Larch, (Larix decidua and Larix kaempferi)

block and mixed planting of larch near Mt Hutt, doing well in the higher rainfall of the foothills

The nursery has a few European larch (Larix decidua) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) available, however once they are gone, they will not be replaced unless requested.

A young European larch in a forest setting.

European larch have butter yellow autumn foliage, straw coloured shoots and upright cylindrical cones.  Japanese larch, L. kaempferi, have orange-yellow autumn foliage, reddish-orange shoots and cones that are more like a dried flower.  Larch make attractive specimen trees or on larger sites go well as either solid blocks or in mixture with evergreen trees.  European and Japanese larch can also be planted in planned mixtures to contrast their autumn and winter colours with each other.  The difference is subtle but can be very effective.

European larch, L. decidua, has cylindrical cones and straw shoots

Japanese larch, L. kaempferi have cones and reddish orange shoots

To be honest growing larch was a mistake.  There’s a reason we don’t see larch in Canterbury except in the mountains and foothills like Hanmer and Mt Hutt.  It’s just too dry in late summer, when larch just can’t help themselves but put on a growth spurt at the driest time.  That soft tender growth leads to dessication particularly if there is a few days of nor-west.  So while they’ll grow in a south facing area with reasonable rainfall Culverden, Cheviot, Hawarden, Waipara, Amberley, Rangiora and Loburn are not good places for larch.  Even Oxford is marginal,  however if you have a sheltered site where the soil will have some moisture through summer then they can be a rewarding tree, with their vibrant spring foliage, colourful cones and bright autumn colour.  Larch are adapted to snow, but struggle with the nor-wester which puts most larch on a lean at some time in their lives resulting in the ‘J’ shaped base that we see on many of Canterbury’s larch trees.  I like that effect in an ornamental tree, it provides character and interest, for a perfectly straight conical tree, dawn redwood (deciduous), coast redwood or giant sequioa would be better options.

We’ve also found that they don’t like these waterlogged soils in winter, where prolonged wet periods result in anaerobic conditions in the ground.  That makes it tough, winters too wet, summers too dry, they really do need a special site.

That special site would be sheltered from the nor-wester, have relatively deep soil and either be raised or have sufficient slope that excess rain water would quickly drain.  In our own planting Japanese larch, Larix kaempferi, seem to have fared better with most of the European larch having died out over time.

As I said at the beginning, we won’t be replacing the few trees left once they are gone but if you want to do a group planting we’d be happy to help you source young trees at a reasonable price.