Chinese Elm By Larry Figart

First, a little history lesson. The American Elm, Ulmus the landscape even when the foliage is not present. americana, was at one time the dominant street tree in the United States. In 1928 Asian elm beetles The tree has small inconspicu- escaped into the U.S. from a shipment of logs bound ous light green flowers that for Chicago to be used to make furniture. The beetles bloom in the late summer to carried with them a fungus that causes Dutch Elm early fall. The fruit is a small flat disease. The disease rapidly spread throughout the samara that drops from the tree N.E. United States wiping out in the fall, but causes little litter entire neighborhoods of Amer- problems. ican Elm in the process. The tree has been described as What does all this have to do an excellent, tough durable tree. with Chinese Elms? As our However, recent research by native elms are dying off, a Dr. Mary Duryea of the Univer- ‘Bosque’ Lacebark Elm resistant replacement is being sity of Florida suggests that this sought. Chinese elms have tree may not be very wind toler- been around for a long ant. This tree withstands urban conditions and will do time, but they are now getting fine in residential yards, as well as, larger parking lot a lot of new attention. islands. Lacebark Elm Bark Chinese elms are native to China, Korea, and Japan. The Chinese elm is naturally variable in form so sev- They were introduced in the U.S. in the mid 1800’s eral cultivars have been selected for form, size and and are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease. cold hardiness. Some of the more common cultivars are as follows: Chinese elms Ulmus parvifolia are also called lace- ‘Drake’- upright branch- bark elms after their flaky attractive bark. Chinese es, small dark leaves, elm should not be confused with Siberian elm, Ulmus that hold long into the pumila. Siberian elms were also thought to be a re- fall. placement for American elms, but have proved to be ‘Allee’- Upright branch- very undesirable because they are short lived, brittle, ing, drought tolerant, and somewhat invasive. and modest fall color. ‘Bosque’ - One central Chinese elms are deciduous for the most part. Their leader with strong branch structure is very typical of elms. It is upright ascending scaffold limbs arching over into a rounded canopy. branches with a pyrami- Chinese elm will not get to dal shape, excellent heat the size of the American tolerance. elm. According to Dr. Ed ‘Everclear’- This lace- ‘Everclear’ Lacebark Elm Gilman from the University bark elm is reportedly a of Florida, “ It can reach 80 quick grower. It is feet in height, but it is more designed for street scapes in urban areas. often seen at 40 to 50 feet”. Many nurserymen and landscape architects believe The most distinguishing fea- that the use of this tree will increase as more selec- ture of Chinese elm is its tions become available. The downside to this is that bark. The bark is naturally it may become as overused as the American Elm was flaky revealing inner bark 60 years ago. A healthy urban forest needs to include that can be a range of grey, a mix of many species and cultivars. The good news ‘Allee’ Lacebark Elm green, orange and brown. is that we still have some room for this tree. This adds winter interest to