Ed Remarola in his blog on The Amazing World of Conifers tells this story.  You have heard the term “Naked as a Jay-Bird”.  Because of his love for the conifers, and especially those that lose their leaves in fall, he uses the term “Naked as a Conifer”. That nakedness is just a part of what the Psuedolarix Amabilis is about and makes it so appealing.

Did Pseudolarix Amabilis get your attention?  We are speaking of the Golden Larch, an unusual deciduous conifer whose needle-like, bright green foliage turns golden yellow in the fall and whose leaves, much like a gingko, seem to fall all at once. The tree gets its name from the autumn golden colored foliage. Native to coastal mountain areas in southeastern China, golden larch closely resembles the true larches (genus Larix).  The tree enjoys filtered sunlight and moist but not soggy planting medium and grows well in Zones 4-7.

These trees can be developed into great bonsai specimens and can take a variety of forms.  The most common form I have seen is the informal style with a gentle movement in the main trunk and in the primary and secondary branches. Some, who were fortunate enough to obtain these trees when they were very young, have made them into groves.  I was one of those and have had the grove for many years now and have been very pleased with its appearance. 

Several years ago, Brussel looked at the grove and recommended that I adjust the heights of the trees.  All my trees, whether with larger or smaller trunks, were of the same height.  I should have known better but had been satisfied with a second-class grove.  After the suggestion, the larger trees were permitted to put on extra height and the grove looked better. BUT, I was not happy with the tree distribution. 

The grove had been started on a fairly small slab so the trees were clustered and the soil and root masses were rounded. The trees needed to be redistributed using a Brussel-John Naka type distribution. I dreaded doing that for fear that in taking the entire grove apart, I might unwillingly kill one or more of the trees. I decided to do it since I was not pleased with the way the grove looked. The trees were removed, separated and replanted. 

All was going well till I came out to water my trees late one morning and noticed that one tree had been uprooted and almost pulled out of the pot.  Do not know how long it had been that way since I had not visited the trees the day before. I put the tree back in position, once again anchored the tree and hoped. My hoping did not suffice.  The tree eventually died.  Now I find myself one tree short of an odd numbered tree grove. I do have one other golden larch that I can use but it is too large to place on the outside edge to replace the one that expired.  I would have to take the whole grove apart late next winter and then plant that single tree into the grove.

Nothing like starting from scratch and then sweating it out hoping that all the trees will survive. I would merely add a fairly small golden larch if small ones are available. I finally located a small tree and ordered it.  It should arrive this week and hopefully it will fill the bill. Won’t know till it arrives.

I have a fairly large golden larch that I received at a workshop at Brussel’s.  The workshop was conducted by Kathy Shaner.  It now has a gentle movement in its trunk and short branches with movement to add interest and keep them close to the trunk. It sits in a semi-shade location and seems to be thriving.

If you have not seen the Golden Larch that Darryl has, you have missed a delightful looking semi-cascade bonsai.  I covet it and have told Darryl that if it is missing some day, he will know where to find it.  It would be sitting proudly in my bonsai plant area.  The moral of that story is that one is not limited in what one can do with the Golden Larch.  They can be styled in numerous ways.  I enjoy trees that give you flexibility and which are so pleasant to have as part of your collection.

I have wanted to get a European Larch or perhaps a number of them. I finally located a website and ordered two young seedlings.  They are now in pots of regular garden soil mix and will stay that way till they get some substantial growth. .  Did come across seeds for Japanese Larch, Larix kaempferi and ordered them. There was a special, two packets for the price of one.  How can you pass up a bargain like that?  Anyway, I soaked the seeds for 24 hours and then placed the seeds in a plastic bag that then went into the refrigerator where it remained for one month.  After that, I planted the seeds and hoped the seeds would sprout.  I know it was not the right time of the year but I did it anyway. Six small seedlings are the result of that planting. Have saved the second package of seeds for planting in late winter or early spring and have asked Jim Drier to plant them.  Jim has good luck in getting seeds to sprout. There are about 20-25 seeds per packet; so, with any luck, there may be an abundance of trees.   Won’t complain about that.  One can sell or swap them for other plants that others just cannot live without.

Bonsai is wonderful hobby that can be made even a greater experience by experimenting.  Guess I am just the experimenting type. Come join the fun.