VIDEO: Which conifer loses its needles in winter?
Even if conifers are considered to be evergreen plants, there is one whose coniferous dress behaves as if it were one Deciduous tree. The European larch is the only tree that sheds its needles in winter. Unlike pine, fir and spruce, a larch is not suitable as a Christmas tree.
In winter it loses its needles
The European larch, with the Latin name "Larix decidua", belongs to the pine family (Pinaceae). Towards winter, the thin, tufted needles of the larch initially turn golden yellow. Later they change to rust brown.
The tree completely loses its needles in winter. Only the branches with the small groups of cones remain. They are wonderfully suitable for decoration purposes in winter. When nature comes to life again, the larch is also a very pleasant sight: its needles grow back in fresh, light spring green.
Interesting facts about European larch
The European larch is originally native to mountain regions. When hiking in the Alps, you can experience the largest occurrences of this conifer. But there are also larch occurrences in the Carpathian Mountains, the Sudetes, the Tatra Mountains and in Poland. When the larches shine golden on the mountain slopes in autumn, they are a magnificent sight.
As an ornamental tree, the larch has now also established itself in localities. It is often not very popular in inner-city locations, because a dense red-brown carpet of needles forms under the tree in autumn, which has to be removed by the residents.
Do you like going for a walk in the forest with your children? As soon as your offspring have the first ...
| Botanical name | Larix decidua |
| Family / genus | Pine family / Pinaceae |
| Tree species | Conifers |
| maximum height | up to 40 meters |
| Needles | 10 to 60 tufted needle leaves |
| fruit | ovoid to spherical cones |
| bark |
gray-brown to brown cracked |
| Root shape |
Deep roots Plate roots |
| Location | partially shaded to sunny |
| Demands on the soil | humus soils |
| PH value | acidic to alkaline |
| Growth habit | hanging down with old needle bases |
The larch - a relatively undemanding conifer
The larch needs a lot of light and its crown must be able to expand, then it feels good. It is quite undemanding in terms of soil conditions. The larch is often one of the first plants to settle again on its own after a natural disaster.
Of the Conifer can be up to 40 meters high. Its wood has the hardest and heaviest quality of the European coniferous timber. It is often used as construction and furniture wood, for roof structures as well as for hallways and parquet floors, stairs or outdoors.
Advantages of needle loss in winter
Larchs are very suitable as a complement to deciduous trees in mixed forest cultures such as beech, oak and hornbeam forests. They are also planted in the mountain regions as avalanche protection. Because they lose their needles in winter and because of their special wood texture, they offer little resistance to storms and snow. This is a property that makes larch particularly valuable in mountain regions.
The conifer grows quite quickly at a young age. After about 15 years, however, growth slows down, as is usual with pines. A larch tree can live to be 200 to 600 years old and its trunk diameter is around 100 to 200 centimeters.
