Larch, An Evergreen Tree

Larches look for the entire world like evergreen trees. Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Larch is also called Larix, is a long waving twigs have tufts of small needles; they even have cones. But come fall those needles turn yellow and fall off just like the leaves of any deciduous tree. And the wood is more like that of deciduous hardwood trees than the softer wooded evergreens. Larches are among the dominant plants in the boreal forests of Siberia and Canada. Although they are conifers, larches are deciduous trees that lose their needles in the autumn.

Larches are beautiful in the wild; a stand of them will turn a hillside a bright pale green in early spring when the needles start to grow, and bright yellow in fall. But have also lived with a larch on the lawn, as a specimen tree, and found it a handsome unusual accent. The Native American larch “Larix laricina” also called “eastern larch” and “tamarack” grows as tall as 90 feet in an open pyramid. Larches are among the few deciduous conifers, which are mostly evergreen. Other deciduous conifers include the golden larch Pseudolarix amabilis, the dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the Chinese swamp cypress Glyptostrobus pensilis and the bald cypresses in the genus Taxodium.

It is fast growing and one of the hardies trees known. It will even live in Zone 1, regions of which are simply referred to as”the tamarack” because that’s about all threat grows there. European larch “L. deciduas” hardy to Zone 2, is taller and is perhaps best known for the variety L. d. “Pendula” whose climbs have gracefully drooping side branches. Moreover Japanese Larch “L. leptolepsis or L. kaempferi” hardy to zone 4, is also pendulous, with peeling bark. It grows very fast and is more resistant to canker than other larches. Source: Chrismaticplanet.com

Well, to grow Larch, you need a cool climate. They prefer a sunny location and deep fertile, rather acid soil that is moist but well drained. They are easy to transplant but are best planted balled and bur-lapped in fall or early spring. Larches rarely need pruning. Lower branches can be removed from head room of if they are week and straggly. The trees should have a central leader; if that is damaged replace with another branch as described in the listing for fir.