Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 40 ecoregions — 35 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Colorado Rockies forests

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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Moderate water

Spacing

360"

Habit

Large deciduous shade tree, pyramidal when young and broadening with age

Care tips

•

Choose a named male cultivar (e.g. "Autumn Gold") to get the golden fall color without the foul-smelling fruit-like seed coats female trees drop.

•

Plant where it has room to reach 50-80 feet tall and 30-40 feet wide — an excellent lawn, street, or shade tree.

•

Expect slow, sparse early growth; ginkgo is exceptionally long-lived and tolerant of urban soil, pollution, heat, and salt once established.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in spring or fall in average, medium-moisture soil in full sun. Tolerant of a wide range of soils — clay, alkaline and acidic, and compacted — plus saline conditions, air pollution and heat, so it adapts well to most urban environments. Choose a named male clone to avoid the foul-smelling fleshy seed coats female trees produce.

Transplanting

Move balled-and-burlapped or container stock while dormant in spring or fall; ginkgo transplants readily for a large tree but establishes slowly.

Early growth

Water through establishment. Expect slow growth, with initial growth somewhat sparse per Missouri Botanical Garden — patience is required for the first decade.

Maturity

Matures to roughly 50-80 feet tall and 30-40 feet wide as a long-lived shade, lawn, or street tree. Foliage turns brilliant golden-yellow in fall. No serious insect or disease problems.

Propagation

Seed (after cleaning the fleshy seed coat) germinates but does not reveal sex for years; named male cultivars are propagated by grafting or cuttings to guarantee a seedless, odor-free tree.

Pollination

Wind-pollinated

Ginkgo is a wind-pollinated gymnosperm with separate male and female (dioecious) trees — it has no true flowers or nectar and does not feed bees or butterflies. Male trees shed pollen to wind-pollinate ovules on female trees; landscape plantings use male clones to avoid the foul-smelling fleshy seed coats. The "Bloom Time April / Bloom Description Green / Flower Insignificant" entries in Missouri Botanical Garden refer to the inconspicuous reproductive structures, not insect-pollinated flowers.

For people

Edible with preparation

The seed kernel ("ginkgo nut") is eaten in East Asian cuisine after the fleshy outer coat is removed and the kernel is cooked (boiled or roasted), per NC State Extension. The fleshy seed coat is an irritant and foul-smelling, and raw or large quantities of the kernels contain ginkgotoxin (MPN) that can be harmful, especially to children — so this is a prepared, limited-quantity food, not a casually edible fruit.

Native range

AHS heat range

1-11

Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Ginkgo biloba for USDA zones 3 to 8, 50-80 ft tall and 30-40 ft wide, in full sun with medium water; native range southern China; "maidenhair tree."

•

Missouri Botanical Garden documents it as tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions (alkaline, acidic, and compacted soils), saline conditions, air pollution and heat — adapting well to most urban environments — and tolerant of deer, clay soil, and urban conditions, with no serious insect or disease problems but usually slow growing.

•

NC State Extension publishes a wider hardiness range of zones 3a-9b and the same 50-80 ft by 30-40 ft size; Plotwright follows the conservative Missouri Botanical Garden ceiling (zone 8) for the headline zones string.

•

Dioecious — separate male and female trees. Female trees produce fleshy, fruit-like seed coats that emit a noxious foul odor when they fall, so male clones are preferred for landscape use (Missouri Botanical Garden; corroborated by NC State Extension).

In the designer

Growth over time

600-960" tall · 360-480" spread

Mature 50-80 ft shade tree with broad canopy and reliable golden fall color.

Design roles: Focal point · Structure

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Ginkgo

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations