Seeking source of unstaked Larix 'Pendula'

9 years ago

I am trying to find a nursery source for a smaller-sized mail order ship-able unstaked or low-staked (~ 1 ft max) Larix 'Pendula' - either L.decidua or L. kaempferi - although my preference would be the European rather than the Japanese cv.

Every nursery / garden center I speak to in my area that has either of these weeping Larch forms only seem to carry taller specimens that are staked up at least a couple of feet.

I know there's some avid Larix-ophiles on this site - can anyone help me out ? Thanks !
Peter in Wisconsin

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Comments (8)

unprofessional
9 years ago
Call Gee Farms.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
for what purpose ....????

buy a cheap mail order band pot... read that YOUNG graft ...

and cut off the leader.. ipso presto ... no need for a stake ... one foot tall ...

i grew my one footer to about 10 feet.. then it died back to one foot ... ibso presto.. a one footer ... wait.. i couldnt figure out how to stake it any higher.. so off with its head .... or it would have fallen down ....

decidua and kaempheri are extremely mixed up in the trade... frankly.. only two guys know how to tell them apart.. so i dont know why you would have a preference .... something about pink in the new shoots for two hours on a certain day.. depending on the phase of the moon ... that sort of thing.. lol ..

in other words.. you can get what you want.. but not under the words you are asking for it ... no grower grows them flat on the ground.. as they would need acres and acres of growing space.. hence the staking ...

what you want is a young plant.. to train the way you prefer ....

good luck

ken
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Michael, I think it is good that you are firm in stating what you want in terms of the bed, since it would not achieve anyone's objectives to pretend otherwise. It is also nice that you are responding to the feedback you're getting as that allows people to refine their advice. But I have a sense that you are in a bit of a decision-making limbo, though, and I think three things are holding you back. One is an apparent lack of local nurseries that offer you really good variety. Sourcing what you want is an art in itself, and it can be easier to just cruise all your nurseries and choose from what they have rather than choosing from the entire wealth of the plant kingdom as presented by the internet. On the other hand, there are some great mail-order nurseries, and if you do have wishes that can't be met locally, you should feel free to take advantage of them. But you can't beat local nursery visits for getting to know plants up close and personal, and learning what is likely to work well in your area. Another is that you keep being attracted to plants that just aren't suitable for the spot, such as those umbrella-looking trees (probably weeping birches, cherries, or similar) which are indeed nice but in this spot will be one of those mistakes that you will regret in a few years. I think this reflects that your objectives for the space are not quite clear enough yet - focus on what overall plant shape you want first and foremost, and what constraints really matter (eg you can push the boundaries on height, but not on width). Or it could mean that you're readier to work on the property as a whole than you think! It is generally advisable to have an overall plan before making big decisions, but as long as this spot will remain in about the same amount of sun it now has, you can go ahead and make a decision for it. Maybe it would be good to keep a list of the other plants that are appealing to you for the later design process. Finally, I think you are making the stakes pretty high by feeling you have to make the right decision that will work for all time. With plants, all decisions are reversible, and there is nothing wrong with working with a temporary timeline. That's one reason I always buy my plants small and let them grow, since I don't want a $200 investment that I will be hesitant to change my mind about (not to mention that plants have been known to die!!!). So let yourself pick something you like that might grow too tall, or even too wide for that matter, since you can always take it out, move it, and try something different. You might be ready for a change in ten years anyway. I've linked below to a nursery that has an amazing website, offering several view for each plant and which is very easy to navigate (go to the plants section, obviously). It is apparently a wholesale nursery ($3500 minimum order!) so you might not order from them (maybe your local nursery would...) but the site might facilitate your decision-making. They do have a good picture of the purple fountain beech, among others. Also check through their selection of Japanese maples whether they have any nice upright-growing varieties. KarinL Here is a link that might be useful: awesome website of wholesale (?) tree nursery
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Interesting, davidrt28. If you don't mind saying so, whereabouts are you located? My marschlinsii are planted in sandy loam which, as far as I've been able to discern, drains quite well, even though the field in question does slope down to a wetland area, and at least some of these larch are near that portion of the site. I'm inclined to think that for conifers generally, the land I happen to have purchased is exceedingly well-suited. Your comments regarding the current status of crosses leading to the Dunkeld-type trees pretty much mirrors one I've had with the guy up in Minnesota who, so far as I'm aware, is the only source for L. marschklinsii. In fact, he was going to cancel it off his list when seed availability became an issue, going so far as to inquire as to the sexual maturity of my trees. BTW, some cones are happening already. In any case, I'd asked him pretty much the very question as to whether the plants he was offering were really true Dunkeld larch, being several generations away from the initial cross. He took it pretty much in stride that these plants, even though now distant from that F1 generation, were still the genuine article. I like them but I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. Leastways for now, they continue to put on magnificent growth increments each year. My one caveat with these trees-they seem to have some trunk strength issues when very young. A freakish wind set up out of the north a couple years ago which managed to permanently bend some of these guys, including two or three which are now supine groundcover larch! But in the main, truly exceptional trees by my reckoning. A little aside: I wouldn't be terribly upset if at some point, my marschlinsii's were to cross with the nearby tamaracks in my woods. I don't know enough about synchronicity of flowering between the two, to know if this is even possible, but I find such thoughts intriguing, if a little opposed to the all-natives bible. +oM
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Panoply1
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks "unprofessional" - I called Gee Farms in Mich. The L. 'Pendula' they buy from another grower for resale are staked to 3 ft.; although they have a couple in-house grafts which are 18" / #3 cont. - a good lead, thanks - I'm still shopping tho .....

Hi Ken - thanks for the note - My purpose is a rock garden wall location for it to sprawl over & about the large boulders and weep over the wall edge - I'd rather have it creeping horizontally in a low profile against the glacial rocks than standing up and weeping vertically.

What do you mean by a "band pot" - something like a grafted liner ? The reason I was expressing a pref for a weeping european vs a japanese cv was just an intuitive hunch about their respective hardiness for my Wisconsin location.
I may indeed end up with an " ipso presto" decapitation technique like you so aptly describe if I end up with something taller than I want - thanks for that suggestion.
While I understand why growers may want to stake weepers to get more pots / area; I think providing them as horizontal sprawlers as well as vertical weepers would ring up sales as well !
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
9 years ago
Any reason to limit it to Larix? Have you considered other hardy prostrate conifers? Similar texture would be Tsuga canadensis 'Cappy's Choice'

tj
whaas_5a
9 years ago
Western Evergreen will have one for you if you can go with Larix kaempferi 'Stiff Weeping'. Likely a 15" plant in a 1 gallon pot.

Won't break the bank here either.
basic
9 years ago
I like that Tsuga, Tusajunkie. It resembles the dog that won at Westminster....makes for a nice pet.
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
9 years ago
And just think, basic, it leaves no land mines in the lawn.

tj
Panoply1
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks TJ tsugajunkie & whaas for the advice - I'll check out Western Evergreen;

TJ Good suggestion on the hemlock - I do also have a passion for the hemlocks' fine textures and gush of new green needles in the spring against their dark mature foliage; however, I already have a 'Kelsey's' Weeping Hemlock in this raised garden bed nearby - its another higher staked (@~3 ft in height) hulking form (along with a Picea abies 'Pendula') giving some backdrop to this plant & rock composition; - the unstaked / lower staked Weeping Larix I am seeking is to be more upfront and lower in stature in this boulder field.
Thanks All for your kind help !!! Peter in Wisconsin

Seeking source of unstaked Larix 'Pendula'

Comments (8)

unprofessional

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Seeking source of unstaked Larix 'Pendula'

Comments (8)

unprofessional

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Panoply1Original Author

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