I have several Tamaracks , Larix laricina 'Tamarack , which I
collected several years ago. I have read several articles on caring for
them and I am confused.

I would like to know when, how and how much to pinch them back, like
how many new leaves should I leave on each whorl ? Should I continue
to pinch back the new shoots all year or do they need to grow some
before winter ? For the most part I do not want them to get much bigger.

Also I have read one should wire before the buds open up in the spring,
and another article stated by wiring then you could damage the cambium
and kill that branch. Confused.


Bob Seele
Nicely outside of Chicago

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Robert Seele wrote:

I would like to know when, how and how much to pinch them back, like
how many new leaves should I leave on each whorl ?

Hi, Bob. You have asked some interesting questions. Here is what I do and would
recommend. Bear in mind also that I'm talking about a healthy bonsai. Starting in
the spring, prune the upper third, especially the crown, of your larches
vigorously. By that I mean using scissors to thin out buds. Lower or weak branches
are pruned less vigorously or not at all (the weak branches). This approach,
combined with follow-up pinching, results in balancing the energy level and foliage
mass of your tree.

As the tree continues to grow elongations will develop. If they are not needed for
design purposes or strengthening an area on the tree, they should be pinched using
the ancient thumb and finger technique. ;-) If some of the shoots have hardened to
the point where pinching by hand can't be done, just use scissors. As to how far
back you should pinch the shoots, well, that is up to you. You can take off the
whole shoot or a portion of it; it won't hurt the tree. But keep in mind design,
etc., etc.

About removing needles in a whorl: I have never done that in the sense that you
mean, although I have seen one tree where it _appeared_ the owner had done exactly
that. The tree looked quite nice, very airy and neat. I have also heard, or at
least heard the question once asked, about defoliating larches. This I have never
done or seen and I don't remember the answer to the question. Sorry. However,
removing needles from whorls does not seem to do any harm. I, and others, regularly
remove downward growing needles or unusually long needles growing upwards, when we
clean a tree for shows or important visitors, such as Reiner. ;-) Keep in mind,
though, if you don't remove the whole needle the tip of the remainig portion will
turn brown.

Should I continue to pinch back the new shoots all year or do they need to grow some

before winter ? For the most part I do not want them to get much bigger.

Again, if you don't need the shoots for design, remove them. So, yes, you can pinch
them throughout the year. In my view they don't need to grow for the tree to winter
better. ( We, in Toronto, have our last exhibit in October, and as larches generally
turn gold in November, we don't very often get a chance to display them in their
fall colour. As a result, I don't worry one way or another about fall extensions.
However, some of us tend to photograph our larch bonsai when they have turned, and
then the extensions are taken off.) In summary, I have not noticed any difference
in the spring in the health of larches that were wintered with extensions and those
that were pruned.

Also I have read one should wire before the buds open up in the spring,
and another article stated by wiring then you could damage the cambium
and kill that branch. Confused.

OK, speaking for myself, I wire larches when they are actively growing. That's a
pretty ambiguous statement, I know. But remember, the buds on larches go through
several stages in coming out of dormancy. First the buds start to swell slightly and
get shiny. The next step is they turn a bit waxy pale (like a ripe pimple -
yuck!). Next, the buds will show green through the waxy film, and finally the
foliage will emerge and it looks like tiny shaving brushes. In my view, you can wire
larches at any point during this process.

The interpretation you should give to "wire before buds open" is that the tree is
actively growing as I described above. For example, I like to wire before the
foliage has burst through because that way I don't have to worry too much about
damaging the needles. If I knock off a bud or two accidentally, it is no big deal
because there are oodles of them and more will grow during the year.

The "wire before buds open" idea should not be confused with wiring when the tree is
dormant. When Reiner and I were younger we were very eager to get at our trees in
the spring. Working on larches was hard to resist. They are a real pleasure to
prune and wire! We found that some branches and branchlets did suffer from this
activity. In some cases the damage was quite severe. But it was not the act of
wiring that caused the damage, it was the bending and other manipulations to which
the branches were subjected once the wire had been applied. I think I can speak for
Reiner here when I say that, since we held off wiring until the buds were at one of
the stages described above, spring branch damage has rarely been attributable to
wiring.

I hope this helps a bit, Bob. Enjoy your larches. By the way, how large are your
larches?


John Biel
Toronto ON Canada

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