What to Do about Larch Branch

[pbrown00]

In the beginning of the season, this branch put out some needles, but the growth was very weak. The branch has been progressively getting worse, and this is what it now looks like. Is there any chance the branch is still alive closer to the trunk? What should I do about it?

 

[coh]

It's probably gone. Scratch the bark on the branch near the trunk and see if there's any living tissue under there. But I don't see any evidence of healthy buds in those dried up tufts so you probably lost it.

Edit to add - sometimes dormant buds at the base of the branch will activate in cases like this, which might give you a chance to regrow a branch there.

 

[leatherback]

The branch looks dried out. Did you make the large cut in the branch this winter?

 

[pbrown00]

I didn't make any cuts, but the previous owner did. I just checked; the whole branch is dead. If I cut it off, would it heal over eventually or kill more of the trunk?

 

[leatherback]

A healthy larch very easily covers cuts like these. You ccan vasiline to cover the cut, which aids in closing over it.

 

[M. Frary]

Or leave a stub for a jin.

 

[Lazylightningny]

Or leave a stub for a jin.

it's hard to see from the photos, but a jin might balance out the branch opposite it.

 

[pbrown00]

I think this tree has enough jin, but I'll take it into consideration. I don't own any branch cutters at the moment, so I might need to get some if I decide to cut it off (can I safely and neatly cut it off without a pair of branch cutters?)

 

[Yosemite Goat]

In nature, larch are often tall skinny trees. If larch have good sun and the correct ground moisture the branches fill out for a number of years. Then at a certain maturity (might be height induced?), typically only the top 1/3 of the tree holds branches.

 

[coh]

How about showing us the whole tree?!

 

[pbrown00]

I'll get a pic as soon as I can!

 

[CasAH]

In nature, larch are often tall skinny trees. If larch have good sun and the correct ground moisture the branches fill out for a number of years. Then at a certain maturity (might be height induced?), typically only the top 1/3 of the tree holds branches.

Here is a larch along a boardwalk with the growth you are describing.

 

[pbrown00]

Yeah, my larch is indeed a tall and skinny tree.