Ulmus parvifolia

Sunset

Ulmus parvifolia

Click to Enlarge

Zones 3-24, 26, 28-35, 37-39

Full

Moderate

Chinese Elm, Chinese Evergreen Elm
Ulmaceae
Deciduous, Trees

ULMUS

Once highly prized shade trees, elms have fallen on hard times. Dutch elm disease (spread by a bark beetle) has killed millions of American elms in North America and can attack most other elm species. Many of the larger elms are appealing fare for various types of beetles, leafhoppers, aphids, and scale, making them time consuming to care for, messy, or both.

Ulmus parvifolia

From China, Korea, Japan. Fast growth 40 to 60 ft. tall, 50 to 70 ft. wide; often reaches 30 ft. in 5 years. Form is extremely variable, but trees are generally spreading, with long, arching, eventually weeping branchlets. On older trees, bark of trunk sheds in patches (somewhat like bark of sycamore, (Platanus), often creating beautiful mottling. Leathery dark green, 3/4-d to 2 1/2-in.-long, evenly toothed leaves. Round fruit produced in fall. Patio tree, sun screen, or (with careful pruning) street tree. Rub or cut out small branches along trunk for first few years; shorten overlong branches or strongly weeping ones to strengthen scaffolding.