Splendour of larchtrees

I FED the hens, checked on my rather barren looking vegetable garden and wandered on down into my little wood in search of signs of spring.

Winter has been very reluctant to admit defeat this year. There were leaves out on the elders but they looked battered by wind and frost. A hint of green on the hawthorn twigs and swollen green buds on the wild cherries, long catkins on the hazel but the oak, ash and beech were lifeless.

Then, at the end of the wood, I came across two young larch trees I had planted and they were making a brave effort to signal spring was just around the corner. There is no greener green than newly-emerged larch needles.

Larch, which is not native to Ireland, is essentially a tree adapted to grow in the high mountains of Europe, though it is found at lower altitudes on the Polish Plain. This sort of provenance means that it’s not put off by a cold Irish spring. It’s the only deciduous conifer native to Europe and the only one found in Ireland (outside a few specialist collections). It was introduced into this country at an early stage, probably in the 1600s, and rapidly became popular with estate owners for its decorative value, the quality of its timber and the fact that it’s quite fast growing. The reddish timber makes good gates and fences and is much sought after by traditional boat builders.

There are two common species of larch in this country — the European larch and the Japanese larch, which was introduced much later, in the 1860s and ’70s. They are quite similar, though Japanese larch has reddish-orange shoots and those of European larch are straw coloured. Japanese larches tend to have redder bark as well. Both species will produce female cones in the next few weeks which are a quite startling bright pink.

Identification is made more difficult because the two species are quick to hybridise and these hybrids are produced commercially. Japanese larch is resistant to many of the pests and diseases that attack European larch but is rather fussy about soil type and drainage and is less likely to grow straight.

During the last century some larch was planted in State forestry plantations, often mixed with other conifer species. If you look at a mixed plantation on a hillside in summer the larch stands out because it is a much paler shade of green than the other species. But it never really caught on with commercial foresters and its stronghold has always been private estates and large gardens.

It’s certainly not suitable for small gardens because of its size and speed of growth.