Larch Noob - first season advice please!

MartyB

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yes indeed thanks alot for the tips, I will go check out that video. I am sure I have seen it but watching it again will be good. And Wires_Guy 2 years of experience is two more than me! much appreciated info
 

MartyB

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My larch is not really thriving as much as I hoped. The needles on the lowest branch, although green, seem droopy and sad. Any tips on possible causes?

Also, I watched a Nigel Saunders video lately where he waters a bunch of trees and noticed that his larch needles are easily 10 times more dense than what my poor larch has managed to put out so far. Do they push out needles later in the season or is springtime the only visible growth? I don’t see any cluster of needles hinting at any possibility a branch might grow out of them. I hope he will make it thru the summer!
 

sparklemotion

Shohin
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Nigel's larches are larix laricina (Eastern/American Larch/Tamarack), I'm not an expert on the different species, but I do know that the growth is different (and people around MN are of the opinion that Larcina is superior). I'm also more than a little skeptical about your stated hardiness zone vs. your location. Even with some Hudson Bay effect on your weather, you are very far north to be assuming that your growing season is like Southern Ontario.

If your tree isn't in full sun, it should be. I would also err on the side of watering more rather than less. Yes, overwatering is a concern, but larches are swamp trees, so underwatering concerns me more.

You may also want to do some research on the concept of "apical dominance" in Bonsai. In your picture from earlier in May, it looks like the top of your tree is showing a lot more vigor than the bottom. I don't know that it's appropriate for you to prune the top branches back hard right now, but it would probably help get better growth down low. Then again... I'm not sure you really want/need the two lowest branches on the tree as pictured (depends on your vision for the final height of the tree, etc).
 

MartyB

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ouch I just corrected my USDA zone, I didnt update it since I moved to Montreal, so I am actually closer to 6(a?) according to my research. these grow locally. and yes I would have preferred a Tamarack, but this one I picked up cheap at a nursery as a reject tree, for very little $$ as a trainer tree to get to know them.

so yes, tree is in full sun, its on a balcony and gets 8+hrs of sunlight a day these days. its a bit hot tho, we were seeing 30C yesterday and the day before. Ill check the dampness, its still mostly in its nursery soil surrounded by substrate as I didnt want to bare root it (I am not familiar at all with them so trying to take baby steps, which perhaps is part of the problem).

and I did cut the top branch off and it did somewhat balance the vigor quite quickly, however the tree just seems to have stopped elongating the needles and it just seems to me a bit sparse. I will take a pic later and post. thanks again for comments
 

Random User

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Relax Marty, you're likely to kill it with over attention than neglect. I don't find larches require more water than white elm... which some would argue is more than others, but I haven't found that to be the case.They love full sun.
 

MartyB

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Thanks SKBonsaiGuy :) I am relaxed, just would like for it not to die. The pot is sitting right at the level of concrete however, this might be cooking the lower branches from radiated heat. going to find a stand to try and raise it somewhat. nevertheless, I appreciate everyone's input
 

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You could go to the tools department of Canadian Tire store or Home Depot/Home Hardware and find a cheap stand... one that you may need around the home from time to time... like these two.

https://www.amazon.com/RIKON-13-913-10-Inch-Band-Stand/dp/B002FB74VU

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Werner-...-16-in-Aluminum-Work-Platform-AP-20/100662616

Once it's proped up, (other than watering it and turning it every now), leave it alone... you will see when it regains its vigour.

If it's going to die there is nothing you can do about it anyway, but there is nothing in your last picture that suggests to me that it won't survive.
 

MartyB

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So here are some photos from today. I’m no expert clearly but he seems sparsely needled, and a bit droopy. Soil is not dry so not going to add water, its decently moist down there. 2A25036B-53FE-4A7F-A663-07AA854A87A1.jpegF540B15F-923E-434E-B305-B8C41EA13584.jpeg551911D0-FFD8-49E5-A252-935E234502DA.jpeg9F47F5CC-B564-4BE3-90CF-79A4B5FE30B7.jpeg
 

MartyB

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Its not a huge deal if the branches on the bottom are just dying off I wasnt going to keep them anyway in an eventual styling. I just left some down there to have something bud out in the spring. But i think its a bit weak overall
 

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"If it were mine", I'd stop doing anything... from my experience, it's probably close to 50/50 on survival, but there is nothing you can do now.
 

MartyB

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I havent done anything to it since the last top branch at the beginning of this thread. Just water when needed and looking at it. 1 chance out of 2 is better than 0 :). Thx
 

MartyB

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I am shopping for a larcinia (Tamarack) as they are easier to find in summer at local nursuries. I will not be repotting or pruning it till next spring just letting it grow until its dormant. Whats the sequence of steps you experts use to get a nursery stock larch from the 3-5gallon pot with garden centre soil into a bonsai pot with substrate and start training?
 

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Use the search function at the top right of this page to view all of the old conversations about particular trees... you'll find the answers to any questions you have, and for every technique for doing something, someone will have another way of doing things... choose the one that makes the most sense to you... and I always recommend that you try the methods that people nearest to you have used. (Same zone, same climate)
 

Cosmos

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They sell them?
In nurseries?

They do, usually as 4-, 5- or 6-foot trees, super lanky with barely any branching. Prices around 150 CAD, normally. While not super popular as a landscape tree in Québec, it is not rare either.
 

MartyB

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I find them for 35$ or so when they have them in stock. 100cm bushy structure
 

Cosmos

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Good price, good price, you should give me the name of the place ;)
 

MartyB

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Good price, good price, you should give me the name of the place ;)
Jardin2M in Deux-Montagnes/ St Eustache north of Laval. They are out of stock but some coming in a couple of weeks. My planB is to get one there for next year, and planC is to try some cuttings in july from some nice Tamaracks I spotted at Parc Jarry in Montreal. Lol
 

M. Frary

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They do, usually as 4-, 5- or 6-foot trees, super lanky with barely any branching. Prices around 150 CAD, normally. While not super popular as a landscape tree in Québec, it is not rare either.
Don't you have any swamps near You?
That's where to shop for ones with some character.
 

Cosmos

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