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| Just a feel-good post, nothing more: Just googled western larch images. I'm a larch nut from way back and in addition to the native tamarack growing in my woods, I've planted hundreds of hybrid larch-Larix marschlinsii. they're doing great.
So like I says-just looked at a lot of pictures of unbelievably beautiful western forests containing stands of western larch.. Talk about a great tree! There, I'm done.........+oM |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Straight species grows well at the Dominion arboretum in Ottawa Canada. It looks to be about the right age to be in one of the original arboretum plantings (~100yr). It's similar in size at that age as L. kaempferi or L. decidua might be. You should try it in Wisconsin? |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Dec 12, 11 at 7:59
| a link would have been nice .... since i am not sure which latin name applies to western larch ... and i am too lazy to google it myself .. lol ... hope your feel good buzz continues ken |
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| L. occidentalis always a point of amusement when someone resorts to writing a note about how lazy they are instead of typing the real query into Google. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Mon, Dec 12, 11 at 13:26
| No worries! Just uh, like Ken says, enjoying the buzz. Smivies, your comments are most interesting. Our own knower of all things-pineresin-had thrown a wet blanket on a similar query some time back, maybe on the conifers sub forum. His view was that L. occidentalis would not enjoy the heat that we can succumb to even in N.Wisconsin during summertime. And it makes some sense to me. Where the tree is found in nature-moist mountain slopes at, if memory serves, between roughly 2000 and 6000 ft. of elevation, summers are decidedly cool. Even in N. Wisconsin, there can be some serious heat. I read too that fire suppression in the west has tipped the balance away from western larch. Said that this species is fire tolerant, whereas when fire is suppressed, other less fire-tolerant species gain the upper hand. Happily, this kind of info is now well-understood by land managers. Nowadays, the problem with letting smallish fires burn, like they should be allowed to, is the likely presence of homes and subdivisions in the areas affected. Makes fire-related issues much more challenging. I may just give a few a whirl. Seedlings are cheap and if even just a few survived and thrived, it would add another element to my menagerie up there! +oM |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Dec 12, 11 at 15:43
| always a point of amusement when someone resorts to writing a note about how lazy they are instead of typing the real query into Google. ===>>> isnt that the truth ... lol ... for me its usually a caffeine rush where i cant control my fingers.. lol ... a different kind of buzz .. lol ... i am not aware of any named cultivars of such.. have i missed some??? the other larches grow like weeds in MI ... why wouldnt these ... and why have i never seen the name in catalogs???? apparently my afternoon coffee works also.. just finished reading the rest of toms note.. summer heat would not make them happy where i am .. but i still have seen no cultivars ken |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Dec 12, 11 at 15:44
| do you ever get to the end of a reply .... and wonder what the heck the point is.. and just delete it.. instead of sending it ... it often happens here .. lol ken |
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| Northern Wisconsin....probably ok Southern Illinois....probably not Ottawa has pretty hot humid summers too, probably similar to the middle of Wisconsin but not as hot as Chicago or points south. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Mon, Dec 12, 11 at 20:07
| I think resin must be travelling or something. He'd usually be on a thread of this type by now. RESIN! Ken, this ain't no fancy-shmancy cultivar thread here. Talking straight, glorious, full-sized conifers here. Take that with your coffee! BTW, at age 55, I've been drinking coffee for roughly forty years. I wish at this point that the stuff provided any kind of "buzz". I can and frequently do take a little nap after my evening cup! Another angle that I find interesting when contemplating planting species like L. occidentalis outside its normal range is what one might reasonably expect in terms of growth potential. They can easily top 200 ft. in their mountain home, but I suspect they'd be somewhat more modest in this area. Thanks again Smivs for the Ottawa info. Most interesting. +oM |
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| "I think resin must be travelling or something. He'd usually be on a thread of this type by now. RESIN! " Reporting in! Sorry, not sure how it would do in Wisconsin; fungal diseases associated with heat & humidity might be a problem. It does OK in Britain, though not as good as L. decidua or L. kaempferi. Here's the tallest, 33 metres tall, in autumn colours. Resin |
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- Posted by AspenAcres 5b BC (My Page) on Mon, Dec 12, 11 at 21:34
| Larches are my favorite trees by far. I love them. I find that they are not planted nearly enough, I guess because they are so messy and look dead all winter. Natural Western Larches grow just east of here and I love seeing them in fall colour next to the dark green douglas firs. Great pic Resin. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Dec 13, 11 at 1:19
| Thanks resin. Interesting they're not top dog in UK larchdom. Yes AspenAcres, I would think you'd be near to their range. Western Montana, N. Idaho, and some parts of the states of Washington and Oregon are what I believe to be their U.S. homes. Hard to beat a stand of any kind of larch in late fall. +oM |
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| Awesome pic Resin! Here's a dwarf cultivar growing at the Betty Ford Alpine Garden in Vail, Colorado. It's a Jerry Morris broom selection, discovered near Kalispell, Montana. Larix occidentalis 'Bollinger' |
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| I'm intrigued by larches but I don't see any gracefull agers out there. I only plan to add a few dwarf cultivars. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Dec 13, 11 at 17:28
| I don't know, whaas. It's in the eye of the beholder, sure, but even our native tamarack often shapes up real nice, and doesn't get too thin and ratty looking, IMO. 15 or 20 years ago, I planted 2 European larch at what was then the office of the building I reported to. They've grown....and grown! About 40 feet tall now, no end in sight. Still good-looking too. More than once when they were small, crows perching caused breakage of the main leaders on both. You'd never know it to look at them now. +oM |
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| Whaas, whaat? You need to get yourself up nort. Beautiful specimens that can be seen as soon as you reach god's country -- planted and wild. What a treat! But no western larch... :( |
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- Posted by tsugajunkie z5 SE WI (My Page) on Tue, Dec 13, 11 at 22:48
| Hey Whaas, they are quite nice up north. And these are just little ones up front but there are "graceful agers" behind. "Without lookin' too hard you'll see a tamarack-ack-ack-ack-ack you oughta know by now..."
Or...as Monty Python used to say... And now...The Larch...The Larch tj |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Wed, Dec 14, 11 at 0:38
| ^^^ My dad still says that to me whenever I'm talking about my trees! Nice pic. +oM |
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| Tom and the rest of your folks: I am experimenting with Western larch here in northen VA. I got two from Forest Farm about 6 years ago. One of them struggled for the first three years to survive, but it did survive, and has averaged about 18 inches a year since. Of course it is too early to know if it will be attacked by fungi. The other, planted in a lighter soil, has continued to struggle, but it has gained a bit every year. I think it may do better this year than it has so far, and I am guessing about one foot of new growth. One of my hybrid larches, planted at the same time is about 25 feet tall. But I am in a very hot and dry Z6. Year before last we had 8 days at or near 100 degrees, and an "exceptional" drought. Last year we had a "moderate " drought. I did water the one still struggling larch those years, but not the other. I would think they would do better in Wisconsin than here. --Spruce |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Thu, Dec 15, 11 at 22:51
| Thanks Spruce. FWIW, I've already calmed down! Since next summer is supposed to be the summer I concentrate on construction activities at my land, such things as a deck, an outhouse, and installing a wood stove in the 1952 trailer, I will probably scale back my tree planting for that season. As such, I will concentrate on the tried and true, which in larch terms is def. the hybrid. Maybe some year I'll plant a few western. +oM |
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