Deciduous treeDrought tolerantRain gardenDeer resistantNativeFall colorFast growing

American Elm

Ulmus americana

The classic vase-shaped shade tree that once arched over city streets, fast-growing, adaptable to wet or dry sites and city conditions, with soft yellow fall colour and great value to wildlife. Dutch elm disease is fatal and has no cure, so plant a resistant cultivar such as 'Princeton'.

See American Elm in your yardEarly access is free. Join the waitlist.

American Elm: whole plant — Photo: Marty Aligata, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mature size: 70 × 45 ft; 21.5 × 13.5 m, tall × wide
Hardiness: Zones 3a–9b; USDA
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to moist
Fall color: Oct–Nov

American Elm at its mature size

A mature American Elm grows 60 to 80 feet tall and 30 to 60 feet wide, taller than most people.

Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.

Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension.

Through the year

What American Elm looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.

Dormant · Dec–Mar

Bare vase shape: limbs arching up and out, fine drooping twigs.

In leaf · Apr–Sep

Dark green rough oval leaves.

Fall · Oct–Nov

Clear yellow, moderately bright.

Photos

American Elm: flowers — Flowers · Melissa McMasters from Memphis, TN, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

American Elm: fall color — Fall color · daryl_mitchell from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

American Elm: detail — Detail · Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Growing American Elm

Grows well in: The Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, and the Plains and Mountain West.
Growth rate: Fast
Good for: Drought tolerant, rain garden, deer resistant, fall color, and fast growing
Leaves: Drops its leaves in winter
Native to: Eastern North America and Central North America

Spacing

VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For American Elm, that’s about 45 ft apart, center to center.

Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.