Larch #5
- Thread starter HotAction
- Start date
Joedes3
Shohin
Looks great! Keep us posted. I just bought some larch seedlings, so I will be following your updates.
Bill S
Masterpiece
Dave, nice piece, that bottom right branch in the last pic, , looks like an ala Nick L. Don't do too much too fast.
HotAction
Chumono
Thanks for the compliments. Bill, The tree grew vigorously after collecting, and I'm sure it will handle the styling with ease. I don't think this tree is any more than 10 years old, possibly no more than six. So, it has a lot of youthful vigor to support it. With older material, I would be certain to slow down the process.
Dave
Dave
HotAction
Chumono
HotAction
Chumono
october
Masterpiece
This is a nice tree..great trunk. This tree will look amazing when it is nearing completion.
Rob
Rob
tmmason10
Omono
Looks really good, keep up the good work. I really like larches and now I'm thinking I need some more.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
With all do respect I disagree with your age assessment. From my experience with them I think 50 years is a much closer estimate, older is even possible. Larch tend to not form large trunks without age, six to ten years is not enough to provide what you have. But this is just opinion and without proof. Great tree and you have done well with it.
Rui Marques
Seed
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Hi,
What is your soil mix that you use for your larch?
What is your soil mix that you use for your larch?
Victrinia Ridgeway
Omono
Needle plucking a larch....
'Lucy.... you hav' sum 'splaining to do.'
Aesthetics?
V
'Lucy.... you hav' sum 'splaining to do.'
Aesthetics?
V
tmmason10
Omono
Actually I do recall needle plucking from Nick Lenz's book, but from what I remember it was to force tidier growth on finished trees. It was actually a pretty funny passage if I remember correctly as he described plucking so many needles one by one
Victrinia Ridgeway
Omono
Bizarre... not sure why you'd do that since they set buds all along the new growth... so you just prune/pinch back to one that's heading in the right direction for your design and all is well with the world. I was so curious about the idea I found a video of Bill Valavanis "needle plucking" a larch... but what that amounted to was extension plucking (which makes perfect sense) and not needle plucking as one traditionally imagines it. I needle pluck like mad in that case...lol But I think of needle plucking as a very individual thing, not as plucking extensions, which to me is just hand pruning. 
V
V
tmmason10
Omono
I agree with you, I have noticed that this year that buds on the extensions are highly visible. It's my first growing season with my larch and I can imagine that pinching back those extensions must create ramification fairly quickly.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
It does but you have to do it at the right time and all season long, unlike other conifers. Watch as when bud break occurs and the new growth has extended to a point that the new growth looks a bit like a small paint brush. When this happens support the emerging growth at its base, grasp the extended end with the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand and pull the center of the growth straight out. This will not leave brown needles and you will see no evidence of the pinching process having been performed. Every time you see this new growth pattern repeat the afore-mentioned process.
HotAction
Chumono
Not sure who Lucy is but.... Yes I did pluck lots of needles. All the downward facing needles, and all the needles in the branch crotches. It looks cleaner, and it is easier to see what I'm doing. Larch get pretty mangy in the summer.
Dave
ghues
Omono
If memory serves me correctly (doesn't happen much these days), the needle plucking in Nick's book was a defoliation (as with a maple) to get a completely new flush of much smaller needles on a finished tree. For the development of my Larch I use the method that Vance describes above and it works well. (I also agree that the Larch in question could be older than assumed).
Cheers G
Cheers G
Nah a 50 year old laricina would have more developed bark. In decent soil larch grow and thicken quite fast. In my experience.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
It really doesn't matter, but if you take a good look at the photos it seems to have pretty decent bark, almost as good as mine which has been estimated and 125. Second point; this Larch was collected and usually collected trees are not growing in decent soil or they do not develop the kind of traits that suggest "Collect Me". The bottom line is that we will never know. By the way in case the question comes up I have had the Larch I described for thirty years.
