It was remarkably tolerant of urban Americas concrete and pollution.
Until the elm bark beetle arrived, the mighty elm was remarkably hardy.
How could such a Goliath be brought down by a lowly beetle?
The disease quickly spread from Ohio to the rest of America.
These survivors may also succumb to elm phloem necrosis as well as many other pests and pathogens.
Initial slash and burn campaigns failed to stop the disease.
An estimated 100 million elms died in the epidemic.
To identify and manage Dutch Elm Disease, clickhere.
Will the Great Elms Ever Return?
These stigmatized trees are being sold again to homeowners and landscapers.
In the late 90s, retailer Home Depot sold 12,000 disease-resistant elms in 400 stores in eastern America.
Still, the chain sells 100,000 to 150,000 red maples and pin oaks (Quercus palustris) each year.
A veteran nurseryman from Georgia, Roger Holloway, began growing them.
Sadly, the odds are against it.
Only young saplings of an immature specimen are common now.
It is far more likely that wild American elms will vanish altogether in your childrens lifetimes.
Floral buds are found at the base of the previous seasons twig growth.
The vegetative buds, however, stay dormant at the top of the twig until spring arrives.
By the middle of March, its perfect, creamy-brown to green flowers open.
The perfect flowers develop into fruits, orsamaras, that are small and oval-shaped.
Tiny hairs grow from a notch at the papery fruits edge.
The fruit begins to abscisce, or change color, once it begins to mature by mid-spring.
The twigs are usually smooth.
The trees bark develops flattened ridges with intervening, gray-brown furrows.
These ridges may interlace once the bark matures.
Deep green leaves turn bright yellow in fall.
The elms root system is extensive and shallow.
The elm tolerates salty soil or sea-spray, drought, alkaline soils (pH > 7.5) .
almost everything, that is, except Dutch elm disease.
It appears to do better in southwestern states such as Texas, where the disease is not as widespread.
Can a purely American elm be developed to successfully resist the disease that has ravaged it?
Can an effective fungicide be developed that could be economically administered?
Seed propagation generally should be avoided because the offspring wont inherit disease resistance.
The American elm was once as naturally abundant as maple, oak, and pine.
In fact, it stood as the first symbol of national independence.
British soldiers destroyed it in a final act of hostility during their retreat in 1775.
Is there a young, ambitious horticulturist out there who can make it happen?
