# Western Larch (Larix occidentalis)

> Western larch, Larix occidentalis: a large tree of 50 feet where planted, for zones 4 to 8, how fast it grows, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/western-larch/

![A western larch twig with soft tufts of bright green needles and two small red young cones](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/western-larch-1000.jpg?v=69f49eb3 "Western larch foliage and young cones in Idaho. Unlike most conifers, it drops its needles every fall.")
*Photo: Chris Schnepf, University of Idaho, [CC BY 3.0 us](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/deed.en) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALarix_occidentalis_youngcones.jpg))*

Large tree, 50 feet where planted, zones 4 to 8; full sun; average or wet ground.

We do not grow western larch, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Western Larch |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Mountain larch, Montana larch, western tamarack |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 50 where planted; up to 213 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 15 |
| Zones | 4 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, winter interest |
| Pollen | April to June |
| Fruit | Cones, August to October |
| First crop | About 25 years (occasionally from 8; heavy crops from 40 to 50) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. Each tree carries both male and female cones and the wind carries the pollen, and in larches self-pollination is one cause of empty seed. |
| Lifespan | Can live 920 years, and the oldest dated one reached 824. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, rich moist slopes, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 4 states |

Western larch is native in 4 states: [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR) and [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and the Fire Effects Information System. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in [Utah](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=UT) and [Wyoming](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WY), where it is naturalized, not native.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=western-larch&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the planting-window tool
- [When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=western-larch): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=western-larch:2): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=western-larch): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Balsam Poplar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/balsam-poplar/index.html.md) (*Populus balsamifera*): large tree, 30 to 100 feet, zones 2 to 5. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): medium tree, 35 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 8. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Bur Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bur-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus macrocarpa*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Black Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus serotina*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares rich moist slopes in the wild.
- [Every companion of western larch in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=western-larch)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, the Gymnosperm Database and Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research.