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| I'm thinking of planting a couple of the DED-resistant American Elms. The "big three" are Princeton, New Harmony, and Valley Forge from what I've read. Here's what I *think* I know, but can any of you who have one give me a bit more info? To me, the "Princeton" has by FAR the best youthful form, much fuller and lusher and not in need of much pruning. It's mature form is certainly vase shaped, but a bit "wider" and more spreading than the prototypical American Elm. Almost more "umbrella" than vase. If I recall correctly, the cultivar was selected for these reasons 90 years ago, before DED even existed in North America. I seem to remember reading it also resists Elm Yellows, which few U. americana cultivars can boast. Valley Forge has the best DED resistance, but seems typically susceptible to Elm Yellows. It's much less attractive and disciplined in youth, but, if pruned correctly, seems to have the best mature form, more upright and "classic", but it doesn't get there on its own. Some people have said they actually have to stake the leader straight until about 15 feet or so, then you can limb it up and let it go. New Harmony seems to be somewhat less DED resistant (not sure about Elm Yellows) but still sufficient for most uses. It needs less pruning than VF. I've seen the pics of the "original" New Harmony, and it looks nice enough, but other specimens I've seen seem to have TOO strong a central leader, making it not quite as likely to form the classic elm shape without some training. I remember hearing that the original New Harmony tree is in Ohio, but I don't know where. What experiences have you had, and, is Elm Yellows a big problem in Central Ohio? If Elm Yellows is a big issue, then which of the hybrids have the best "American-like" form that grow LARGE? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Elm yellows killed my Valley Forge. It was 20' tall & in fine shape, then died in a mere month. Nearby Siberian elms infected it, so if there are any of those near you... Slippery elms presumably could transmit it too. So it depends on your particular site. The only elm I can grow here is Chinese elm. |
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| Thanks, beng. I'll have to see if EY is prevalent around here. Another question - Many times, I'll drive down a street and see ONE solitary mature Amer. elm, healthy as can be, still living, while all the others around it (aside from some juveniles that pop up) have perished. Are these occasional mature elms possibly resistant to DED or just lucky? And is anyone researching this for other possible cultivars? |
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- Posted by alexander3 6 Pennsylvania (My Page) on Fri, Dec 7, 12 at 19:54
| I have 1 'Valley Forge' and 1 'Princeton'. I used to have another VF, but it refused to establish a dominant central leader. I staked the leader, and it was a slow growing wispy thing. Meanwhile, the side branches were as thick as the trunk. I cut the big side branches off one by one, and eventually it broke in a wind storm. They are propagated by cuttings, and this one never grew like a tree. Developmentally it behaved as a branch. The Valley Forge I still have was quite a pain to train as well, but it eventually started acting like a tree. You may have been reading some of my old posts. I wound up staking it to itself, so to speak. The leader grew quite fast, but very floppy, so I would tie a long stake to the highest portion of the trunk that was rigid, and tie the leader to the top of that. IOW, the bottom of the stake was several feet off the ground. It's about 35' tall now. It makes a lot of branches, and lots of tight crotches. Not unusual for elms, time will tell if they are a problem. My Princeton grew straight up from the start, I think I had it staked for the first season, but not to get the leader to be straight, just to keep the tree upright until the roots grew into the soil a bit. It also makes tight crotch angles. It's younger than the VF ( it's the replacement for the VF that broke) and it's an ugly duckling still. |
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| Tight crotch angles is one thing w/elms you don't have to worry about -- the wood won't split. Same with osage orange. |
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| "Tight crotch angles is one thing w/elms you don't have to worry about -- the wood won't split." Tell that to a bad ice storm. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sat, Dec 8, 12 at 23:24
| While it's true that any tree could potentially be damaged by the right weather conditions, I think Beng is saying that elms are relatively stable even given their propensity towards narrow crotch angels, to which I'd agree. But again, the right combination of snow, ice or wind could do in most anything. The other thing with most elms-and I'm pretty sure most in this thread already know this-is that the young tree form often barely hints at the grandeur it is capable of. Even straight Am. elms, pretty much my and everyone else's standard for good elm growth form, can often be straggly in youth. +oM |
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| Ruffles, I've seen ice-storm results on many trees, including Amer elm. They resist it more than almost any other tree -- bend mightly, but not break (this is not true for Siberian elms -- they break). The other point was that Amer elm naturally forms tight crotch angles. You can't "force" it not to have any w/o mutilating it. |
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| I've seen it too. Siberian Elm is way worse, but I can't agree that they "resist it more than almost any other tree." They probably resist it more than any other tree with multiple V notches, and it is impressive just how much they can bend without splitting. That being said, I love American Elm. It's one of my favorite trees. We don't have ice storms where I live now, so that isn't an issue anyway. I am curious as to how they do in hurricane winds. It is not unusual to have wind over 100 mph in my location. I have two Princeton's about 3 feet tall. |
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- Posted by jocelynpei 10 (My Page) on Mon, Dec 10, 12 at 13:43
| The property that used to be my Grandfather's place has some 100 year old plus elms, all americanas. We are in the Gulf of St Lawrence, so get LOTS of wind and freezing rain. They have stood up well. Some have died of the DED, but two are thought to be resistant. Since the current owner is injecting them with fungicide and has used Dutch trig, it's not known for sure if they are resistant, but their buddies started dying off fast and these two appeared to wall off small amounts in the crown. I have some of their seedlings, but suspect they are pollinated by their non resistant buddies that survive with treatments. A kind soul on this board has sent me seeds from his resistant trees, and two have made strong seedlings. It will be fun to plant them next to the Elmwood 18 seedlings and see what pops out. I still have my grandfather's woods, and there are elms there, so I am hoping to introgress resistance genes into the population in the woods. I haven't actually seen a Valley Forge, only its seedlings, so can't comment. |
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| Check out the Jefferson Elm (Ulmus americana 'Jefferson'), available from botanyshop.com |
Here is a link that might be useful: http://botanyshop.com
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| I have given up on these. In the last 10 years I have planted 5, four different "clones," with only one surviving now after 3 years. It may be the "yellows" that got them. Siberian elms are all over the place here, and are an obnixious invasive. BUT, BUT, BUT, on the adjacent farm there is an American elm about 40 years old. All the other native ones around here died, maybe the last ones about 10 years ago, but this one is as healthy as can be. Could it be resistant to both DED and the yellows?? It is growing on a very wet, but not stagnant site. Could that help its disease resistance? It is a nice tree but is relatively low spreading, so it doesn't have the the tall vase-shape that I love so much. I absolutely love American elms, but...., reluctantly, I have said "goodbye." --Spruce |
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