The tree does best in rich well drained soils where it can grow as much as five feet (1.5m) per year. The long, soft needles are light green in colour and sensuous to the touch during the growing season and turn a spectacular orange yellow in the fall. The needles contain tannic acid and therefore the needle litter beneath the tree eliminates all other vegetation, giving the shelterbelt a clean tidy look, and prevents it from being a source of weeds seeds in the adjacent fields.

The deep root system, pyramidal shape and the rapid growth, make the Siberian Larch a particularly good shelter belt tree especially when planted to the south of a line of darker trees such as white spruce of balsam fir.