Here, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the morphology and growth kinetics of para-sexiphenyl layers deposited by hot wall epitaxy on crystalline KCl(001) substrates. It is shown that the growth process is quite complex and can be divided preliminarily into two steps. The initial growth stage is characterized by the formation of long needlelike crystallites built of "lying" molecules and oriented mainly into the < 110 > directions in accordance with the substrate's fourfold symmetry. If the. coverage increases, terraced crystalline mounds composed of monolayers of upright standing molecules start to develop between the needles. The mound formation is due to repeated two-dimensional nucleation of para-sexiphenyl molecules. By means of phase imaging in the AFM tapping mode, it could be further demonstrated that both needlelike crystallites and flat terraced mounds grow directly on the substrate surface, i.e., there is no wetting layer formed during the deposition of para-sexiphenyl on KCl(001). (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.