Winged Elm
Ulmus alata
Family: Ulmaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Green. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Oval, Pyramidal, Rounded, Upright or erect, Vase.
Ulmus alata is a deciduous Tree growing to 15 m (49ft 3in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in June. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 15
Where it is found
Dry gravelly uplands, less often in alluvial soils on the borders of swamps and banks of streams, occasionally in inundated swamps.
Eastern and Central N. America - Virginia to Florida, west to Illinois, Missouri and Texas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Leaves - raw or cooked.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
The inner bark is very fibrous and can be used as a string. Wood - close-grained, heavy, hard, not strong, brittle, difficult to split. It weighs about 46lb per cubic foot, is not considered to be as strong as other elms, but is used for tool handles, wheel hubs etc.
String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.
Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Specimen, Street tree. Prefers a fertile soil in full sun, but can be grown in any soil of at least moderate quality so long as it is well drained. A fast-growing tree in its native range, but this species does not thrive in Britain. Closely related to U. thomasii. Susceptible to 'Dutch elm disease', a disease that has destroyed the greater part of all the elm trees growing in Britain. The disease is spread by means of beetles. Mature trees killed back by the disease will often regrow from suckers, but these too will succumb when they get larger. There is no effective cure (1992) for the problem, but most E. Asian, though not Himalayan, species are resistant (though not immune) to the disease so the potential exists to use these resistant species to develop new resistant hybrids with the native species. The various species of this genus hybridize freely with each other and pollen is easily saved, so even those species with different flowering times can be hybridized. Special Features: Attracts birds, North American native, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.
Propagating it: Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring. The seed can also be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it dries on the tree) and sown immediately in a cold frame. It should germinate very quickly and will produce a larger plant by the end of the growing season. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants should not be allowed to grow for more than two years in a nursery bed since they form a tap root and will then move badly. Layering of suckers or coppiced shoots.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Canopy; Secondary;
Habit: Tree
Hardiness: 6-9
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist