Yamadori hunt, 2020: Larch-a-Palooza

Hack Yeah!

Omono
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Looks like an extremely fun time! Best of luck with the trees and thanks for sharing
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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In North America, the western larch, Larix occidentalis and the subalpine larch, Larix lyallii, are plants of rocky mountainous soils. They require excellent drainage in cultivation. They are not found routinely in standing water. They may come from areas with regular moisture, but they are not "swamp or bog plants". They come from areas where water does not accumulate.

Larix laricina, the eastern larch or tamarack is a inhabitant of wet soils. In the southern part of its range, it is most commonly found in bogs, or along streams, ponds and lakes. In its southern range, it is an indicator of acidic soils. In the northern part of its range, it is more generalized where it occurs, and can be found along roadsides, and scattered through forest openings. In the north it is not restricted to bog soils.

In cultivation Larix laricina needs more moisture. It will tolerate wet soils in winter. The western larch and the subalpine larch need good drainage and can have trouble if kept too wet in winter.
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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thank you, @Leo in N E Illinois, you are a human encyclopedia of horticultural knowledge! I feel like pure pumice will work well for these trees. The soil they were in was super fine and powdery, with a texture like flour, and pretty dry.
 

Woocash

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Nice collection @Atom#28 looks like an amazing trip. Do you know what the rationale is for these two weeks being the only ones available? I mean, as opposed to two weeks in spring, for example. Do they propose late summer/early autumn is best for transplanting?
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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Nice collection @Atom#28 looks like an amazing trip. Do you know what the rationale is for these two weeks being the only ones available? I mean, as opposed to two weeks in spring, for example. Do they propose late summer/early autumn is best for transplanting?

I don’t know if there is any actual scientific/horticultural reasoning behind their choice of collection times. It weirdly coincides with hunting season.
 

Flowerhouse

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I don’t know if there is any actual scientific/horticultural reasoning behind their choice of collection times. It weirdly coincides with hunting season.
Yeah, hunting season would not by my choice of when to get out there. I hope you wore lots of orange, made plenty of noise.
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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Yeah, hunting season would not by my choice of when to get out there. I hope you wore lots of orange, made plenty of noise.

I was very loud and very orange! Also had a can of bear spray, reliable sidearm, and loud classic rock on my Bluetooth speaker :)
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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Hi. How is your trees doing. All survived??
Yes! And “Sort of”.....I will post pics soon. Two are growing well and two are struggling to leaf out, but they all survived the winter.
 

August44

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"Struggling to leaf out" is not a good sign from my experience with collecting Larch. They struggle for quite a while and then die. Disappointing! Not sure what one could do to help them out during this time.
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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"Struggling to leaf out" is not a good sign from my experience with collecting Larch. They struggle for quite a while and then die. Disappointing! Not sure what one could do to help them out during this time.
Yeah, I have a feeling they’re not destined for greatness in this life. They’re in a safe spot and getting sun / water / oxygen. Most importantly I’m following the sage advice of @M. Frary , possibly the best bonsai advice I have ever gotten: “Stop screwing with it!”.
 

August44

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When you collected them, can you remember the differences in the root systems of each...I mean, are the ones doing well, did they have more finer roots or what. Tough to remember I know.
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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When you collected them, can you remember the differences in the root systems of each...I mean, are the ones doing well, did they have more finer roots or what. Tough to remember I know.
In this case, they were all in a dry, powdery forest floor that basically crumbled away as I tried to make a manageable root ball. I worked SO hard to retain fine roots. The biggest difference right now is the containers into which they were planted. All four got the same pumice and sphagnum substrate, same aftercare, same sun/water conditions. One is in a 3 gallon nursery pot (he’s struggling), one is in a pond basket (struggling), another is in an identical pond basket and thriving, and one is in a homemade wood grow box (doing really well). I’ll get pics up soon, for these and a bunch of my other stuff; life is just super frickin busy right now!
 

Jorgens86

Mame
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Not lot of trees have foliage. Will be hard to survive but hope all will be fine
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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If anyone has any advice on saving these guys, let me know!
 
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