I've always wanted a larch

[WNC Bonsai]

I took the plunge and ordered 10 seedling American larch. The seedlings arrive this week and assuming they survive the shipping I plan to get them into 1 gal pots and keep moist. The seller gurantees them for a year so if they cook in the USPS truck I figure I am covered. I wish I had an in ground location for them but we are short on sunny, moist spots. I am rapidly collecting a bunch of seedlings including: 18 ridents, 24 Japanese maples, 2 Japanese zelkova, 4 Korean hornbeam, and 4 bald cypress. Quite a menagerie.

 

[coh]

My little forrest isn't doing so well :s We're currently experiencing a heat wave here and it has taken its toll... One tree died because I forgot to water it. I had put it in a tub with some water and it was doing fine. (Previous owner adviced me to do so). One day, all the water had evaporated and the largest tree in the planting withered and died.
Now, a couple of weeks later, one of the other trees is showing signs of damage as well. Older needs are shrivelling and falling off, new growth is still there (luckily).

Another tree has red needles. Scorched maybe?


I'm finding it difficult to deal with the extreme weather atm. It was doing fine when it was siting in a small tub with some water in it. But now temps have risen to 30+ degrees C, so I'm guessing that can't be good for the roots either.
Also, it's still planted it nursery soil (mixed with some gravel, but not draining very well!) Also pretty pot-bound by now :s I think it could grow a lot better if it had been repotted last spring...
Last week I put it in the shade, out of the tub. Maybe too much water was causing more damage? Maybe it's better to let the soil dry out a bit more, before watering it? Larches do love moist soil, so I'm a bit conflicted...

Was this in full sun during the heat wave? Larch and high temps + full sun can be a bad combination, especially if they are a bit weak (or were repotted in the spring). 30 C = 86 F, that should probably be OK provided they're getting enough water. When temps start getting into the 90s here (34 C or higher) I've learned they have to be watched very carefully. I had some minor burn on 3 of mine that were repotted this spring when we had a week of temps in the mid to upper 90s. A couple others that weren't repotted did OK, but I moved all of them into shadier locations.

Tough to say how well they will do after an incident like this. Be careful with the sun until temps cool down, keep moist but don't over water.

 

[leatherback]

I took the plunge and ordered 10 seedling American larch. The seedlings arrive this week and assuming they survive the shipping I plan to get them into 1 gal pots and keep moist. The seller gurantees them for a year so if they cook in the USPS truck I figure I am covered. I wish I had an in ground location for them but we are short on sunny, moist spots. I am rapidly collecting a bunch of seedlings including: 18 ridents, 24 Japanese maples, 2 Japanese zelkova, 4 Korean hornbeam, and 4 bald cypress. Quite a menagerie.

I gues you know that repotting larch when they have foliage is a rather bad idea? Not many pull it off successfully.

 

[Fishtank307]

Was this in full sun during the heat wave? Larch and high temps + full sun can be a bad combination, especially if they are a bit weak (or were repotted in the spring). 30 C = 86 F, that should probably be OK provided they're getting enough water. When temps start getting into the 90s here (34 C or higher) I've learned they have to be watched very carefully. I had some minor burn on 3 of mine that were repotted this spring when we had a week of temps in the mid to upper 90s. A couple others that weren't repotted did OK, but I moved all of them into shadier locations.

Tough to say how well they will do after an incident like this. Be careful with the sun until temps cool down, keep moist but don't over water.

Yes, it was in full sun. I thought they could cope with the high temps, but they might be a little too weak... They're very pot-bound, and are still planted in poor soil.
Now, a couple of the little ones are withering, but the larger one that were scorched are pushing buds again. We'll see how they respond in a couple of weeks. Right now, they're in a very shady spot, with only filtered sunlight in the morning.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I gues you know that repotting larch when they have foliage is a rather bad idea? Not many pull it off successfully.

That’s why my first question was about the guarantee. These are basically this years seedlings sold as plugs. They grow them in plastic sleeves so they can literally be popped out and stuck in the ground with little root disturbance. The price was too good to pass them up.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

What kind of soil mix is best for larch seedlings?