If a rural Madelia farmer has his way Minnesota will someday have a thriving population of Ginkgo trees.
Kun Hung came to the United States in 1985 from Nanjing, China where he taught horticulture at the college level.
Hung first arrived in Texas where he was a student at the University of Texas at Dallas and after a short time living there he came to Minnesota, and with some friends opened a chain of Chinese restaurants in Albert Lea, Fairmont, Fort Dodge, St. James and Windom.
However, horticulture and the propagation of the Ginkgo tree in the United States was never far from his mind. Although the restaurant was good, 10 years ago Hung bought the 8 acre farm he is now living on and began to pursue his dream of seeing Ginkgo trees dotting the landscape of Minnesota. Along with his wife Xiaoyung and their son, Milynn (now 3 years old), Hung has been working hard and has over 10,000 Ginkgo trees on his farm in various stages of growth. As the owner and manager of “Exotic Flora” Hung sells Ginkgo trees and other exotic Oriental plants, including the miniature lotus.’
To read the rest of this story pick up a copy of the 7/22/10 Plaindealer.
