Larch

[stymie]

Deciduous? Yes they lose their needles in winter. Coniferous too. I just thought that they don't feature much on Oz but they were one of my early favopurites.

Larch.jpg

51cm above pot around 20" I seem to have more of these than anything else.

[Pup]

G,day Don you do not see many in Australia true because it does not get that cold here. Even in winter we still have temps that reach 22 Celsius, during the day, there might be some in Canberra where it dose get cold in winter.

I like this one, I actually got to work on some last year when I was in the UK at Peters, I enjoyed it very much. Thank you for showing this.

Cheers Pup

[stymie]

This is what they look like just before losing their foliage in Autumn.

Larch in autumn - Copy.jpg

[Jamie]

very nice Don

I have always liked larch, there is just no way they would survive here, i know of a couple in victoria that have them now, so i will just have to admire them

[anttal63]

Beautiful trees Don!!! Great photos Too... Thanks for sharing.

[Bretts]

I love the larch too Stymie. My local Nurseryman (5 hours away) will not sell them as they are often killed by the heat. I believe he still grows a few himself though.
I decided to try them by seed and have had a few going for the last few years. They battle on each year in the heat but they are still going. I have managed to get hold of a little bigger one this year so it will be good to see how it goes this Summer! We seem to get enough cold for them here though.

[MattA]

Don that one in autumn dress is STUNNING! The Demon tree is awesome, I was only looking at it last night on AoB, I love the face carved into the dead wood.

Larch are my favorite conifer after Ginkgo but they wont grow where I am now. I had one for a while when I was in the Yarra Valley where it was very happy, once I moved to the Bellarine peninsula it started to decline, it wasnt the heat but the lack of cold that affected it most. It just didnt get a good rest each year and I eventually sold it on.

I have seen the odd Ginkgo around Newcastle and they seem to manage quite well so I have just put a few small ones in the garden to get started on. I am envious of your larch and most of the cold climate deciduous trees you can grow so easily over there. But I am not going back to a cold climate just for them, these bones hate the cold

Matt

[hugh grant]

I love larch too, there one of my favourite trees. If only they would grow here well if I have find one that I can get my hands on I'll be deffinetally trying one out.

Hugh

[Makkanan]

I'm up in the Dandenongs, east of Melbourne.... have three larches which are going well after 3+ years.... our winters (especially this year) have been easily cold enough to suit...... I find that if you keep the soil from getting TOO wet in winter, that's more important than having them cold enough to go dormant. As far as heat, they are a LOT more labour intensive to look after in the summer, perhaps in the league of Huon Pines, but it's just a matter of proper placement. One note is that like beeches they tend to not handle the transition from nursery pot to bonsai pot as well as other species.... and can be 'rebellious' in shallow trays. For the fortnight or two of 40+ days, a cool (well coolER) spot with year-round moss and only filtered light has been enough to keep them alive. They do grow in some north eastern European areas which experience hot and dry continental summer stretches, so don't be scared off! That said, I probably would give up on them if I lived in Adelaide or FNQ.... Anyway, just my own observations.....

[Leigh Taafe]

Hey Stymie - great trees mate! And now that I am into photography - great pics too.
Are they your trees? Did you take the pics? If so - can you tell me what settings you had the camera on and how did you set the lighting up?

[Leigh Taafe]

Hey Stymie - great trees mate! And now that I am into photography - great pics too.
Are they your trees? Did you take the pics? If so - can you tell me what settings you had the camera on and how did you set the lighting up?

Cmon Stymie - I am keen to know!

[MattA]

Leigh,

The first tree shown is one of Nick Lenz creations called "The Deamon tree" it can be found in his gallery of works on Art of Bonsai amongst other places.

Matt

[Leigh Taafe]

Thanks Matt,
I must have read the post wrong, I thought Stymie was posting pics of his own trees.

[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi Stymie, thanks for posting those pictures

I love Larches and grew them successfully in the suburbs of Melbourne before moving to the mountains, where they seem to thrive. When they are well fed the absolutely bolt along . It is possible to build a 2"+ trunk on Japanese and European Larch in 3-4 years in a styro box from a small seedling, I havent grown any in the ground (yet) but I have been advised growth is astounding when they get going.

I find that Japanese Larch needs plenty of water in Summer and to be kept barely damp when dormant barely damp, which mimics the cold and dry/warm and moist climate in Japan. Drainage is essential and they need to be re-potted just as the buds swell in late winter or early spring.

What is helpfull, to build branch ramification and put vigour into the tree, which in turn helps them cope in our warmer climate, is to get plenty of feed into them in the first 4-6 weeks of the growing season, this encourages shoot extension rather than just producing single rosettes of needles. In a repot year, I use osmocote in the mix, wait 4 weeks and then feed weekly fish emulsion for 4 weeks. This is in line with Peter Adams' recommendations and works well for me here.

In the Australian summer, needle scorching leading to decline of the tree can be an issue, overhead shade on the hottest days is sensible as is protection from the wind. Wire from late autumn and through winter, don't wire during the growing season, damaged needles will result. Needles can rot if they are too wet overnight during summer, if you are going to mist the needles, do it in the morning just as it begining to warm up. I grow my Larches in full sun, in summer at our place this is from 7am to about 7.30pm, however, because I live in a mountain environment with plenty of summer rainfall and cool nights, more shade in the afternoon would be advisable in Melbourne. Also, be wary of exposing to many surface roots beyond the nebari, these can get sunburned, leading to lots of problems that complicate summer care.

The only pest that I have had on my Larches is a few catterpillars every now and then, they are mostly pest free.

There is plenty of places in Victoria, NSW, ACT and Tasmania where Larch will grow happily, I have a mate in the Adelaide Hills that has one from my old collection. They are a beautiful tree species that become relatively easy to grow if their cultural requirements are met.

Brett,
I reckon summer care, repotting time, frequency and pot depth is the key for you. But I have to wonder if Larch will have enough dormant days (minimum of 60) at Parkes to be successful.

Makkanan,
we will have to get together at the next club meeting and compare notes.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Makkanan]

Mojo: You noted the water requirement difference between European and Japanese larch.... any other main differences off the top of your head? My three are European, but I've found that the larches that I've most been impressed with are Japanese....not sure whether that's due to the species (like pref of atlas vs. deodara cedars) or just that the set of crafters by chance have chosen Japanese larch..... Thanks for the feeding/wiring tips by the way....Totally agree on wire timing.... I've had few trees with so much trunk swell in spring.....