Pruning larch

[woodlander]

Reading Esmond Harris he says "be carefull not to break twigs out of the bark when pruning larch " but I can remember the old woodsmen banging off dead larch branches with a pick axe handle (very satisfying )any views before I 'set about' the rest of them .

[carlight]

how big are these larch ?

( ans what species ?! - fc / phytofera and all that )

[woodlander]

They are Hybrid Larch planted about 20 years ago with Sitka ,Cherry and Ash 25 foot plus high the lower branches are in the shade and have no needles ,they look healthy and don't show any sign of disease. Do you think there is any benefit to takeing the lower branches off all of them?,I am currently just clearing racks for thinning.

[carlight]

if you've got the time , it's hugely beneficial to remove these dead limbs . Not so much for the tree's benefit ,but for ease of surveying and future marking up . Would consider whether one is creating access for deer to get to one's cherries (!).

I'lld be concerned about the pick axe handle method . probably better to use a small bow saw or silky or top-handled saw .

good luck with your rackways .

[Stephen1]

Hi Woodlander

It's very important not to knock the side branches off if you have European Larch. Knocking the branches of creates a lot of damaged exposed phloem which is a potential site for infection by European Larch canker (Lachnellula willkommii - might be not be spelt/spelled (tricky english language!) correctly).

Japanese larch is pretty much immune to infection.

True F1 Hybrid Larch is also effectively immune to this canker. F1 hybrid larch is produced when one parent is Japanese larch and the other is European larch. As technically hybrid larch merely implies mixed parentage you have to be careful. Many nurseries would collect seed from stands of hybrid larch and sell this as hybrid larch. The problem is that some of this "F2 generation" of seed will have more genetic material from either japanese or european origin - and consequently some will be susceptible to Larch canker. If you want me to explain that in detail let me know - otherwise I shall avoid boring you! In essence the F1 generation is very consistent with all individuals having one set of chromosomes of European origin and one of Japanese. If these F1 hybrids are crossed you get a bell shapped distribution in terms of percentage of genetic material of european/japanese origin in the offspring.

If you know your planted hybrid larch came from a very reputable source then I would bash on and knock branches off, unless you know there is a high Heterobasidion annosum risk in the area. If you have any doubts about the quality of the planted hybrid larch in terms of whether it is a true F1 hybrid then I would prune rather than break the branches off.

F1 hybrid larch can usually be recognised by how consistent and similar all the individuals are. Assuming your soil isn't patchy in terms of quality, if all your larch are about the same height after 20 years they probably are F1. Although this might be difficult for you if the mix of trees you have means some have been more heavily side shaded by your sitka. The other way is to see how regular the curl at the tips of the cones is.

The recent developments with larch and phytophthora would put me off taking the time to prune larch. I expect larch is going to be hit pretty hard. It's true that it has only be confirmed on japanese larch so far- but the mechanisms of attack by phytophtora would suggest it will be every bit as pathogenic on european and hybrid larch. Once again demonstrating the benefits of planting mixtures.

[woodlander]

No problem with Deer here Carlight just plenty of squirrels .

Thanks for the information Stephen did'nt know there were 2 types of hybrid larch but they were supplied by Maelor forest Nurseries in Whitchurch Shropshire who seem to have a good reputation .They don't seem very even in size but as you say the Sitkas are getting the better of some of them and the land is variable .You seem rather pessimistic about the outcome for larch as I am currently marking the trees to come out on the second thinning I need to take a view on this , I am favouring hardwoods first but then larch over Sitka and Scots pine I also have some douglas which are struggling and grand firs which are romping away sounds as if I should put larch bottom of the pile you think?