|
|
Post by philip on May 23, 2016 10:41:55 GMT -5
I heard recently that you can plant a lilac (syringa vulgaris) into the same hole with an elm tree and that the elm then doesn't get any elm tree disease.
I can't find anything on the internet about this but haven't searched very long either.
Did anybody ever hear anything about this?
I am not sure if this thread is in the right place here.
|
|
|
|
Post by imgrimmer on May 23, 2016 14:27:58 GMT -5
One possible effect could be the lilac has some kind of odor the elm bug (ulmensplintkäfer in german english I don`t know) doesn`t like. but I never heard of that.
Asparagus bugs don`t like the odor of tomatoes and disappear, so at least such kind of revelation exist.
It would take years to proof this. Elms are only affected by elm disease from the age of 10 when the trunk is thick enough to be of interest for the bugs.
Next to my home is a small wood with big tree like elms none of them is infected although there are infected trees around here in town.
I know also a really big tree big and strong as an oak and old, older than any other elm I have seen with no infection.
My theory is that there are individuals resistant to the disease. It would be really interesting to trial seedlings of these...
|
|
|
|
Post by reed on May 25, 2016 7:10:30 GMT -5
There is a giant elm tree in the yard of a house up the road from me and other fairly large ones around the neighborhood. The big one has the classic vase shape I have seen in pictures and it dwarfs the house it stands by. If I remember right Dutch elm disease got here in the 1930s and this tree has to be much older than that. I have often wondered if it is immune to that disease and would like to get some seeds from it but just never have thought of it at the right time I guess. I don't even know what their sees look like of if they drop them in spring or fall.
I have noticed though that occasionally a big old one just up and dies sometimes.
|
|
|
|
Post by castanea on May 25, 2016 9:12:19 GMT -5
Here in California, zone 9, the elm tree seeds drop around April 1, just before the tree leafs out. They cover the ground around the tree like tan colored snow.
|
|
|
|
Post by philagardener on May 25, 2016 12:37:41 GMT -5
There is a giant elm tree in the yard of a house up the road from me and other fairly large ones around the neighborhood. The big one has the classic vase shape I have seen in pictures and it dwarfs the house it stands by. If I remember right Dutch elm disease got here in the 1930s and this tree has to be much older than that. I have often wondered if it is immune to that disease and would like to get some seeds from it but just never have thought of it at the right time I guess. I don't even know what their sees look like of if they drop them in spring or fall. I have noticed though that occasionally a big old one just up and dies sometimes. Sometimes native elm trees will survive for a long time through luck and isolation. Prevailing breezes might help direct the beetle that carries the fungus in other directions. That beetle also is attracted by wounds and dead wood, so careful upkeep can help tip the odds. There are some semi-resistant varieties; many are hybrids with Asian species and even the best are better characterized as tolerant than resistant. www.extension.umn.edu/environment/agroforestry/elm-trees.htmlIt is (was) a great tree. I remember walking down streets lined with huge elms whose arching branches would keep you dry when it was raining. |
|
|
|
Post by prairiegarden on May 25, 2016 19:13:46 GMT -5
Can you transplant them? I have dozens trying to take over the garden and would love to send some to my daughter in Nova Scotia but the tap root thing is a bit of a puzzle. They're tough little beasts to try to pull up if they're over about 4 inches tall!
|
|
|
|
Post by steev on May 25, 2016 21:45:14 GMT -5
Sounds like you need a trenching shovel if you want to lessen root-loss; wouldn't it be easier to send her seeds?
You could try potting some to see how they survive transplanting, but either way, seeds or potting would delay the exchange; still, dealing in elms, what's a year more or less?
|
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 25, 2016 23:34:43 GMT -5
I have hundreds of elm seeds sprouting in my greenhouse right now... Because the trees flowered, and dropped seeds through the windows into the pots, and now they are sprouting like crazy.
|
|
|
|
Post by castanea on May 26, 2016 0:07:43 GMT -5
I have hundreds of elm seeds sprouting in my greenhouse right now... Because the trees flowered, and dropped seeds through the windows into the pots, and now they are sprouting like crazy. Are these pure American elm, Ulmus americana? |
|
|
|
Post by philip on May 26, 2016 3:10:10 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 26, 2016 9:41:33 GMT -5
Are these pure American elm, Ulmus americana? I don't have any way of knowing what species. Around here, elms are one of the most prolifically weedy trees. |
|
|
|
Post by prairiegarden on May 26, 2016 11:11:43 GMT -5
I have no idea where they are coming from as the only ones I knew about got cut down about 6 years ago. The usual weedy trees around here are 1) Manitoba maple and 2) ash both of which show up all over the place. I'll have to prowl around the neighborhood and find out who has an elm and try for some seed.
If I'm going to let one grow, I'll plant a lilac with it and see how that goes:)
|
|
|
|
Post by philip on Jun 11, 2016 16:45:24 GMT -5
I found a mature surviving elm tree with a trunk diameter of about one meter (3 foot and 4 inches)  The dead branches in the crown are not due to Elm tree disease but either old age or storm damage. The spindely shape of the tree is due to repeated pruning like they do over here with trees next to roads and between fields The fact that it is still alive means is has a degree of resistance because all other old elms in the area are dead and gone and there is diseased trees nearby.  After some more research i found that resistant trees have been discovered in pretty much all countries but there are very few. The English elm tree project sells elms grown from cuttings of 14 different mature elm trees that are still alive and well. (14 and maybe a few more out of an estimated 20 million trees killed!!!) So i took some cuttings from this tree and hopefully some will grow. I also read an article on american elm tree propagation of a resistant american elm. www.startribune.com/disease-resistant-st-croix-elm-making-its-way-to-twin-cities-garden-centers/305035841/ |
|
|
|
Post by prairiegarden on Jun 11, 2016 23:33:24 GMT -5
Interesting story but even more interesting is that the guy managed to PATENT clones from a tree that's supposedly over 100 years old. That seems very strange and ominous to me.
|
|
coppice
gardener
gardening curmudgeon
Posts: 149
|
Post by coppice on Jun 15, 2016 18:40:05 GMT -5
Can you transplant them? I have dozens trying to take over the garden and would love to send some to my daughter in Nova Scotia but the tap root thing is a bit of a puzzle. They're tough little beasts to try to pull up if they're over about 4 inches tall! If you are in the lower 48, shipping, carrying, mailing, them will be problematic. Customs is going to seize them. if you are on t'other side, you should be able to mail them when they are dormant. I would shake & wash off soil and pack in dampened peat moss. Wrap the roots tightly in saran-wrap. And box them up & off they go. |
|
