American Elm Tree

The great native American Elm Tree (Ulmus americana) is a commanding deciduous tree with a beautiful shape. It's such an impressive shade tree with a strong vase shape, that eventually matures into a lovely, rounded oval crown.

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The American Elm tree is a gorgeous legacy to leave to the future. It's well worth the fight to return to this majestic and useful tree for your community, in the proper areas.

How to Use American Elm Tree in the Landscape

The American Elm was one of the most popular shade trees used in cities and home landscapes throughout America, for over 300 years. This stately, perfectly formed tree has been a picturesque part of the North American landscape.

Can you imagine how many children and grandchildren have played underneath wonderful Elm trees?

American Elm provides ornamental interest for every season. The six-inch deciduous leaves are highly textured and have cute, toothed edges. Their dark green color is a vibrant addition to summer surroundings.

Small reddish-green flowers form in spring, and although you're not likely to notice them, butterflies and other pollinators in your yard certainly will. Invite these "flying flowers" to your yard to add enormous appeal. Birds such as the Baltimore Oriole prefer nesting in American Elm.

The American Elm is best used as a specimen shade tree in large areas. It's wise to plant street trees at least 20 feet apart (measuring from trunk to trunk) to give each root system plenty of room to develop as an individual tree. If you are interested in learning more about large tree root systems, click here for our blog!

In the fall, American Elm changes to a pleasing, mellow yellow shade for autumn. They conveniently drop all their leaves in a short amount of time. This makes for an "easy fall cleanup", which is a nice feature you'll appreciate as you prepare your yard for winter.

This Elm shines, even in winter. Even during the cold season, the dark grey and deeply textured bark of American Elm gives you something interesting to look at in the winter landscape.

#ProPlantTips for Care

American Elms will grow to varied sizes and shapes from vase-shaped to oval canopies. In hotter climates, like Florida, the American Elm grows less than 30 feet tall.

Don't crowd this tree. You should allow plenty of space for the American Elm to receive maximum sunlight and airflow through the canopy.

Though tolerant of short periods of drought once established, the tree prefers good drainage, yet adapts to both dry and wet locations quite well. American Elm is adaptable to many different soil types and climates.

Watch to see if your soil holds puddles after a rain. If it does, plan to create a raised mound 18 inches above the original soil line. You'll plant directly in that mound, which should improve the drainage.

In extreme summer temperature zones, add a thick layer of mulch all around the tree. Don't allow mulch to touch the trunk of the tree. Mulch over the root system will keep things cool when extreme summer temperatures are the norm.

Don't prune your tree from April to August. Instead, wait until the dormant season to do any required pruning.

American Elm are hardy trees that are tolerant of short periods of drought and urban conditions. It won't cost you a lot of time or effort to maintain and will provide many years of shade and beauty for your yard.

American Elm is a native treasure. Order today!