Burl on my Larch

Hi all.

This is concerning a large japanese larch I've had for 2 and a half years. It has a large burl on one side of the trunk. Everything Ive read claims they are not harmful and it has not grown in size since I've owned this tree. Some I'm sure will say it ruins taper and such, but I really like the look of it. Many mature trees in the forests where I grew up had varying sizes of burls. I think it adds age and interest to what would be a rather boring trunk.
I'm just curious what folks here think. Has anyone heard if they are harmful? If it does start to spread, does anyone know how to control it? Or would you just remove it now and create some kind of deadwood feature?




Close up



back of tree

I like the burl, keep it as is. You seem to have nice mature bark on the trunk, that is a major plus, as time is the only way to get this. Don't damage or knock off the old bark when handling the tree. Nice. Since you have said the burl has not grown, what ever caused it, is no longer an active problem.

Of course, without seeing the whole tree, I can't say how it fits with the overall design, but if it were my tree, I would design the rest of the tree to complement the excellent trunk and burl, rather than the reverse.

Nice

Heres a pic of the whole tree. It does have very nice mature bark. Its approx. 40 years old, imported to Canada about 9 years ago. Its very bushy and unkempt at the moment. It was left to grow on its own for many years and many branches had become very long and thick. I've cut back many of these branches to bring the foliage in closer to the trunk, and am just letting it grow out this year to establish some good primary and secondary branches. I'm still undecided of what to do with the apex. Going by the 'rules' the tree should probably be shortened but I personally like it tall. The apex is kind of a mess right now and either way needs to be regrown.

Leo Schordje wrote:I like the burl, keep it as is. You seem to have nice mature bark on the trunk, that is a major plus, as time is the only way to get this. Don't damage or knock off the old bark when handling the tree. Nice. Since you have said the burl has not grown, what ever caused it, is no longer an active problem.

Of course, without seeing the whole tree, I can't say how it fits with the overall design, but if it were my tree, I would design the rest of the tree to complement the excellent trunk and burl, rather than the reverse.

Nice

I agree completely with Leo.