tamaracks, larches

Any good sources (growers) for purchasing these trees here in the USA?

The problem with larches is that the only ones really good for bonsai are collected. You can probably get a larch at a landscape nursery, but it would be boring.
I could tell you where to get a larch around here, but I am not familiar with the Chicago area. Inquire at the nearest bonsai club, and call the Chicago Botanic Garden. They may know who collects larches in your area.
There is a larch collector who is selling the Finger Lakes hybrid larch on eBay, but these are probably small specimens.
A worthy collected larch would be expensive to ship.
Iris

PS. The first thing you have to know about larches is that there is a very narrow window when you can repot. You can only pot between the time the buds turn shiny and when you see the very first tiny hint of green. Otherwise the tree will drop dead. Maybe the big experts have more leeway, but that's the rule for us amateurs.
Iris

I repotted my larch last fall so I guess I'm still waiting for it to drop dead. if you cruise around on Ebay there is a fella who sells them, I think he's priced a bit high myself. This is a different seller from the one Iris mentions.
-Jay

How much time do you have? Our club bought some 2 year old bare root Japanese larch seedlings (L. kaempferi) 6 years ago. One of the members kept his in pots and and will show it at our summer show this year. I planted some in the ground and gave them some movement. I lifted the best one last year with a 2" trunk and established it in a grow box. It will go into a bonsai pot in a year or two and be worthy of a club show at that time. The one kept in a pot is start to develop some character, although not as much as a 50 year old collected larch. My point is that larch will grow fairly quickly and if you give them some movement when they are easily bent that you can have a decent tree fairly quickly - far more quickly than a pine for instance.

Actually i just remembered, Michael Levin at Bonsai West has some NICE collected Larch on the website for sale, you'll have to take out a second mortgage, but they are very nice trees I'm sure.

http://www.bonsaiwest.com/index.php/bonsaiwest/store
-Jay

The price of the ones I have in the ground just doubled! I believe you could create something similar to the ones at Bonsai West in around 10 years or less from seedlings. The bark will not be as old, but the basic structure will be there and the bark will develop in a few years.

as above - they are very quick to grow and you could form more compact trees with better branch placement in 4 or 5 years in the ground followed by a few years refining in a pot. Lots of collected trees are too tall and thin, then look quite false and predicatable with a chop and new leader wired up.

Plant seedlings in a bed of well draining soil on a slate or tile and you'll be amazed at the trunk base when you dig it up to look

cheers Marcus

I am also from the Chicago area and BC Bonsai has quite a few. They are field grown, I'm not sure if they have any potted currently or if they are all still in the field, but worst case you could wait until next spring and go dig one yourself for a very reasonable price. Let me know if you want their contact info, as their website is horribly outdated.

Todd

P.S. Are you a member of the Midwest Bonsai Association?

DreadyKGB - Yes I am a member of MWBS and I know about BC Bonsai. Thanks, much.

Bob