Performance of Elm Taxa in Auburn, AL

Abstract

The National Elm Trial (NET) was started in 2005 by Colorado State University and has 16 sites in 15 states throughout the United States. The NET a collective effort to evaluate commercially available elms (Ulmus sp.) that have previously shown Dutch elm disease resistance. Fourteen cultivars were chosen by Colorado State University, and five more cultivars were added to the Auburn site. Five replications of each cultivar were planted on 25 May 2007 in a complete block design. Data collected for the Auburn elm trial included tree height, trunk diameter, crown width, fall color, and insect and disease pressure. U. ‘Morton Red Tip’, U. americana ‘Lewis & Clark’, U. ‘New Horizon’, U. parvifolia ‘BSNUPF’ were the largest across the three growth variables, and U. ‘Morton Plainsman’, U. ‘Morton Glossy’, and U. propinqua ‘JFS- Bieberich’ were the poorest performers with poor growth and survival rates.