Description
Larix – Larch –
There are about 14 species of fast growing, deciduous, monoecious, coniferous trees in this genus. They occur in coniferous forest of cool mountain regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They have attractive young foliage and normally brilliant, yellow to red autumn color. The needle-sdhped leaves are borne in loose spirals on the long shoots, and near whorls on the short shoots. Terminal, erect cylindrical or ovoid to conical, usually purple female cones are borne in spring, and turn woody and brown in the first season, usually persisting on the tree. Male cones are drooping, and spherical to ovoid, and pink or yellow. Larches are useful as specimen trees, and are toelrant of a wide range of conditions.
Grow in any deep, well drained soil in full sun, they resent waterlogged soil.
Prone to caterpillars, saw flies, aphids, needle blight, needle cast, rust larch cankers and larch chermes.
L. potaninii – Chinese Larch – From cool climates of Western China (where it is an important timber tree), this compact Larch releases a height of 60-70′ feet tall. Similar in appearance to the European Larch, it has needle like foliage on rather stout shoots, giving off a strong, distinctive smell when crushed. The seed cones are oblong-ovoid and large for a Larch, about 2″ long, with shiny brown scales that bear long flap-like appendages or bracts. The bark is dark pinkish gray with scaly cracks.
Zones 5-9
