Ulmus davidiana var. japonica 'Discovery'

Last updated
Ulmus davidiana var. japonica 'Discovery'
Variety Ulmus davidiana var. japonica
Cultivar 'Discovery'
OriginCanada

The Japanese Elm cultivar Ulmus davidianavar.japonica'Discovery' is a cold-resistant selection from Canada, raised along with 'Freedom' in the 1980s by Dr Wilbert Ronald, of Jeffries Nurseries Ltd. and Rick Durrand of Shade Consulting Services, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

Contents

Description

Unlike other Japanese Elms, the growth habit of 'Discovery' is symmetrical, upright, and vase-shaped. The leaves are obovate to oval, and slightly smaller than is typical of the species, their colour dark green turning yellow in autumn. The tree grows to over 15 m in height, with a spread of much the same dimension.

Pests and diseases

The tree is resistant to Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola .

Cultivation

'Discovery' performed very poorly in government trials in Alberta, Canada, failing completely at five out of six sites. Moreover, the survivors developed a very poor branching pattern requiring pruning to strengthen crotches. 'Discovery' fared better in trials conducted by the University of Minnesota, which considered it "quite hardy", but the tree was criticized for its comparatively slow growth and need for continued crown thinning when young, the latter factor largely disqualifying it as a street tree. [1] Nonetheless, a number of trees have been established in the Minneapolis Parks system. The species does not sucker from roots. [2]

'Discovery' is not known to have been introduced to Europe or Australasia.

Accessions

North America

Nurseries

North America

Related Research Articles

<i>Ulmus davidiana <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> japonica</i> Variety of tree

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, the Japanese elm, is one of the larger and more graceful Asiatic elms, endemic to much of continental northeast Asia and Japan, where it grows in swamp forest on young alluvial soils, although much of this habitat has now been lost to intensive rice cultivation.

<i>Ulmus</i> Frontier Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Frontier' is an American hybrid cultivar, a United States National Arboretum introduction derived from a crossing of the European Field Elm Ulmus minor with the Chinese Elm Ulmus parvifolia in 1971. Released in 1990, the tree is a rare example of the hybridization of spring- and autumn-flowering elms. Tested in the US National Elm Trial coordinated by Colorado State University, 'Frontier' averaged a survival rate of 74% after 10 years.

<i>Ulmus</i> Homestead Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Homestead' is an American hybrid elm cultivar raised by Alden Townsend of the United States National Arboretum at the Nursery Crops Laboratory in Delaware, Ohio. The cultivar arose from a 1970 crossing of the Siberian Elm Ulmus pumila with the hybrid N 215, the latter grown from seed sent in 1960 to the University of Wisconsin-Madison elm breeding team by Hans Heybroek of the De Dorschkamp Research Institute in the Netherlands. Tested in the US National Elm Trial coordinated by Colorado State University, 'Homestead' averaged a survival rate of 85% after 10 years. 'Homestead' was released to commerce without patent restrictions in 1984.

<i>Ulmus</i> × <i>hollandica</i> Pioneer Elm cultivar

The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Pioneer' is an American clone arising from the crossing of two European species, Wych Elm U. glabra and Field Elm U. minor. Raised by the USDA station at Delaware, Ohio, in 1971, 'Pioneer' was released to commerce in 1983.

<i>Ulmus</i> Regal Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Regal' is an American hybrid elm cultivar developed by the University of Wisconsin–Madison and released in 1983. 'Regal' was derived from seeds arising from the crossing of the Dutch hybrid clones 'Commelin' and '215' sent in 1960 by Hans M. Heybroek of the Dorschkamp Research Institute for Forestry & Landscape Planning, Wageningen, Netherlands.

<i>Ulmus</i> Morton Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Morton' is an elm cultivar cloned from a putative intraspecific hybrid planted at the Morton Arboretum in 1924, which itself originated as seed collected from a tree at the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts. Although this tree was originally identified as Ulmus crassifolia, it is now believed to have been a hybrid of the Japanese elm and Wilson's elm. Accolade has proven to be the most successful cultivar tested in the US National Elm Trial, averaging a survival rate of 92.5% overall.

<i>Ulmus</i> Morton Glossy Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Morton Glossy' is a hybrid cultivar raised by the Morton Arboretum, Illinois. Originally named 'Charisma' until it was realized that name had already been registered for another plant, the tree was derived from a crossing of two other hybrid cultivars grown at the Morton: Accolade and Vanguard. Tested in the US National Elm Trial coordinated by Colorado State University, Triumph averaged a survival rate of 86% after 10 years. Triumph was introduced to the UK in 2006 by the Frank P. Matthews nursery in Worcestershire.

Ulmus 'Morton Plainsman' is a hybrid cultivar raised by the Morton Arboretum from a crossing of Siberian Elm and a Japanese Elm grown from openly pollinated seed donated by the Agriculture Canada Research Station at Morden, Manitoba. Tested in the US National Elm Trial coordinated by Colorado State University, Vanguard averaged a survival rate of 78% after 10 years.

<i>Ulmus</i> Cathedral Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Cathedral' is a hybrid cultivar raised at University of Wisconsin–Madison patented in 1994. Arising from a chance crossing of the Japanese elm and Siberian elm, seed was sent in 1958 by Prof. Nobuku Takahashi and his colleagues at the Sapporo Botanical Garden of Hokkaido University, Sapporo, to Eugene Smalley at Wisconsin–Madison; 'Cathedral' is thus a sibling of 'Sapporo Autumn Gold'.

<i>Ulmus americana</i> Valley Forge Elm cultivar

The American Elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Valley Forge' was raised by the Agricultural Research Service in Maryland. The tree was released to wholesale nurseries without patent restrictions by the U. S. National Arboretum in 1995 after proving to have a high resistance to Dutch elm disease. 'Valley Forge' proved only moderately successful in the US National Elm Trial, averaging a survival rate of 66.7% overall, owing largely to environmental factors rather than susceptibility to disease.

<i>Ulmus americana</i> New Harmony Elm cultivar

The American elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'New Harmony' was raised by the Maryland Agricultural Research Service and released by the United States National Arboretum in 1995, along with 'Valley Forge'. 'New Harmony' proved the most successful U. americana cultivar in the US National Elm Trial, averaging a survival rate of 85.5% overall.

<i>Ulmus americana</i> Brandon Elm cultivar

The American elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Brandon' was raised by Lacombe Nurseries Lacombe, Alberta, Canada, before 1969; it may be synonymous with another cultivar from the same source known as 'Patmore', selected and raised by R. H. Patmore from a native tree in Brandon, Manitoba.

The Japanese Elm cultivar Ulmus davidianavar.japonica 'Freedom' is another cold-resistant selection from Canada, raised along with 'Discovery' in the 1980s by Dr Wilbert Ronald, of Jeffries Nurseries Ltd., and Rick Durrand of Shade Consulting Services, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

<i>Ulmus davidiana</i> var. <i>japonica</i> Jacan Elm cultivar

The Japanese Elm cultivar Ulmus davidianavar.japonica 'Jacan' is a cold-resistant selection from Canada. The tree was raised by the Morden Research Station, Morden, Manitoba in the 1980s.

The Chinese Elm cultivar Ulmus parvifolia 'Emer I' or 'Emerald Isle' was cloned from a tree planted circa 1920 on the University of Georgia campus at Athens.

Ulmus parvifolia 'A. Ross Central Park' is a Chinese elm cultivar that is probably the hardiest in cultivation and was patented in 1989 by David F. Karnosky. The original tree grew near the entrance to Central Park, at the junction of Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, and died in the 1990s aged over 100 years. The cloning project was initiated in 1976 by the Arthur Ross Foundation, and executed by the School of Forestry and Wood Products, Michigan Technological University, Houghton.

The Chinese Elm cultivar Ulmus parvifolia 'Dynasty' is a United States National Arboretum introduction reputed to be very fast-growing.

<i>Ulmus americana</i> Lewis & Clark Elm cultivar

The American elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Lewis & Clark' is a development from the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Research Foundation breeding programme, released in 2004 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the eponymous expedition. The cultivar was cloned from a tree discovered in 1994 along the Wild Rice River south west of Fargo, North Dakota, where all those around it had succumbed to Dutch elm disease; the tree remains in perfect health (2008). Prairie Expedition proved only moderately successful in the US National Elm Trial, averaging a survival rate of 62.6% overall, potentially due to environmental factors rather than susceptibility to Dutch elm disease.

<i>Ulmus davidiana</i> var. <i>japonica</i> Prospector Elm cultivar

The Japanese elm cultivar Ulmus davidianavar.japonica 'Prospector' was originally treated as a cultivar of Wilson's elm U. wilsonianaSchneid., a species sunk as Ulmus davidiana var. japonica by Fu. A U.S. National Arboretum introduction, it was selected in 1975 from a batch of 1965 seedlings in Delaware, Ohio, and released without patent restrictions in 1990. 'Prospector' proved moderately successful in the US National Elm Trial, averaging a survival rate of 76% overall.

<i>Ulmus</i> Patriot Elm cultivar

Ulmus 'Patriot' is a hybrid cultivar raised by the United States National Arboretum in 1980. Derived from a crossing of the American hybrid 'Urban' with the Wilson's Elm cultivar 'Prospector', 'Patriot' was released to commerce, free of patent restrictions, in 1993. Tested in the US National Elm Trial coordinated by Colorado State University, 'Patriot' averaged a survival rate of 85% after 10 years.

References

  1. Giblin, C. P. & Gillman, J. H. (2006). Elms for the Twin Cities: A Guide for Selection and Maintenance. University of Minnesota.
  2. Heybroek, Hans M. (1981). "The Japanese elm species and their value for the Dutch elm breeding program" (PDF). Proceedings of the Dutch Elm Disease symposium and workshop, October 5–9, Winnipeg, Manitoba: 78–90.