Type: Deciduous
Exposure: Full Sun
Water Use: Medium
Mature Size: 40-60’ H x 25-40’ W
Accolade™ elm is a fast-growing hybrid elm loved for its open, vase-shaped form and especially for its resistance to Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetle. This tough tree does well in USDA zones 4-9.
This excellent shade tree has glossy dark green leaves that take on a yellow fall color. It can grow 40-50 feet tall and 25-40 feet wide or even larger if the conditions are right. The arching branches give it a fine shape, like the American elm.
It can do well in various situations, including alkaline soils, city medians and dry and wet conditions. It does not reseed prolifically like the Siberian elm that we know well here. While they are drought tolerant when well established, elm trees do best with moderate water in the summer months. Monthly watering in the winter is recommended if no significant natural precipitation is present.
Accolade™ elm is a great choice for a fast-growing shade tree that does well under a wide variety of soil types and seasonal fluctuations of moisture, drought and temperatures. Due to its mature size, this tree is best suited to larger landscapes and gardens rather than smaller townhouses or apartment lots.
Author: Wes Brittenham, artist, gardener and writer.