Japanese Larch Tree Seeds (Larix kaempferi)

The conifer that turns gold. The only deciduous pine you will ever need.

Larix kaempferi, the Japanese Larch, is one of the most unusual and visually spectacular conifers available to temperate growers, a needle-bearing tree that behaves like a deciduous hardwood, dropping all its needles every fall in a stunning display of gold and amber before standing bare through winter and emerging in the softest, brightest spring green of any conifer in the landscape. It is fast-growing, cold-hardy, adaptable to a wide range of soils, and one of the most prized species in traditional bonsai cultivation worldwide. Native to the mountains of central Japan, it has been planted across Europe and North America for timber, landscape use, and bonsai practice for over a century. If you are looking to buy Japanese Larch seeds or grow larch from seed, this is the tree that surprises everyone who sees it change.

• The only commonly planted deciduous conifer with both spring and fall visual interest
• Brilliant gold and amber fall color before needles drop, followed by bare sculptural winter form
• Soft, bright spring green needles in tufted rosettes, completely distinctive among conifers
• One of the most important and widely used species in traditional Japanese and European bonsai
• Fast-growing and cold-hardy, tolerating a wide range of soils and climates

Things you probably did not know about the Japanese Larch

It was introduced to Britain in 1861 and transformed the British forestry industry. Japanese Larch was brought to Britain as an ornamental specimen tree but was quickly recognized as a superior timber producer, growing faster and more disease-resistant than the European Larch it replaced. Within decades it became one of the most planted timber trees in Britain. Hybrids between Japanese and European Larch, called Dunkeld Larch, are now among the most important commercial forestry trees in northern Europe.

Bonsai masters consider it the most forgiving larch for beginners. Unlike many conifers that respond poorly to aggressive pruning, Japanese Larch tolerates dramatic cutting back and responds with dense, fine branching that develops quickly into convincing aged forms. It is one of the few species that beginners can work on aggressively without killing, which is why it appears in virtually every serious bonsai collection and school.

The bare winter silhouette reveals structure that no other tree shows. When Japanese Larch drops its needles, the fine, delicate branching structure of the tree becomes fully visible in a way that no evergreen conifer ever reveals. The combination of spreading branch architecture and reddish-orange twig color creates a winter display that is arguably as beautiful as the fall gold.

It hybridizes naturally when planted near European Larch. Wherever Japanese and European Larch grow in proximity, natural hybrids called Dunkeld Larch appear and typically outgrow both parents in a phenomenon called hybrid vigor. The Dunkeld Larch is one of the most vigorous and disease-resistant larches in cultivation as a result.

Growing Details

• Botanical Name: Larix kaempferi
• Stratification: Required, 30 to 60 days cold stratification
• USDA Zones: 4 to 7
• Soil: Well-drained, moist, slightly acidic, tolerates a range of soil types
• Light: Full sun
• Height: 70 to 100 feet in native conditions, typically 50 to 70 feet in cultivation
• Spread: 25 to 40 feet
• Growth Rate: Fast, 2 to 3 feet per year when young

Plant it where you will see it from inside in November when everything else is bare and it is standing in gold. That is the moment this tree was made for.