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European Larch ?

15 years ago

Hi all.

I saw a nice 7-8' European Larch at a local nursery today and all the trees are 25% currently.

It was normally $199, so around $150 was the current price. They had 3 of them, but one seemed a little better than the others.

I think having one of these would be cool, as the fall and spring colors would be interesting. My wife, surprise surprise doesn't much care for an evergreen that drops its green in the winter ... she doesn't see the point of it at all.

So my plans for putting this in the center of my yard have temporarily been vetoed but she wasn't opposed to having it completely.

I know these can get big. Can a Larch live in poor soils and does it like it wet, dry or somewhere in between?

How far would be a safe distance to place such a tree from other trees and/or the house? I do have a spot off the corner of my house where a serviceberry died ... and it "might" be a wet spot ... or the tried might just have been shocked by snow after arriving from OR.

COmments appreciated.

Thanks.

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Comments (6)

pineresin
15 years ago
Should do fine. It'll want full sun and plenty of space.

Resin
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
hey resin is back .... and so is bargain-hunting bucky ....

wish you gave the latin ... so i could compare ... i looked it up ....

my pendula.. grows 2 to 3 feet per year ... or is that kaempheri

i dont have the straight species... decidua .... but dont know why it wouldnt grow at the same rate ... hit the database for annual growth rates.. and presume success .... these arent foo foo plants ...

i would NOT put it within 20 feet of the house ....

otherwise.. they dont seem phased by poor sand ... full sun ... harsh winters ... etc ... there are versions native to the UP of MI .... z3 or 4 ... for sure ...

i have other larch .. doing 3 to 8 feet per year .... pasture plants for sure ....

you would probably be much more pleases with Diana ... or diane ... the gnarly, twisted version .. much more winter interest ...

as always.. you are shopping the bargain.. and the size .... rather than choosing oddity ... you bought the big backbones of your yard .... which in ten years is going to be a forest .... you need to start going to smaller, more interesting cultivars ... or start shopping out some acreage ... lol ...

as always.. continue having fun ....

ken
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basic
15 years ago
Having seen my European Larch grow from about 3' to 12' in a little over two years, my suggestion would be to buy a small one and save your $$$ (or use your savings to buy other plants). My wife does not share my enthusiasm for trees, but Larch has become one of her favorites. Plant it and she'll come around. :)
prostrata
15 years ago
ken: you have larch growing 8 feet per year?! Is that a typo? If it isn't, could you post any pictures?
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
Larix gmelinii var. olgensis' ... maybe i exaggerate a bit... but this thing is huge .... min 3 to 5 ....

bought 5/01 ... one gallon .. its probably about .... 25 feet tall today.. spectacular fall color ...

pix below ...

ken
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Embothrium
15 years ago
Yes: Are you actually talking about weeping larches for 200 dollars? The common one is weeping Japanese larch. It is generally mislabeled in nurseries as weeping European larch.

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