Ulmus minor Seeds | Field Elm

Field elm with small toothed leaves and papery samaras in spring — Field Elm (*Ulmus minor*): Ulmaceae, hedgerows and riverbanks of Europe and western Asia.

LATIN NAME: Ulmus minor

COMMON NAME: Field Elm

Plant Profile

Field elm is a deciduous tree of hedgerows, field edges and riverbanks across Europe, growing twenty to thirty metres with a broad, domed crown and a trunk that often carries corky ridges on the young branches. The leaves are small, asymmetrical at the base, doubly toothed and dark green, turning yellow in autumn. Flowers open in early spring before the leaves, in dense reddish clusters, and the papery samaras ripen within weeks and blow away in May. It suckers freely from the roots, which is how it survives in hedges that are cut every year. Old trees are now rare: Dutch elm disease swept through Europe in the twentieth century and killed most mature specimens, leaving a population of younglings that die back and regrow.

Science & Biotechnology

The Dutch elm disease story is one of the best documented in forest pathology. The fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi is carried by bark beetles of the genus Scolytus, which breed in the inner bark of weakened trees and carry spores on their bodies; the tree responds by blocking its own xylem, which is what actually kills it. Field elm is highly susceptible, and the epidemic that began in the 1960s removed most of the mature trees in Britain and the Low Countries. What survived was a reservoir of small, sucker-grown plants that never reach flowering size, plus a few resistant individuals in Spain and Asia Minor. Research on the species now focuses on those survivors, on the genetics of resistance and on the role of root grafts in spreading the fungus between neighbouring trees. The species is also tetraploid, unlike the diploid wych elm.

Uses & Benefits

The wood is tough, flexible and resistant to splitting, and it has been used for cart shafts, chair seats, coffins and water pipes; the elm pipes under London were still being replaced in the twentieth century. The leaves were cut for fodder in times of scarcity, and the inner bark was used for rope and for a coarse cloth. In the garden the tree is now grown mainly as a specimen of botanical interest or as part of a hedgerow mix, since mature trees are likely to be killed. Its suckering habit makes it useful for holding a bank or a windbreak, where the loss of a stem is not fatal. The samaras are eaten by finches and small mammals in spring, when little else is available.

Growing from Seed

Sow the samaras as soon as they ripen in late spring, because they lose viability within weeks. Press them into the surface of a loam and sand mix and cover with a thin layer of grit, then keep the tray outdoors in half shade and water daily. Germination is fast, often within ten days. Pot the seedlings on before the taproot fills the container, and grow them in full sun. Plant out in autumn into any soil that drains, and expect fast growth in the first five years. The tree will sucker once established, so site it where that is acceptable. There is no reliable way to guarantee resistance to Dutch elm disease from seed.

Our Take

A hedgerow tree that survives by suckering and dies young. Grow it for the botany and the history, not for a specimen lawn.

Tree Seeds