Larix - Hackmatack, Larch, Tamarack

(Lar'ix)

DESCRIPTION: Larix, also known as the Larch, Tamarack or Hackmatack, is a coniferous (cone-bearing) tree, which lose their needles in autumn. The Larches grow in northern regions, or at high altitudes in the mountainous parts of temperate countries. They are found throughout central Europe, the Himalayas, China, Korea, Japan, Siberia and North America. They are very beautiful in the spring with their light green, young leaves and female flowers, which are usually pink. The needles are pretty soft, slender and flexible and grow from ¾ to 1¼ inches long. They turn golden in the autumn. They grow singly around the terminal shoots, leaders and branches and in rosettes on the side growths. The side shoots grow very slowly, a fraction of an inch per year, but the fresh annual growth at the ends of the branches may grow 2 feet and the leading or central shoot may grow 4 feet or more. The Larches can grow up to 150 feet high. The Larches wood is very strong, hard and durable in contact with soil and water and has been used for making posts and small boats. Tamarack turpentine was once used by the early settlers to take the ache out of wounds.

POTTING: Larches can grow on almost any soil where there is good drainage, except for the American Larch, L. laricina. This tree needs boggy, swampy soil. Pruning consists of maintaining a neat appearance by removing old branches and making sure that only one leader stem grows.

PROPAGATION: Except for the few hybrids, propagation is accomplished by seeds. Seedlings usually pop up about 6 weeks after planting, therefore time them so that they won't appear until after danger from frost has passed. They should be planted on moist, but well-drained soil; don’t plant your seeds on ground that is liable to flood. Before planting, mix the seeds with red lead. Sow them thinly and cover with a ¼-inch of coarse sand. Protect your seedlings from late frosts and shelter them from very harsh sun. Seeds of rare kinds should be sown in flats or pots in a frame. The few named varieties are grafted on stocks of their respective types, previously established in pots.

VARIETIES: L. laricina (American Larch, Tamarack or Hackmatack); L. occidentalis (Western Larch); L. decidua (European Larch) & var. pendula, pyramidalis; L. leptolepis (Japanese Larch); L. Potaninii (Chinese Larch); L. Gmelinii (Dahurian Larch) & var. japonica, Kurile Larch, Principis-Rupprechtii (Prince Rupert Larch).

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