AusBonsai

Edward Scissorhand wrote:Hi Grant, How do you know the difference between a Japanese larch and a European larch? I have three of them in Sydney's south, but they are growing so slowly in pots for around a decade so I decided to put them in the ground this year. Is there anything I should keep in mind if I leave them in the ground for a few years? Cheers Eddie

Japanese Larch has a label on it that says Japanese larch; Larix Kaempferi. By observation the needles are a bit smaller and finer than the European larch.

European Larch always died for me even at Mittagong where it was cold enough I would have thought, so you probably have the Japanese Larch. They love plenty of water.

Grant

Hi all,

After just two weeks the larch has gone beserk with new growth. I will give it a trim this afternoon; harder on the top and less so on the bottom branches.

Grant

Trimmed. I will reinforce a conifer style on this tree. Grant

Grant love your work, im looking forward to developing the dozen or so i got. With trimming do you just shorten back to a bud like cedar?

noah78 wrote:Grant love your work, im looking forward to developing the dozen or so i got. With trimming do you just shorten back to a bud like cedar?

The buds are very small(I actually had to wear reading glasses to do it) and seem to come in slightly spaced sets of two buds(up and down or side to side) about 25mm apart.

I have left some weaker growth untrimmed and will do them as they elongate. It will be interesting to see how trims I will get this year.

grant

Asus101 wrote:there is one growing here in renmark..... unless there is another tree that looks like a larch and drops its needles in winter?

I have been thinking about this comment for a while and I still dont believe, from all of my experience with larch, that they would grow in such a hot,dry climate at zero altitude in australia with mild and not cold winters.

You ask is there another tree that looks like Larch and drops its needles? Well yes there is. The Pseudolarix(false larch) amabilis or Golden Larch. Needles are a bit broader but can easily be mistaken for Larch.

Grant

As of and after today 21st january 2011
The tree was unwired and the bandage and rubber were removed.
I also removed the thickening branch near apex, the lowest back branch and the small branch under the first major branch on the left.
The area where the trunk was split looks to be doing fine. It is very firm and appears to be callousing under the putty/.
Grant

Great work Grant, the tree is looking great!

Hi All,

The Larch is doing fine and now in autumn color. The split in the trunk is mostly healed over now.

Re repotting a Larch I would do it late winter/early spring.

Photo soon.

Grant

Hi all,

Here is the larch with some autumn color. It just needs five or ten years of constant work to now bulk it up. Grant

Now fully deciduous and the cut and split of the trunk last year is almost gone from the naked eye. Give it a few more years of twigging up and it should be OK.

Grant

,Your Larch is looking Fantastic Grant,i like the slight adjustment of trunk angle aswell mate, great work

Update Starting to get a bit more ramification each year.

Grant

Update. The Japanese larch is still in leaf whereas the European larch lost its needles about 3 weeks ago.

Grant