I have a female gingko tree, approximately 50 years old and 50 ft tall, that has been bearing fruit for about the last 10-12 years. It has gotten to the point it is damaging the deck, siding on the house, etc. because 1) the ripe nuts splatter when thay fall, and 2) the squirrels have taken up residence and make a real mess with them, not to mention the smell!Is there anything that can be done to stop this? The tree is beautiful to look at, but even the neighbors are fed up. It's a very big tree for a city lot. Don't really want to take it down, and can't afford to (lowest quote $1800!!)

Greetings Marge,

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to prevent fruiting on a mature female Ginkgo tree. As you may know by now, planting the male tree would have prevented the issue of foul smelling fruit - of course, this Ginkgo probably wasn't a tree you planted.

There are several commercial products available on the market which can help reduce "fruit set" on certain trees/shrubs. Florel Fruit Eliminator is one such product. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that this product will prevent all fruit set, nor is the product easy to apply on large trees - product must be applied to the entire crown of the tree during a very small time window of flower onset.

Realistically, if the fruit smell is unacceptable, your best bet is to remove the tree.

Hi Jay,

I too, have a very large, very old female ginkgo tree in my yard. I was excited to see the tree when I moved in as I think they're beautiful trees, but have come to hate it for the same reasons Marge has stated. It makes the backyard useless during the time I would most enjoy it. I'm considering having it professionally trimmed to physically cut down on the fruit-producing branches. Is there a best time of year to do this & can you tell me the time frame for the flower onset you mentioned above? Also, I realize the pollination is airborne, but would cutting down a nearby male tree (1 block away) cut down on the amount of fruit produced? It's the only other ginkgo I've seen anywhere within 2-3 miles.

Thank you!

Danielle:

I'm an advocate of dormant-season pruning. Flower onset will depend on weather/temperature, but likely sometime in April.

My suggestion: Avoid the professional pruning job and the application(s) of Florel Fruit Eliminator and simply remove the tree, which you've indicated you now hate -- you'll be money ahead in the long-run!