OT - Speaking of Elm Trees

Brian G. NY

Well-known Member
I have many elms here on my property, anywhere from twigs to 20" in diameter.
They thrive here but eventually they all seem to succumb to Dutch Elm disease.
This is the tree I believe to be the mother of nearly all of my other elms.
It is located right on the border between my land and that of the NYS Dept. of Conservation.
It is over three feet in diameter and so far has resisted the disease.


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I thought elms were gone a long time ago. If new trees are still getting infected it means the disease can hang around. Its sad what happened to them - great shade trees.
 
(quoted from post at 21:29:17 03/19/19) That white patch of bark is an
early indicator that the tree is
infected and is going to die in a
few years

Actually, that white patch is the beginning of rot due to the separation of two of the three trunks.
I am considering contacting the Conservation Dept. to see if they
are interested in doing some preventive treatment.
NYS is about broke but they probably have more resources than me. LOL
 
We have a lot of them at our cabin on the Canadian border, but they all die before they get that big. it makes great
firewood, but requires a splitter. If I don't cut them down promptly the woodpeckers do!
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You hunt for any morels under those elms? Good eatin but not many trees around here anymore.
 
(quoted from post at 21:34:39 03/19/19) If you're going to cut it down I'd bind the two parts together before cutting.

I guess I'd need a bigger saw for a job that big. LOL

I would never consider cutting it since I hope at least a few of its offspring will carry on the disease resistant DNA and I want it to keep producing as long as possible.
Besides its on the line along NYS property and I've heard they like to fine you big if you cut one of its trees!
 
Not all elm trees are susceptible to Dutch Elm disease.

Hard to tell from the photo, but the pictured elm could be a Chinese elm. Chinese elms are resistant to just about everything.

Dean
 
NYS is about broke! Fact, Lol, good one, I'm not
sure we're your located in NY, but Iv seem very few
elms dead or alive that big! Same for your ironwood
you posted pics of.
 
I have marveled at these for years, the shape and the canopy these trees create are truly something of beauty. Ulmus Americana, American Elm, is very susceptible to "Dutch Elm Disease" (DED). I've often wondered why some don't get it, seems to all be the same species. I can recall some massive examples of these trees, all of which on this land are gone. I've had another round of them in the 30-40 year age range, many of those had to be cut down because of DED. I try to cut and debark any that die, to prevent or contribute to the spread of it, which can take place through roots if I recall. The beetle is mainly responsible, so once one has it, time to cut and debark.

I had one similar to yours, 4'-0" diameter and it went back to the turn of the 19'th century, almost 100 years old. I inoculated it with an injection harness and fungicide from the Dutch Elm Research Institute. The problem was that it flagged, and once that happens, it has a 50% chance of survival. Flagging is when you see a small clump of leaves on a branch that turn yellow. This tree was a landmark, prominent tree that I grew up under, so I tried to save it. I am not sure what the current practices are to inoculate or treat these trees, but 20 years ago, the D.E.R.I. stated that you could inoculate a healthy tree in the spring time to prevent DED.

I have a few large ones left, been removing dead ones for years and cutting up for firewood, would have been really cool if DED did wipe out the oldest ones, they were massive. This place had many of them in the late 60's early 70's.
 
I cut a tree down for My Father inlaw years back and it was the hardest thing I ever tackled--He said it was a rock elm -- sparks flew
when You cut into it -- My wood splitter wouldnt touch it -- 30 inch truck I would pound in 3 wedges and nothing -- next morning it
would be laying in pieces -- do it all over again -- it took a long time to split that thing -- lot of heat in that thing tho!!never
seen another tree like it! Roy
 
The U of Minnesota took an elm survey in the 70s, came back 5 or 10 years later and looked at the trees they tagged, they tagged 25 in our grove. Later we heard they
weren?t cleaning their boring and tagging equipment and probably spread the disease.

Still have a few big ones, and lots of 5-10 inch ones reseeding in the grove.

Dutch elm seems to go through in waves, every 15 years or so.

Was in the heart of elm tree area here, forests of them, New Ulm was a self proclaimed elm tree capitol back before Dutch elm came along.

Paul
 
Had several Chinese elm and they are garbage trees. They break out bad in wind storms One all most landed on my buildings so Took them down and planted several different trees.
 
We have a few elm's actually quite a few. Most are smaller though. We have a few that would be big enough to saw for lumber. Yes elm makes good lumber. Tough nonsplitting wood. We have a couple of pole barns built out of elm. Still have a few pieces of lumber from the 60 when it came through.
 
If it has resisted the dutch elm I would not cut it. Let it live and reproduce dutch elm resistant offspring.
 
My parents planted a Chinese elm in front of the house for shade in the early/mid 1950s because they grow quickly.

Never had much wind damage but it was damaged during a couple of very severe ice storms.

I took it down this past December because it was becoming a threat to the house.

It was around 40" in diameter at the base and had so much water in it that water was dripping out of the lower logs. It had roots in a no longer used cistern and the outer ring indicated over 2" growth the prior year.

Dean
 
(quoted from post at 14:19:06 03/20/19) My parents planted a Chinese elm in front of the house for shade in the early/mid 1950s because they grow quickly.

This one's an American elm for sure....the Chinese elm, I believe, is strictly an ornamental tree.
This tree was here out in the pasture many years before I built my house here in '95.
 
(quoted from post at 16:45:45 03/19/19) I thought elms were gone a long time ago. If new trees are still getting infected it means the disease can hang around. Its sad what happened to them - great shade trees.

Some of the surviving trees that sprouted since the 1960’s die off are semi resistant to the Dutch Elm disease .
The 15” elm ???? in my yard was starting to loose a few leaves . Dosed it well with 16-16-16 fertilizer over two seasons . Seems to have been fine the past 5 years since .
 
(quoted from post at 16:45:45 03/19/19) I thought elms were gone a long time ago. If new trees are still getting infected it means the disease can hang around. Its sad what happened to them - great shade trees.

Some of the surviving trees that sprouted since the 1960’s die off are semi resistant to the Dutch Elm disease .
The 15” elm ???? in my yard was starting to loose a few leaves . Dosed it well with 16-16-16 fertilizer over two seasons . Seems to have been fine the past 5 years since .
 
Used to be huge 36-48" diameter elms all through our area, died in the early 1980's. They all die between 6-12" diameter now unless treated.
 
Elm is not a native tree here but we have a lot of them in yards and cities. Planted as shade trees. The Chinese/Siberian elm is one tough
and fast growing tree that makes a good shelter belt here in the open country where you need a hedge in a hurry. Almost as fast growing as
Carraganna and probably tougher. The Chinese elm wood is very hard. Not the greatest firewood from what I hear. Tends to deposit creosote
in the stove pipes.
Dutch elm disease is spreading here too and they are busy removing any infected trees. Prime cause of spreading it is by transporting
firewood from infected areas. The wood can carry the larvae of the elm bark beetle.
I've got a few American elms in my yard and a lot of Chinese elm in the shelterbelts.
 
My grandfather said rock elm was used for barn framing. This past year I cut some round floor joists from under the threshing floor of an old barn for emergency firewood. Between the whitewash and the elm wood the saw chain sparked a bit. It makes heat like no ash or maple ever did but it is murder on saw chains.
 
My cousin worked at the arbouretum at the University of Guelph in Ontario. They were experimenting with various elm strains and he told us
they had a promising strain that was showing resistance to dutch elm disease 20 years ago. I don't think it got past the experimental stage.
 
(quoted from post at 18:23:43 03/21/19) My grandfather said rock elm was used for barn framing. This past year I cut some round floor joists from under the threshing floor of an old barn for emergency firewood. Between the whitewash and the elm wood the saw chain sparked a bit. It makes heat like no ash or maple ever did but it is murder on saw chains.

My Dad told me that the main use of elm lumber in the old days was for floors in horse stalls.
Cut it and install it green, the stringy nature of it resisted the horseshoes and the wood would absorb moisture without rotting.
 


I have a huge Elm out in a pasture like that. The Elm around it are dying, but that one seems to be hanging on. It sits alone, maybe that has something to do with it. A farmer told me he believed that trees the stock rubs on won't be as susceptible to the disease. I dunno. Maybe.

We lost and are losing a lot of Elm here on the NY/Ontario border. I put it down to one really dry summer(drought like) followed by a very bad winter, followed by an unusually wet summer and another hard winter. Last summer was fine and the winter was fair. But the Elm are dying fast.
 

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