Why I Oughta...

Five years ago this month, I planted a very small caliper (with a trunk 'injury') Ginkgo tree in our backyard along the southside about half-way back.  The tree went in the ground in October 2021 .  The trunk was basically cracked wide-open ( look at the photos in this post ), but I wrapped it up, supported it with a bamboo pole and hoped for the best.   In the five years since (growing seasons: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026), the tree has survived.  And, put on some growth.  When it went in the ground, it was about waist-high.  Here, below, is what it looks like in the garden today: That's a little hard to read in terms of where the tree starts/stops.  So, here, below, is an annotated version showing the tip of the tree: I took out the tape measure and the apical meristem (leader) now reaches 96".  So, this is an eight-foot-tall Ginkgo tree.  And, the trunk has thickened-up and is no longer pencil-thin.  I've NOT pruned this ...

I had a credit with an online nursery that was burning a hole in my pocket.  It came from a tree that I bought last year that died within the first few months of being planted here in Downers Grove.  When I saw an email that trumpeted a sale ALONG with Free Shipping, I decided to act.  I bought a four foot tall Ginkgo biloba tree.  I've been thinking about adding a Ginkgo to our yard for a long time, so when I looked at the total in my shopping cart was less than a few bucks for this tiny Ginkgo, I clicked the 'buy button'.   This isn't the first Ginkgo tree that we've had - we had a larger one that I planted in our old house that was given to me as a Kellogg graduation present from Nat's parents.  That one was at least 1.5" caliper.  This one?  About the caliper of my pinky finger.  This is the latest - and tenth tree that I planted this year, but it also is one of the smallest.  The most recent trees I planted were the Sugar Tyme...