Illustration
European Larch
Larix decidua
Also called common larch and venice turpentine
European Larch is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing European Larch
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 2–6. Expect it to reach about 26 ft tall and 10 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 10 years (checked).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for European Larch. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant European Larch
Plant European Larch in spring once the soil is workable, or by very early fall at the latest: an evergreen needs its roots down well before the ground freezes. In zone 4, the middle of its hardy zones 2 to 6, that is April to June, or July on the fall side.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 4, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 4 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does European Larch get?
26 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult10 ftwideSee European Larch in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant European Larch
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give European Larch about 10 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add European Larch to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
European Larch's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, years to mature size and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on October 19, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources. Bloom was checked as well: European Larch bears no flowers, so there is no bloom window for a source to carry.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and water
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extensionheight, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic Gardenheight, hardiness zones, sun and water
- britishhardwood.co.ukBritish Hardwood Tree Nurseryheight, spread and years to mature size
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight and sun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Explore similar plants
You might also like
Foliage
Foliage
Foliage
Foliage
Foliage
FoliageDesign a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.