Reducing needle size, improving color and branch ramification in Larix laricina.

[owen4251]

Vance Wood,


I read your article on American Larch on the MABA website and found it enlightening. You opened my eyes as to why I cannot get the beautiful blue green color that I've seen in larch growing in the Maine wilderness and why the needles are long and droopy. I have a 7 larch group planting and one larch in the ground that I am trying to develop a refined nebari via the tourniquet method.
The larch in the ground (growing in the typical loam, clay of New Jersey soils) has the needle properties I desire, but the ones in the group planting do not.

May I please ask several questions regarding your article in general:

With your 1/2 sharp coarse sand/ 1/2 regular bonsai mixture, how do you ensure adequate drainage with such small particles in your medium?
Do you provide full sun or part shade?
When you say you just "pull" the apical buds as opposed to "pinching" them - what exactly do you mean?
To "energy balance" you mention removing stronger buds to strengthen the weaker. Do you randomly "pull" or "pinch" buds regardless of their location on the branch or like in pines do you focus more on buds further out on the branch being less aggressive as you move your way into the inner buds? I will patiently wait for your response.


Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Owen NJ Zone 6

[Vance Wood]

Originally Posted by owen4251

Vance Wood,


I read your article on American Larch on the MABA website and found it enlightening. You opened my eyes as to why I cannot get the beautiful blue green color that I've seen in larch growing in the Maine wilderness and why the needles are long and droopy. I have a 7 larch group planting and one larch in the ground that I am trying to develop a refined nebari via the tourniquet method.
The larch in the ground (growing in the typical loam, clay of New Jersey soils) has the needle properties I desire, but the ones in the group planting do not.

May I please ask several questions regarding your article in general:

With your 1/2 sharp coarse sand/ 1/2 regular bonsai mixture, how do you ensure adequate drainage with such small particles in your medium?
Do you provide full sun or part shade?
When you say you just "pull" the apical buds as opposed to "pinching" them - what exactly do you mean?
To "energy balance" you mention removing stronger buds to strengthen the weaker. Do you randomly "pull" or "pinch" buds regardless of their location on the branch or like in pines do you focus more on buds further out on the branch being less aggressive as you move your way into the inner buds? I will patiently wait for your response.


Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Owen NJ Zone 6

Coarse sand is not a problem, #3 or #2 swimming pool filter sand or sand blasting sand, it drains well. I grow in full sun. I pinch evenly as the tree grows. when the growth starts to look like a little paint brush I pull it from the tip of the new shoot supporting some of the needles at the base. I also tend to prune out excess growth from the more vigorous areas and don't touch the weaker portions until they start to produce the kind of growth that I was seeing in the more vigorous portions of the tree earlier in the year. One thing about Larch; you have to keep up this process all year long till needle drop.

The Larch that I have had since 1981 was harvested from an old sand bar in the middle of a river.