Locate a "survivor" American elm

SMAdams

SMAdams

Location
NW Chicago subburbs, Illinois
Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

http://nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/ded/survivor_elms/

Help us locate a "survivor" American elm tree
Background

Researchers at the Northern Research Station, NRS-04, Delaware, Ohio would like to expand current efforts to screen American elm trees that may be tolerant or resistant to Dutch elm disease (DED). To facilitate this effort we are asking for the help of state foresters, park employees, and the interested public to identify large American elm trees on their landscapes.
American Elm Tree Selection Criteria:

-A tree in good health of at least 24 inches diameter at breast height (DBH)
-Located in an area where dead or dying American elms are within about one mile of identified tree
-The identified tree would not have been treated with fungicides to prevent DED
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

I know of a beautiful one on highway 29 west of green bay. North of the highway close to a BP gas station I believe. Don't know if this is an area of DED though. But the tree is beautiful and big
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

Ive got an enormous one, spectacular, right here in detroit. just dead wooded it this past winter. Too expensive to treat. under observation. phenomenal tree.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

We have a number in my northern suburban Cinci area and hometown.

Wondering why the survey when we already have 2 great ded resistant cultivars...Valley Forge and Princeton?
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

I talked to the researcher today about potential trees. Valley Forge is having problems with it's central leaders twisting and snapping off in high winds, so nurseries aren't growing them as much any more. Then that leaves us with Princeton, which account for 95% of American elms sold today. Unfortunately, that leaves us, again, with a mono-culture. That's why they're looking for other good prospects.

If you have good prospects please, PLEASE, register them.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

Central leader? Kinda contradictive to A. Elm. We have not had any problems with VForge and have planted many. I will register them when I have time tho.

My advice would be to go for untreated large diameter street lawn A. elms. We have a number of them and you know they have had some exposure to DED and fought it off under the most adverse conditions possible. Very very tough trees IMO.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

I'm not exactly sure if they are A.Elm, but we have quite a few here. Mostly municipal trees on the road/sidewalk completely surrounded by some sort of asphalt or concrete. Beautiful as could be. Too bad the town hired Arborist has some different ideas about trees than most of us.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

Prairie expedition American elm. Released from ND state university in Fargo. Parent material came from the Missouri river I believe. It's showing a lot of promise and resistance.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

Sevilla Court Apartments
32 Conshohocken State Road, Bala Cynwyd, PA

You can look on google maps at a satellite view.. the green mass in the courtyard between the U-shaped building and the street is three very large and one medium A. Elms. There were originally 4 very large elms in the courtyard and 1 died in the early 80's.. I AM pretty sure it was DED, and remember talking to the guy that cut the tree down who told me they were all going to die becasue the roots were grafted.

The three remaining trees never did die, though it may not have been DED, as I had only been in the tree biz for a few months at the time. Since then another tree, A Elm grew up in the place of the dead one, which probably just grew there wild. I AM sure the landlord never spent a dime on PHC, and there has been a huge loss of elms throughout the local area..
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

I pruned those trees in the early 90's and I sent the one on the left to the dump last thursday . I do have pictures though .
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

huge A. Elm near the Chestnut Hill ( Phila.) train Station , I've been in it for years , no joke . Also the Bryn Mawr Hospital has three , I think they might be looking for an excuse to take them down . Swathmore College has a monster , tore it up for the railroad , shame . I have a mental list of where every Big Elm is ( near me), I know where they are and they know , one day Riggsy' gonna get em , I'm not the killer just the mortician . When I see a top branch gone and a low limb gone , sad for that tree . I used to sit in those trees with milk cartons as a kid . I'll get my list up of Main Line Elms , some big ones still kicking . I be lying if I didn't enjoy smacking that A. Elm down last week . I didn't kill it , but I have those trees figured out , one day to smack an A. Elm , used to be un heard of ,,,impressive trees . Dr. Campana ( ever hear of him ? ) Steve Day ?) Saving those trees in the early 80's was a fun day for a tree climber , wrapping houses with tarps , climb spraying , bucket spraying , injecting milk jugs of chemo into leads , the days . Crazy.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

Riggs, have you ever seen the American Elm that is over in Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square PA?

Go through the main doors, and there it is. I was down there a month ago and have some nice pics of that tree.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

I climbed many elms in Princeton NJ in the early '70's where we had 4 men in one tree and did not get near each other. It was for Shearer Tree and just try spiking trees even back then in Princeton or for Shearer 4 decades ago. Most of those trees are just memories.

DED was by most accounts brought to the US in late '20's by Doris Duke of Belle Mead NJ a famous billionaire (I lived less than a mile from her) in a load of lumber. They made a movie about her life.

Back in the late '20's Bartlett employees used to dress up in full white suits with face masks and treat elms. You paid mainly for the show as those treatments did not work.

A tough job in the '30's with the Conservation Corps was removing the massive amounts of dead DED elm victims. Like Riggs said it would be boggling for those back then to see us make easy work of them today with cranes etc. When I started there wasn't any climbing chainsaws and a mid size saw such as a Homelite xl would be tied in the tree with a climb line and taughtline hitch and moved to the cuts and returned. Many big cuts were made with manual handsaws.
Elms were always the hardest manual removals with no high central crotch.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

[ QUOTE ]
I talked to the researcher today about potential trees. Valley Forge is having problems with it's central leaders twisting and snapping off in high winds, so nurseries aren't growing them as much any more. Then that leaves us with Princeton, which account for 95% of American elms sold today. Unfortunately, that leaves us, again, with a mono-culture. That's why they're looking for other good prospects.

If you have good prospects please, PLEASE, register them.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had thought you might comment on this a little further. Wonder if you could cite the researcher or research as I am on my town's UFB and we have planted many VF elms and plan to continue and what feed back we have had from them is mostly positive outside of "wild" growth mentioned in this article. It is also negated in this article.

http://www.elmpost.org/
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

[ QUOTE ]
Riggs, have you ever seen the American Elm that is over in Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square PA?

Go through the main doors, and there it is. I was down there a month ago and have some nice pics of that tree.

[/ QUOTE ]

Chris,
That is a nice tree. It is not treated either (may have been treated in the past). All we do is prune it every other year or so in the winter. They have tried air layer cuttings. They grew them for a few years in our nursury across the highway and they all came down with DED and died. There used to be a whole allee of those large elms there but years ago they all had serious problems and passed. That is the only one left.

We have also had problems with Heritage and Prinston varieties. Last year we removed 2 heritage and 1 prinston with confermed cases of DED.
 
Re: Locate a \"survivor\" American elm

There are many arbo historians that feel if we hadn't had Dutch Elm Disease spreading like wildfire in the early '60s and '70's we wouldn't have a college Urban Forestry curriculum.
 
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