Larch, so much to like and not like

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I Love Larch but finding one that does not have a pole straight base with little taper has been nearly impossible for me to find growing in the wild. Interesting in the top half and boring at the bottom.

So I’m going to try to make something of this despite the shaftyness of the lower section because I love the look of Larch and how they develop ramification quickly. I think it can still be a nice and unique tree planted in a unique container one day. Just collected it yesterday. Thoughts? (There are two different trees pictured)9C9BB99F-8864-4E4F-A78C-BF1BC2DBA210.jpegB4D992C7-14EC-415E-BF23-AFB0BB389BD3.jpeg
 

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eron jonson

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That first one looks awesome, it seems to have a steady taper on the trunk line which is always more desireable than a hard chop and rework over years, i dont see many chopped trees that rival what id imagine is seed grown or started from thinn stock
 

PiñonJ

Omono
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Interesting in the top half and boring at the bottom.
The first one looks like it has good potential. If you have easy access to a lot of them, try air layering one. Just find one that has some foliage below the level where you’d layer, to keep the roots happy.
 

Wilson

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Until the day you find a crazy shaped larch, just keep enjoying these ones. I enjoy planting young larch, that way you can shape however you like. In the ground they bulk up pretty fast, and we are building material for the future! Our Ministry of forests gives out larch every spring, so we get freebies to experiment on.
 
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I enjoy planting young larch, that way you can shape however you like
I agree with you completely, I think alot of the best Larch are developed over many years. Kind of thinking of them like a deciduous tree more than a conifer as far as developement. Even Nick Lenz talks about most of his Larch taking 15 or 20 years. Saying that the really old bark on these and the geriatric look of these in my garden (even if they do have a straight trunk) is really enjoyable.

Ill get some more pics...
 

Wilson

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Yup, Lenz was the best example of quality patient bonsai cultivation. I remember first reading his book, and was surprised at the number of years he developed trees. Top notch artist!
 

M. Frary

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I Love Larch but finding one that does not have a pole straight base with little taper has been nearly impossible for me to find growing in the wild. Interesting in the top half and boring at the bottom.

So I’m going to try to make something of this despite the shaftyness of the lower section because I love the look of Larch and how they develop ramification quickly. I think it can still be a nice and unique tree planted in a unique container one day. Just collected it yesterday. Thoughts? (There are two different trees pictured)View attachment 242332View attachment 242333
I walk or drive by literally hundreds without seeing any worth collecting.
On the other hand the best places to look for beat up tamarack are where there has been the activities of man.
Be it clearing powerlines,logging or along ATV trails.
Keep looking. You'll find one.
 

Djtommy

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I walk or drive by literally hundreds without seeing any worth collecting.
On the other hand the best places to look for beat up tamarack are where there has been the activities of man.
Be it clearing powerlines,logging or along ATV trails.
Keep looking. You'll find one.
About how many years would it take from a seedling to develop nice bark?
 

M. Frary

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About how many years would it take from a seedling to develop nice bark?
They get maturish bark fairly early in life.
Maybe under 10?
I see lots of small ones with rough bark but I imagine it depends where they are growing too.
 

JudyB

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Nothing at all wrong with that first one, just give it a lean to the left (first pic as front) when you plant it, and it won't look so straight to you. It's got nice movement and taper after that anyway.
 

Cosmos

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Easy to underestimate the age of those. Bog larches grow in extremely shitty conditions, and so, so slowly. See this blog post on this topic: https://bonsaivl.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/how-old-is-it/

Nick Lenz says that larches take 30 years at least to bark up. From my limited experience, many of the young larches that are grown/trained as pre-bonsai are so well fed and cared for that they stay barkless for a long time, whereas you can find tiny ones with really good bark starting to form in nature.
 

Wilson

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I have two larch that I planted as little seedling plugs in 2010, and their bases are starting to bark up. The largest one has an enormous trunk, really amazing how fast they grow.
 

Ali Raza

Shohin
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Good tree. More branches on it. More the branches, more is the possibilities.
 

zelk

Shohin
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I bought a twig of larch last year at a convention. If it doesn’t die in San Diego from lack of deep dormancy I will be happy. I would love even a crummy straight trunk larch like that down here. Keep looking and I’m sure you will find something!
 

zelk

Shohin
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I agree that the first one doesn’t look too bad really.
 

Ali Raza

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I bought a twig of larch last year at a convention. If it doesn’t die in San Diego from lack of deep dormancy I will be happy. I would love even a crummy straight trunk larch like that down here. Keep looking and I’m sure you will find something!
Larch in USDA 10a hmm well give it a try and then update it. After your success I will give larch a chance.
 
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I bet these Larch are older than I think, they certainly look really old and very “barky”.

Anyway my current thought is maybe long boring straight bases can be fun too..,

Something like this:
750DA011-9DB7-45B6-907F-A0AD9B084B99.jpeg
 
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