Only one tamarack tree grows within a mile of my home. The dry, alkaline farmland area is not conducive to the moist acidic soil conditions that my reference books say tamaracks need to thrive.
Tamaracks, also called larches, are conifers, meaning they produce cones, but they are unusual in that they lose all of their needles each year. Right now the tamarack that grows at the corner of my road looks like Charlie Brown’s sad dead Christmas tree. In spring, however, the tree will more than compensate for its winter barrenness by producing soft lime-green needles which grow in twirling clusters and give the tree a bright lacy look.
Tamarack cones are small, usually only half an inch long. They mature to a warm brown color and then gradually fade to gray-brown as they cling to their short spur branches for two or three years.
The needles of the tamarack grow to one inch long and become darker green gradually throughout the summer. In late fall, the needles turn a bright golden color before falling off. The best time to spot tamaracks growing in the wild is in fall when they are spectacular against a dark green background of pine and spruce.
This past fall, I was surprised to notice for the first time some tamaracks growing along the Wiouwash Trail. You can see many of them if you drive along County Road JJ east and Princeton and look to the south.
Tamarack is one of the most cold-hardy of any native tree. In fact, its native range extends from northern Newfoundland across James Bay and the central Canadian provinces to the Arctic Circle in central Alaska.
In good growing conditions, tamaracks may grow to 80 feet tall and form trunks one to two feet in diameter. The branches form a pleasing conical shape. They cast a very light shade; thus they can be underplanted with wildflowers and shrubs.
Tamaracks have shallow, compact root systems so nursery-grown specimens can be easily transplanted when dormant. They can also be grown from seed sown in the fall.
The one tamarack in my neighborhood grows in a hot, dry area with no protection from strong winds. It’s been growing there happily for 27 years and doing just fine. Normally I recommend against placing any plant in a spot where conditions point to failure without a lot of extra care. The tamarack, being a native plant, is tough enough that next spring after I place my nursery order, there will be five more tamaracks growing in my neighborhood.
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