Yes they are very fast growing. They are nice trees really. The fall color is pretty good and the bark is attractive. The only reason I wouldn't plant one here is they are invasive in this area so you might check on that first.

A lot of places are recommending Lacebark Elm except for old cotton farms for root rot problems. I only came up with one reference to lacebark elm's invasive. Nothing official.

Then again, more and more people are staying away from chinese pistache (female) because of its invasive nature even though it is on Texas Super Star list (only 4 trees on it)...

Yeah I know. It's also like the GA EPPC saying not to plant bermudagrass and the UGA recommending and encouraging it's continued use. Nobody's on the same page.

It's one of those things where you can just ask around and someone will know what and where and if. And if it's not, go for it. It's hard to find all those same offerings in a midsize tree.

I spent much of yesterday digging up ulmus parvifolia seedlings from an arboretum's "natural" meadow area. Trust me, they have the potential to be VERY invasive, whether or not they've made any official invasive list(s).

A web search of the latin name (ulmus parvifolia) along with the word "invasive' will turn up a good deal of information. I bet the number of hits will increase exponentially in the next couple of years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Invasive