Larch in coastal N California?

[BrianBay9]

Anyone in the SF bay area having success with Larix? I see a nice European larch, Horstmann's recurva, in a local nursery. Looks great but I wonder if they're selling something doomed to die?

 

[BrianBay9]

Since silence ensued, I'm assuming that we don't have lots of larch in northern California. The nursery staff was not particularly interested in standing behind the survival of larch in my area either. What the hell they are doing selling plants that are unlikely to survive in their climate zone is another, very interesting question.

 

[A. Gorilla]

Eastern larch along with white spruce are the last trees you see as you approach tundra.

Euro larch are in cold mountains. Japanese at elevation too.

So there’s that.

?‍

 

[kalare]

I know Lone Pine Gardens sells Japanese larch, but not American. I've never kept any (thought I have like 40 seedlings for American that I'm trying), but I have to assume if Lone Pine is selling them, Japanese should do well around here.

 

[Sadrice]

I have seen them outdoors, one notable example being Quarryhill Botanical Garden (now called Sonoma Botanical Garden) in the north Bay Area. Larix and Pseudolarix survived, long term, but were never very vigorous or particularly happy. The Pseudolarix did better.
It’s definitely doable, but you might want to consider how much you like larch anyways. I like it a lot, and am tempted, but I like a lot of plants that would do better here so I’ll probably pass.

And yes, lone pine has them. I should drop by and see how they are keeping theirs and how happy they look…

 

[Drcuisine]

I have ten of them growing in San Francisco. All of them Japanese and one of them is a wolterdingen. They grow slowly but are not thriving. It’s just not their type of climate. The one doing the best is actually the wolterdingen which added about 3 inches last year.

if your not in a hurry these should be ok and will not die unless killed. Mine like to only grow vertically and no not back Bud well. This year I’ll be trying to graft Wolterdingen to most of them bc that obe is so much better looking

 

[StarGazer]

Anyone in the SF bay area having success with Larix? I see a nice European larch, Horstmann's recurva, in a local nursery. Looks great but I wonder if they're selling something doomed to die?

Hi @BrianBay9 , I've had 3 or 4 young Larix decidua (European larch) for a few years. They are easy to take care of, and do well in the Bay Area climate.
They are a fun species to work on, and have nice fall and early spring colors, the wood is flexible when young so you can wire it nicely to add some curves.
I've never seen a Horstmann's recurva in person, but I think they have naturally curving branches, mine do not curve much naturally. They also don't back bud easily (as @Drcuisine mentioned), so you have to strategize when you cut branches, but the buds are easily identifiable in the branches, so you can make informed cuts to direct growth.
If you have are interested in the species you should get it for your collection, deciduous conifers are interesting (to me) and add complexity to your garden.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I have seen them outdoors, one notable example being Quarryhill Botanical Garden (now called Sonoma Botanical Garden) in the north Bay Area. Larix and Pseudolarix survived, long term, but were never very vigorous or particularly happy. The Pseudolarix did better.
It’s definitely doable, but you might want to consider how much you like larch anyways. I like it a lot, and am tempted, but I like a lot of plants that would do better here so I’ll probably pass.

And yes, lone pine has them. I should drop by and see how they are keeping theirs and how happy they look…

I think pseudolarix adapts better to warmer humid climates than larix, Larches need a lot of cold in winter

 

[rockm]

Don't know how long the Cali grower has had their larches, but I've found that even here in Va., heat is the enemy of this species in areas where it isn't native.

I've tried Japanese and North American larches over the years here in Va. We have reasonably (increasingly unreasonably) hot summers here. Those summers take their toll on these trees--they don't die outright, but lose vigor over a few years, yellowing needles, slowing growth, until they just peter out. This can take four or five years.

The problem isn't hot days, so much as it is hot overnight temps. Trees require a bit of cooling at night to stay healthy. Larch seem to need colder night time temps than a lot of other species. We have strings of nights when the temp doesn't drop below 80 (or sometimes higher in the height of summer).

I agree pseudolarix (Chinese Golden Larch) is a better alternative for hotter climates. There is a great one at the National Bonsai And Penjing Museum. It thrives in hotter weather