How-to Guide
Growing Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
The short answer
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is a tough, long-lived shade tree hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8b, reaching 50 to 80 feet tall. It needs full sun and good drainage, is drought-tolerant once established, and tolerates salt, heat, and alkaline urban soils.
Ginkgos are dioecious, with separate male and female trees. Female trees produce a fleshy seed covering that is foul-smelling and messy, so planting named male cultivars is usually preferred. Prune in spring as needed.
Where it grows
- Hardiness: USDA zones 4 to 8b
- Light: full sun
- Soil: needs good drainage; tolerates salt, heat, drought, and alkaline soil
- Mature size: 50-80 ft tall, 30-40 ft wide
- Excellent for streetscapes and urban sites
Male vs. female trees
Ginkgo does not produce a true fruit but a seed with a fleshy covering, borne only on female trees, that is messy and foul-smelling in fall. Choosing a named male cultivar avoids this problem, since a seedling's sex cannot be known until it matures.
✔ Buy a named male cultivar from a nursery to be sure of avoiding the smelly female seed.
Planting and pruning
- 1Site in sun — Choose a full-sun spot with good drainage and room for a large mature canopy.
- 2Establish — Water while young; ginkgo becomes drought-tolerant once established.
- 3Prune in spring — Ginkgo is low-maintenance and is best pruned in spring.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Clemson HGIC — Ginkgo (Maidenhair Tree) Care & Growing Guide — Zones 4-8b, full sun and good drainage, drought/salt/heat/alkaline tolerance, size, dioecious with messy female seed, plant males, prune in spring.
- NC State Extension — Ginkgo biloba — Dioecious trees; female fleshy seed covering is foul-smelling; male trees preferred for landscapes.