Western Larch 



Fall- and spring-planted western larch (fig. 5) survived the first growing season 

 about the same in each of the 3 study years (average fall survival 34 percent, average 

 spring survival 37 percent). In the 1966-67 series, the average survival of spring- 

 planted larch was considerably better than that of fall-planted trees (65 percent com- 

 pared to 24 percent). However, during the second series, trees planted in the spring 

 survived as poorly (28 percent) as those planted in the fall. In the final series, 

 survival of fall-planted larch exceeded that of spring-planted trees (47 percent com- 

 pared to 17 percent) , a margin nearly as great as that in favor of spring planting in 

 the 1966-67 planting series. 



The most outstanding feature of the performance of western larch in these tests 

 has been its exceptionally poor survival when planted prior to mid-October (16 percent) 

 compared to its consistently good survival when planted later in the fall season 

 (74 percent). The best average survival for either fall or spring planting resulted 

 from mid-October plantings. 



Of all species tested, larch was the most sensitive to lateness of spring planting. 

 Except for the 1967 spring planting on the moist site, survival dropped markedly tlirough- 

 out the spring planting season, especially on the dry liabitats. Larch, unlike other 

 species tested, does not store well. It tends to break bud in cold storage. Once the 

 buds break, the foliage becomes chlorotic and a bad mold condition commonly develops. 



As was true of other species, differences in survival between dry and moist sites 

 were not as great for fall planting as for spring planting. This feature of the results 

 was further accented by the extremely poor average survival of spring-planteJ larch in 

 the drier habitat (11 percent). 



15 



