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I curse at dutch elm, the tree happens to be a favorite and symbolic of what I consider to be a rare beauty in the species of trees we have. Dutch elm is a fungus caused and or spread by a beetle or insect, I forget, think it's a beetle. The first sign is flagging, a branch turns yellow up top, then the leaves start to die and turn brown. Once flagged, it's a 50/50 chance to save it by injecting the fungicide you can get from the dutch elm research institute. You drill holes around the base, insert the harness tips connected to a hose, that comes from a tank you pressurize and fill with the fungicide solution, it injects the tree and prevents it from getting the disease, I'm not sure how often the treatment will work and if re-treating is necessary, I did a big one on our property, it sucked up 50 gallons easily, but it was too late, already flagged and it died. It was a childhood favorite, I did my best to save it. What happens is the fungus plugs the structure ( whatever you call it ) that allows water to travel up into the tree, so it starves for water and dies. If you can trim the effected areas away and beyond, and inject, you might be able to save it from DED, it's a tall order, and the fungicide is expensive, I did not care, would have regretted not trying, now if you inject before it gets infected, it should make the tree immune, for how long I forget. Once a tree gets it and is doomed, best to cut it down, de-bark and or burn it, I think the beetle lives under the bark, so getting rid of the affected trees helps prevent the spread.'
Do a search for the elm research institute, they offer an immune species to plant, but they don't seem to look exactly the same as the indigenous towering elms with the splendid canopy like I've always marveled at, they are one of the most beautiful trees to look at, especially the old ones, there is not one left here and we had some really old ones, DED has ruined many streets that were lined with elms, one of those things, and of course it came over from a ship. The indigenous species ULMUS AMERICANA is the one affected by DED, the one the elm research institute offers for planting is there Liberty Elm if I recall correctly and is immune.
Hopefully you have another problem, and not DED, but you should do a search, it's sad to see old majestic trees like these turn brown and wither up, our area has been hit hard by this, but they still grow and reproduce, just don't make it to old age, I don't think there will be any old ones left, I always stop and take photos of any old ones I see. There is a way to determine if it has DED, you should check here:
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