Winged Elm

Back in the early 1980's I saw a few Winged Elms near the old schoolhouse at my family's cemetery in far southern Illinois. I wish I had ...Read Moremy camera at that time. This species that is native to much of the South and some into the southern Midwest, looked like a handsome tree to me, with handsome glossy leaves. This species produces its flowers in late winter to early spring and produces seeds in late spring-early summer. It is often found in dry, upland soils and I think the pH range would be like most other elms of about 6.0 to 8.0. In September 2017, I found two specimens planted at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL, in the Elm Collection, one about 20 feet high and the other about 25 to 30 feet high, showing it can grow into USDA Zone 5. The species usually grows about 30 to 40 feet high the most, but can get to 70 feet or more. It should be used in the nursery trade.

A nuisance in my garden. Have seedlings everywhere. Very hard to remove--have to wait until after a good rain to shovel prune. Seedlin...Read Moregs have a long taproot and if even a little piece remains, that seedling will re- emerge.

These trees are all over a piece of property we purchased and they are hard to clear out from the field and woods. While the bark is inte...Read Moreresting the tree will lose it leaves quite early in the season and do not look good at all. I see only minor value in them for the wildlife but am trying to eradicate them to a manageable level. They crowd out more desirable trees like oaks and hickories and are not attractive at all.

The only reason I don't give this tree a positive rating is because the seedlings tend to pop up everywhere. If you can't mow or pull th...Read Moreem you will have a pretty thick stand in a few years. Other than that, it has interesting bark and doesn't sucker.