We have a lot of tamarack (larch) swamps in our area. The needles do turn a beautiful golden yellow before the needles drop off. Ours here in Zone 3 are just turning,so maybe it is a little early for yours to turn color. They are beautiful. I used to have one in my yard, but we had a very bad drought one year and it died. They need lots of moisture during the summer, as they normally grow in wet, swampy areas.

Virginia, Thank you for your info. They are finally turning a beautiful gold color now, and should be spectacular in a few days!

Both kinds turn yellow, relatively similar colors, though the European may be a bit more gold and the eastern a bit more yellow. My impression, confirmed by Dirr, is that the needles on the European are longer than on the eastern, and the cones on the eastern are about 1/2 the size of the European.