Common Name: Frontier
Elm
Scientific Name: Ulmus x Frontier
Feature Tree: February 2002
Frontier Elm
(click here for Tree of the Month archives)
Common Name: Frontier
Elm
Scientific Name: Ulmus
x Frontier
Family: Ulmaceae
This Tree in Colorado:
(Note: this tree is currently being evaluated by the CTC's "Select
Tree Evaluation Program", or STEP). 'Frontier'
blazes a trail for elms in the urban landscape. Frontier Elm was
hybridized in 1971 by the USDA research station in Delaware, OH. In field
evaluations, it has not flowered so it may be sterile. Frontier Elm is reported
to be tolerant to Elm yellows and DED but has shown some Elm leaf beetle damage.
The leaves are small and turn a nice red-purple in the fall. The form is upright
and works well as a street tree. As is true of the genus, Ulmus Frontier Elm is
highly soil adjustable.
Growth Rate, Form and Size: Small
to intermediate sized, single trunked, upright-pyramidal deciduous tree.
Symmetrical shape. Faster growing than male parent, U. parvifolia. 25
feet tall and 15 foot crown spread at 19 years under sod culture.
Zones: U.S.D.A. Zones 5 - 8
Signifigance: 'Frontier' represents the first commercial release of an elm cultivar with spring-flowering (U. carpinifolia) and fall-flowering species (U. parvifolia) as parents. A small to intermediate sized tree with unusual red-purple fall color, this hybrid elm exhibits both a high level of disease tolerance to the fungus that causes Dutch elm disease and moderate resistance to the elm leaf beetle in laboratory and field tests. In addition, 'Frontier' appears highly tolerant to natural infections of elm yellows. Released 1990.
Fruit: Rarely
flowers, no seed production observed.
Foliage: Glossy
green, changing to burgundy in fall
Bark: Smooth, grey-green with orange lenticels, not exfoliating.
Information Sources:
Tim Buchanan, City Forester for Fort Collins
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