IIRC, think someone here reported Pseudotsuga mn. can cause problems down the road. Apparently, even the Asian Pseudotsuga are graft incompatible with the North American species. OTOH for a skilled grafter with plenty of douglas fir seedlings, it's another 5 minutes of work. No harm in trying?

My repeated attempts to graft Larix mastersiana onto P. sinensis failed, even though a couple were done by a professional nurseryman with a grafting knife, grafting wax, etc. On those, the buds swelled but just as the needles emerged they kind of dried and shriveled. Who knows if it was just a bad graft, poor care on my part, or true incompatibility. Obviously mine not doing well was just the result of my terrible grafting skills!

So you're left with whatever can easily be grown from seed. The paucity of mature, grafted larch specimens in eastern, southern, and (I assume) lower midwestern public collections implies it is often hard to get a durable rootstock. I have earlier mentioned my research finding that, of the various seedling Larix kaempferi planted at a midwestern botanic garden (was it Missouri? Can't even remember now) only the collected-in-Japan ones did well after several years. Further confirming my suspicion that existing western seed stocks are 'inbred' and produce plants with poor resistance to root rot in our climate. Unfortunately, seed collected in Japan seems impossible to source unless you ARE a botanical garden! Anywhere with hot summers, I'd avoid the native larches...though I suppose they grow not TOO far north of you in the upper midwest. My next choice would be L. decidua, and my top choice would be L. kaempferi. Are there native or planted Larix laricina near your location...surviving in moist clay soil? If so, getting seed from those stands might be the best option!

(Actually my real first choice would be L. mastersiana, but good luck with that. Might not be zn 5 hardy anyhow. My attempt to ground layer mine seems to have worked, fingers crossed. That was my only reason to try to graft it, to preserve the clone which seems extremely heat resistant. The I decided to see if it could be layered.)

When they are genetically sound and/or from the hotter parts of the native range, Japanese larch can be very heat resistant. Last time I asked (2014), the ones planted at the University of Alabama back in the 1990s were still doing well.

Thanks for all of your input David.

I might attempt a few grafts on Pseudotsuga, but I have a feeling they need to be on Larix. Funnily, of the 6 doug fir grafts I did last year, they all did the same thing you describe (" On those, the buds swelled but just as the needles emerged they kind of dried and shriveled."). But all of the Abies I did were a success (thus far).

Collecting seed would be a good idea. There are many mature specimens in various cemeteries in the area. Not sure what species they are, I'll have to do some investigating.

I did find some sources for seedlings:

Larix laricina from MI: https://www.coldstreamfarm.net/american-larch-larix-laricina.html

Larix decidua from WI: https://www.chiefrivernursery.com/store/European-Larch-Seedlings.html?category_id=262

I'll probably give one of these a go and hope for the best.

Ryan