December 2004
Japanese Larch or Larix kaempferi

Japanese larch is a soft textured deciduous conifer for northern landscapes. The plants are hardy throughout Ohio, providing bright green foliage in the summer and spectacular gold color as the needles drop in the fall. Japanese Larch produce stalked cones, 1 to 2 inches long with wide scales and a pleasant rosette form. The tree will grow to a height of 50-60 feet and a spread of 25 to 40 feet.

The tree grows rapidly with an open and pyramidal form and slender, pendulous branchlets and can be used in mass to naturalize or as a specimen.

Larch grows best in moist well-drained soils and a sunny location. They are intolerant of shade and alkaline soils. Transplant when dormant or as a container grown plant.

There are several cultivars including the weeping form of Japanese Larch.

The plant has a strong weeping habit that displays soft glaucous needles. These trees are grafted with the height of the graft providing the character of the plant. When grown as a specimen it can have a waterfall like appearance in your landscape.

Randy Zondag, OSU Extension Horticulture Agent, Lake County
Photos Courtesy Bill Hendricks, Klyn Nurseries, Inc., Perry OH