Trunk chop a larch?

Bald cypress can be trunk chopped. Larch, like bald cypress is also a deciduous conifer. I have seen larch specifically Larix laricina budding from old wood trunks in parks as in the picture below. Did anyone ever try to trunk chop a larch?

I trunk chopped a nursery stock American Larch last fall as recommended by Nick Lenz’s book. I think its a success, the buds on the lower branches look healthy and ready to grow this season.

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Fantastic! Do you have a picture?


It’s not much yet, but I’m just gonna let it grow now for a few years, I’ll probably throw it in the ground when it thaws too. Sorry for the poor pic, it’s at the bottom of my overwintering setup.


Here’s what Nick Lenz says about trunk chopping larch in his book ‘Bonsai from the wild’. Hopefully I don’t get sued for posting that haha.

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Rafi I collect dozens every year late winter and chopping is no problem. I do some chops in field and prepare trees for future collecting.
image image

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@NolanAker @GarryFrey, yes that could be done for sure, hacking back to an existing branch with buds. My question is more like chopping to leave a stump with no branches at all in it and expect dormant buds to develop in the spring push out of the bare trunk like you can on a deciduous tree.

I have hundreds at my disposal, I have no doubt that you could chop one to a stump and get bud push they are one of most vigorous trees I dig.
I will chop a few stylish stumps and let you know as we come into spring later this month.

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@GarryFrey - my parents live in Pennsylvania. What types of areas would one find ‘hundreds’ of larches? Obviously not trying to take your spot, but trying to understand where they grow like this in quantity and for collecting.

Hi Eric, I mid counties of PA where they stripped mined years ago they replanted with Larch, those mature stands are huge now however anywhere near them when ground is open and/or disrupted the larches naturally reseed themselves. beauty of it is the deer and elk do a great job of prepping them for yamadori with natural broken tops and trunk scars and because they typically grow in shale they are a breeze to collect and have great fine root systems that have a very high survival rate if collected at or just before bud break. IE: This Weekend :slight_smile:

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Would love to see some pictures of the collecting grounds you go to and what you collected. Please post or PM me. My parents live in Lancaster. My grandparents live in Wilkesbarre which is certainly a mining area. My brother hunts, I wonder if he knows of place to go.

Hey, I believe larch are usually found in more marshy settings.

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@GarryFrey, you say you collect dozens every year. Forgive me if this is common knowledge, but do you sell any of this material? I would love to have a local source for larch. I plan to collect some myself, but it’s also good to know yamadori sources.


This is one of the few pictures I have representing the replanted strip mine areas.

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I do sell quite a few of what I collect, some after keeping a few years, others as collected that need boxed up in pumice right away.

@GarryFrey, OK thanks. I’d be curious to see if you have a website where I can see some photos and prices. Not sure about conducting business via the forum, so feel free to send me a private message if need be. Thanks