhaps the wise ole nursery guy thought I'll just give it a cut here (now that it's tall enough) to bush it up a bit.

If this is the case I would get rid of it and start again.

Is it possible for you to select the tree you want?

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Another possibility is it suffered root damage, planting shock, or drought, and that caused the top to die back, after which it was pruned out.
If you got the tree for free or at a discount, chances are that in time it can be pruned back into proper form, but to buy a new tree and pay full price only to receive damaged goods, is no good.
I'll bet you ten dollars it was planted too deep too.

 

[fwf]

This is an easy one. As the customer, you need to contact the landscaper and tell him you are unhappy with the tree and want it replaced. Unless you had some sort of "special agreement" with him, he should have gotten your approval before planting a damaged tree.

Have you done that? If so, what did he say?

 

[vharrison2]

The landscaper wont be happy to get that call. However, if he has any integrity, he will replace it. The customer is the one we have to keep happy. Good will spreads fast but bad will spreads faster.

 

[kaylalala]

picture of the crown, showing the missing leader

The tree is 8 feet tall. The wound is at a height of 6 1/2 feet. You can see the new branches developed around the place where the leader used to be.

Does this change anyone's response? I want to make a decision by tomorrow. I'm leaning in the direction of rejecting the tree.

 

[NickfromWI]

Looks like they may have subordinated a co-dominant stem. Now there is a definate leader.

Maybe the right decision was made at the nursery.

love
nick

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Looks like they may have subordinated a co-dominant stem.

This is clearly what they have done. The tree had two leaders that were about the same size and height. If left alone, at some point down the road it could have become a splitting hazard.
To prevent this future problem, one side was cut back, leaving a single trunk.
This is a proper pruning cut and in time the tree should be fine.
As a Ginkgo grows, it is quite common for these "co-dominant leaders" to form.
It is a good idea to watch for them and trim one side down as they appear. This will insure good structure as the tree grows.

How about a picture of the whole tree, including the base?

 

[treeseer]

This is a proper pruning cut and in time the tree should be fine.

I'm wiht Nick and Mike, but I'd like to see a pic of the fork that the subordinated codom arises from. If the bark there curls in, perhaps the subordinated part should eventually come all the way off. Even a side branch with included bark can split off.

Proper pruning cut? Note the stub--a proper cut would have been angled to a lateral or a node. Also, the two laterals in the pic are pretty long; reducing them would accomplish more subordination. These are details tho--no need to reject this tree from what we can see.

How are the roots? Can you see the trunk flare? Was the ground outside the rootball broken up >- 3x the diameter? Mulch?

 

[Stumper]

As Treeseer pointed out-the cut was made poorly but the removal of that leader was not a bad thing. Fret not-with good care it should grow into a fine tree.

 

[kaylalala]

A larger view of the crown

I had cropped the other picture because I wasn't sure what size attachment this system could handle. I'm uploading the larger picture because I think some of you are seeing something that is not there. Whoever made the cut did not remove a co-leader. They removed the one and only leader. The centermost branch is thinner in diameter than the branch that was removed. It is also shorter than than several of the branches surrounding it. On a young ginkgo the center branch is supposed to extend higher than the encircling ones - giving the tree it's conifer shape. This tree won't grow into that shape without a lot of work, and even then it might always be deformed.

The large stick standing up in the middle is not a branch - it's a stake.

The tree goes. I'm making the call today.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Hahaha! The stake has better structure than the tree!
Yep, replace it.
We still want to see a picture of the base, so we can inform you about proper planting depth.

 

[treeseer]

You're right, the tree has been topped. Can not argue with returning it.

THe stake could be used to straighten the new leader; in a few years it may look pretty straight. But you're right in demanding an untopped tree. however, your focus should be equally at the bottom half of the tree. Root defects are even more common than crown defects.

print out the info on Buying High Quality Trees and New Tree Planting from the site below. Give your landscaper a copy of each for reference so he doesn't bring you another bad tree.

 

[kaylalala]

Picture of full tree

As requested, this is the tree in all it's mutilated glory.

Even I know that stake snuggling up against the trunk like a malformed, conjoined twin has got to go. Can I remove it without harming the roots any further. (If I keep the tree - which is being negotiated.)

 

[kaylalala]

Base of tree

This photo is the base of the tree. I don't think they planted too deep but they did pile up 4 inches of mulch right around the tree so it was actually burying 4 inches of trunk. I know better. I peeled it away. The dark brown patches are wet mulch.

 

[Husky288XP]

What part of PA are you from?

 

[tophopper]

Its also planted too deep!
Chances are even if they replace it, the next one will be planted too deep as well, unless someone is on site who actually KNOW how to properly plant a tree.

Friggin landscapers, have no business planting trees

 

[Elmore]

Poor quality workmanship occurs even in the production stage of trees with some growers. Here is a photo of a grafted Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold'. I purchased this Ginkgo from a production nursery in southern Tennessee. It was bought as a 'Magyar' but it is actually an 'Autumn Gold'. They couldn't even get the label right. Notice the shoddy graft union. With age I am sure that it will disappear but will stick out like a sore thumb for many years. I visited a Garden Center in Madison, AL and looked at some grafted/budded Ginkgo cultivars and noticed these stubs at the graft unions. I then told the owner where he got them from. The owner thought I was psychic. He bought them from the same nursery that I got mine from. Consistently crude graft unions must be the grower's credo. Also pictured is a 'Sentry' cultivar that I produced. Notice the union on it. Before long it will be extremely difficult to observe this graft union. All of my graft unions are like this. If I produced trees with unions like the one from Tennessee I couldn't show my face in public...to me it is an embarrassment. No pride in workmanship.

 

[treeseer]

See New Tree Planting and Proper Mulching, under the link below.

Find the Flare First, then 4" max depth of theat finetextured shredded mulch