Hi,
A very interesting thread.
The problem is that different species of larch seem to respond differently to grafting of backbudding, even if they look a lot alike. So everyone holds a bit of truth about "the Larch"
- European x Japanese Larch do NOT back bud - I've been growing them for 35 years and it's never happened to any of mine. Larch specialists have confirmed this to me.
It's true that none of my Dunkeld larch has ever backbudded. Even the one I had planted in the garden, then uprooted didn't backbud. I had left a few fine twigs, but even where there were no apprent buds, the stubs I had just dried out:
March 2008:
June 2013 (about 1.60 metres, 5 feet+). You can see a dead stub at the base of the tree, on the right:
I've never ever heard of them responding to grafting of any kind.
I've tried it twice: on a small one, and it worked, except that I worked too soon on the grafted part. I had severed the lowest part of the branch (from the same tree), the graft was in full swing but when I wired it, the scar split and the graft died.
The other one is still waiting: this time, I drew a tiny brass screw (the kind some use for boat models) so I wouldn't have the same problem again.
So I think that thread grafting on Larix x eurolepis (Larix x marschlinsii, "Dunkeld larch", the best suited for my environment) is possible, but the chances of success are more difficult, and much lower than for other species.
The problem is, how to recognize a larch from a horse-chestnut?....
