sam_acw said:
So is wych Elm actually a true elm? I've got confused with it and there are only 10 posts!
Are we talking about young elm shoots, a more resiliant or loosely related subspecies or somethign else entirely.
wych elm
Ulmus glabra is the western elm and probably the native elm. English elm
U.procera might have been brought in at some time, due to the fact that it propagates through suckering, very rarely setting viable seed, although this position has been modified somewhat since
U. procera appears to be confined to se England and N France. There are myriad other elm varieties, because the several species hybridize so easily... you end up with Cornish elm, Jersey elm, plot el, smoth leaved elm etcetc
Fact is there are probably more individual elm in our hedgerows now than there ever has been, the downside being it's become an understorey tree, like hazel rather than the massive examples of 30 years ago.
Elms showing sighns of DED are routinely cut back, which may be a mistake since the fungus that causes them to die comes in two forms, which cannot be told apart except via dna analysis. one form is the virulent type, the other is less severe and was endemic, only killing elms in drought years.
wych elm seems more tolerant of DED, but it's always been my opinion that this is because wych tends to be found in the wet west where the fungus does'nt block the phloem tubes so readily.
BTW.. if you are working on fresh elm, please sterilise your tools before moving onto a fresh elm patch, to avoid possible cross contamination as much as possible. meths is usually sufficient.
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