Larch in need

hummerlite

About 3 week ago I repoted my larch in teragreen and trimed the roots.
It had some bud burst. All the open buds wilted, so I kept it out of the sun for about a week. Now some new buds are opening but they wilt after they start to open.
It is in sun now.
Any help would be grateful.

Thanks

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Emperor Fish

My guess is that you re-potted the larch too late in the season. Re-potting a larch after the buds have even split, yet alone opened, is usually a death sentence.

Hope it pulls through.

Regards,

Fish.

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Lesley

I did the same thing, with the same result about 8 weeks ago.This is the second time in my bonsai life! I thought that I was ok because the buds were just swelling with a little green showing?! I'm very sad! I would like to have a larch in my collection some day. The trunk bark is still green but all other growth has stopped! In my gut I don't think it will make it!


I think you have to catch this one the end of Jan in my time zone because we have mild winters and early spring!?

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Aaron_K

Hi Hummerlite,


I agree with Fish here. It sounds like you repotted the tree a little too late. Personally, I don't think it was the repot itself that has caused the problem, as I repotted a few of my Japanese larch two weeks ago into some better draining soil from the swamp they were in, and they are fine.

However, I did not prune the roots, which I think is the contributing factor to the current state of yours. If the tree has not been irreparably harmed, then it is more than likely in shock. If you have a greenhouse, I'd suggest keeping it inside for a while, as this may help the regeneration of the roots.

I see you are zone 5, but I don't know what the night time temperatures are like where you are at the moment. If they are still dropping down to near freezing and you don't have a greenhouse, bringing the tree inside the house and placing it in a cool room till morning each night might prove useful, as your tree could be putting out new roots, only to have them damaged by the cold if ice crystals form. Here in the UK the night temp is dropping to 4c tonight and we are zone 7-8.

That's the only thing I can suggest that might aid its recovery. Keep the soil moist at all times, and allow the pot to get direct sunlight, to help encourage some sub soil activity. Protect from the cold for a few weeks until the warmer weather is finally here proper.

Hope it pulls through. Give the above a try and let us know how you get on.

All the best,

Aaron

Will_Heath

Don't panic.

I have repotted American larches (Tamaracks) thoughout the year, before and after bud break, sometimes they respond well and others, well you know.

I have collected larches up until July and also repotted up until August in zone 5 without many deaths. This being said, always try and repot when the buds are bronze and before you can see any green. They do always respond better at this time.

Don't give up and do not over care for them with water or food, just treat them as normal, larches can and do rebud most times.

Next time forget the 100% Terragreen and use a courser mix. I use 2 parts aged pine bark, 1 part lava rock, and 1 part turface for my larches, they respond well to it.

Will