Few remember the days of stately boulevards and tree-lined streets, shading your drive throughout US residential areas. Majestic trees along both sides, their limbs arching up and over the road to touch in the middle.
These trees included many varieties, but most were the great American Elm Trees. There was a time when Elm trees lined America's streets by the thousands, even earning the name 'Elm Street' as the most popular street name in the US.
These were also the days before the Elm population was nearly wiped out by a fungus that became known as Dutch Elm disease in the early 1900s.
Well, now you can bring back the same look and feel without heartbreak by planting new and improved Elm trees that are geared for modern city streets and urban conditions!
In 1765 the Sons of Liberty used the famed "Liberty Tree" as the rallying place to protest the much hated Stamp Act. That tree was an American Elm!
In 1826 President John Quincy Adams planted a tree at the White House to honor Thomas Jefferson. That tree was the American Elm!
Long-lived, fast-growing, featuring tough durable limbs and straight sturdy trunks that cast cooling shade, the Elm Tree is a fan-favorite because of its small leaves, bird-friendly seeds, glowing golden fall color, and mighty vase-shaped form!
Because of their brawny trunks with gray bark, and upright, arching branches with wide "u"-shaped crotches, Elm makes a commanding presence in the landscape.
The toothy foliage is small and a snap to clean up (a stiff breeze will take care of fallen foliage for you!), and will cool your world without completely shading out your lawn! The disc-shaped seeds that form also pretty much take care of themselves without becoming a nuisance; adding a touch of movement and texture to the late summer canopy.
Finches, Chickadees, Sparrows, and Grosbeaks fill up on these seeds to fatten up for the winter. Besides being very bird-friendly, Elms are host plants that feed up to 171 different species of Lepidoptera caterpillars, further giving your songbirds desperate to feed hungry chicks plenty to choose from!
Prominently used as excellent lawn specimens, lasting legacy trees that have grown for decades, and ideal shade trees, you’ll cool your home and seating areas, boost curb appeal, and add an instant park-like feel to your landscape with one or more Elms around your property!
Check out our favorite new and improved Elm Trees that we’re sure you’ll love to include in your landscape today!
Top 10 New & Improved Elm Tree Varieties!
Nearly getting wiped out native American Elms, Dutch Elm disease ravaged the country but defiant and naturally resistant American Elms emerged, new modern hybrids were developed, and different cultivars that were resistant to DED and other Elm problems were discovered! Allowing us a chance at reclaiming the legacy these keystone species once displayed as they dominated the American countryside.
Improved for disease resistance, modernized for urban city conditions and modern lots, and increased pest resistance, hardiness, and adaptability, these new Elms are aimed to please!
New Harmony American Elm Tree
Large and wide-spreading at maturity, the huge New Harmony American Elm carries on the great American tradition of Elms in our cities and gardens, but it is super resistant to the strains of disease and fungus that have decimated Elms in the past century.
Lacebark Elm Tree
With its lovely, intricately patterned bark and attractive canopy, the Lacebark Elm Tree makes a wonderful lawn and front yard specimen tree. It's best known for the patterned brown-gray bark that gives a lot of visual interest all year long. Known as "exfoliating", the mottled bark grows in a very distinctive way, exposing different layers. You may see green and orange in the layers. The popularity of this Elm variety has continued to grow since the 1970s because of its rugged and high resistance to Dutch Elm disease. It can tolerate a wide variety of soils and is tolerant of periodic drought!
Jefferson American Elm Tree
The Jefferson American Elm Tree was cloned from an impervious American Elm specimen found standing proudly on the Washington Mall. Rest assured with this carefully selected naturally disease-resistant variety!
Princeton American Elm
Just like the Jefferson American Elm, the Princeton Elm was noticed by a nurseryman who saw one single street in Princeton, NJ that was still lined with towering, magnificent Elm trees! They were completely unaffected by the blight from the '30s. These 75-year-old American natives were standing strong! Plus, Princeton demonstrates resistance to Elm Leaf Beetles.
Regal Elm Tree
The Regal Elm is an improved hybrid between a Smooth Leaf Elm and the Dutch Elm, resulting in an Elm that is considered highly resistant to Dutch Elm disease and Verticillium Wilt. Plus this variety is heat and cold-hardy, pest-resistant, and tolerates pollution. Additionally, Regal becomes adaptable to alkaline soil, and draining clay soil, and becomes tolerant of dry sites, occasional drought, occasional flooding, and road salt!
Frontier Elm Tree
Add a cutting-edge hybrid that's disease-resistant, the Frontier Elm tree is prized for its shade, shape, and saturated fall foliage that breaks the mold and goes burgundy-red and purple for the autumn! We are thrilled to offer this disease and pest-resistant selection from the U.S. National Arboretum! Featuring a compact pyramidal, upright form, Frontier Elm fits in tighter places than other varieties.
It's been field-tested to resist Dutch Elm Disease, Elm Yellows, and Elm Beetle!
Drake Chinese Elm Tree
If you are in the warmer USDA growing zones of 6 to 9, the Drake Chinese Elm Tree is a great option when you want the look of a northern deciduous tree that can take the heat! These trees can even remain semi-to-fully evergreen in frost-free winters! Drake is also one of the smaller Elm trees available!
In cooler climates, the leaves turn gorgeous shades of yellow, red, or purple in the fall. In the warmer growing zones, this typically deciduous tree can be evergreen! In cooler climates where the foliage drops, you will enjoy the mottled multi-colored bark for the winter. This type of Lacebark Elm exfoliates into gray, green, orange, and brown tones.
Chinese Elms are tough, fast-growing, adaptable, tolerant of urban air and soils, and resistant to Dutch Elm disease.
Accolade™ Elm Tree
A Chicagoland Grows® selection, the Accolade™ Elm Tree was developed in partnership between the famed Morton Arboretum at the Chicago Botanic Garden and a network of plant nurseries in Illinois. Their goal was to find disease-resistant alternatives that brought back the spectacular Elm tree to American landscapes. Their efforts paid off because Accolade™ Elm demonstrated very good resistance to Dutch Elm disease and Elm Leaf Beetle. It grows fast, especially as a young tree.
Valley Forge American Elm Tree
An improved American Elm variety, Valley Forge can carry your landscape design as a single tree with meaningful resilience and prosperity. With excellent disease resistance, this variety was cultivated to have superior resistance to Dutch Elm disease. This is a strong, strapping tree for landscapers who want to make a statement.
New Horizon Elm
The New Horizon Elm is a hybrid between Japanese and Siberian Elm trees. In addition to the usual qualities of the Elm (vase-shaped canopy, golden yellow fall color, gray bark, and deep green foliage) it is also highly resistant to Dutch Elm disease, Leaf Miners & Verticillium Wilt!
Caring For Your Elm Tree
Elm Trees need full sun, however, some can handle partial shade, at least until they outlive and outgrow their neighbors and then bask in the full sun. These deciduous trees prefer average well-drained soils but are tolerant of a wide range of soil types.
Water new Elm trees regularly using the Finger Test so they don’t dry out. But once they are settled and ready to grow, many Elms are also drought-resistant once established. Elms (like all plants) do best with 3-4 inches of mulch around their entire root system to support their growth, hold in moisture more consistently, enrich the soil, and insulate the surface feeder roots.
Prune young trees to correct growth and remove winter dieback in the late winter or very early spring. But otherwise, Elms are very low-maintenance trees!
Keep in mind that planting an Elm tree too near your sidewalks and other paved areas can lead to cracks and lifted concrete. So choose your location wisely and give their roots some elbow room.
Enjoy A New American Tradition!
The American Elm was one of the most popular shade and street trees used in cities and home landscapes throughout America for over 300 years! Now you can recreate a picturesque part of the North American landscape by including one of these improved and resistant ornamental trees in your yard!
The Elm tree is a gorgeous legacy to leave to the future! It's well worth the effort to return this majestic keystone species to your community!
Check out all the Elm Trees available at Nature Hills and start growing one in your landscape today!
Happy Planting!
