Larix kaempferi 'DIANA' Japanese larch

Diana is one of the most eye-catching trees in our garden that customers fall in love with at the first sight. It is a Japanese larch with slightly contorted branches that reveal their orange bark especially in winter months. The deciduous needles are fresh green and soft to touch. In autumn they change to golden yellow. In the spring it makes small, purple-blue flowers that are followed by small, spherical cones in autumn.

The tree is usually densely branched (feathered) from the ground if grown in full sun. Should the branches, however, get in the way with age you can cut them off making it a single trunk plant with a crown above your head. The branches grow almost horizontally at first and as they grow bigger they aim upwards forming a somewhat irregular pyramidal crown with more spike-tops. It grows moderately about 6-8m tall.

Larch hates wet soil. If it dies for no obvious reason it is often due to water-logged soil. Grow it in any well-drained, preferably deep soil in full sun. Fully hardy to min. -34°C (USDA zone 4).

Last update 17-03-2010