Common Name: English
Elm
Scientific Name: Ulmus procera
Feature Tree: November 2001
English Elm
(click here for Tree of the Month archives)
Common Name: English
Elm
Scientific Name: Ulmus
procera
Family: Ulmaceae
This Tree in Colorado:
Like American elm, English elm is a tree that
continues to grace the streets and avenues of our cities and towns. Its
characteristic formal oval-shaped crown and dark green foliage make it one of
the finest street trees around. Dutch elm disease does infect this tree.
However, good sanitation practices now make it worth attempting to grow this elm
once again in our parks and along our streets.
Native Range and Habit: Large,
introduced shade tree with tall, straight trunk and dense, broad,
rounded-to-oval crown. Branches are spreading to nearly upright. Native to
England and W. Europe. Widely planted since colonial times and escaping in
northeastern and Pacific states. Prefers moist soil locations, however hardy and
tolerant of city smoke.
Hardiness:
A wide range of soil
and temperature tolerance.
Fruit:
½” long; rounded flat greenish
samaras, hairless, with one seed near narrow notch at tip; maturing in spring.
Leaves:
Deciduous, 2 to 3-¼ long, 1-¼ to
2 inches wide. Broadly elliptical, abruptly long-pointed at tip; base with very
unequal sides; doubly saw-toothed. Dark green and sandpapery rough above, paler
and covered with soft hairs beneath; remains green late, turning yellow and
shedding in late autumn.
Flowers: 1/8” wide; dark red; clustered
along twigs in early spring.
Bark:
Bark gray; deeply furrowed into
rectangular plates. Twigs brown, slender, densely covered with hairs when
young; sometimes with corky wings.
Information Sources:
Little, Elbert; The Audubon
Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook No. 212; ‘Sixty Trees from Foreign Lands.’
CTC, ‘American Elm - Feature Tree,’ August 2000.
When the warm days of the Colorado winter is upon us, water your trees deeply and slowly. We lose a high percentage of newly planted and mature trees due to drought because we do not water when the air temperatures are above forty degrees. If you have newly-planted trees, water the rootball area first and then the treewell, or the mulched area. If you have mature trees spend the time watering the entire canopied area, but you should pay special attention to the area around the dripline. If you have immediate runoff, turn down the pressure on the hose, or come back to that area later. A good soaking is what you are striving for to help retain moisture in the ground. If one waters their trees once a month during the warm days of winter, they will see amazing results.
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