October 20, 2000

     Outdoors Journal

Many people plant trees and shrubs in their yards with the thought of extending and intensifying the fall color season.  One such tree that can be planted in our home landscapes is the tamarack, also known as the American larch.

The tamaracks have beautiful smoky-gold foliage now.  Since the tamarack is a deciduous conifer, the leaves (needles) will fall soon, and its branches will be bare until next spring.   The soft, flexible needles, which are bright green in summer, are unique.  They are ½-to 1¼-inches long and grow in clusters of 20 to 40 on wood from previous years or singly on new shoots.

The tamarack is abundant in the coniferous forest region in Minnesota, chiefly in bogs together with black spruce.  Occasionally it is also found in upland areas where it grows larger.  It is also native from Alaska and Canada to Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

The broad, shallow root system is adapted to wet ground, and yet the best growth is in well-drained soils.  The slender, straight tree is seldom more than 50 to 60 feet tall with a trunk about 1½-feet in diameter.  Young trees, and those crowded together, form narrow, conical heads with short horizontal branches; older trees, or those in the open, form broader crowns.