Ulmus pumila 'Dropmore'

Ulmus pumila 'Dropmore'
Ulmus pumila 'Dropmore' (right), Ulmus 'Fremont' (U. pumila x U. rubra) (left), 1987, Madison Arboretum, University of Wisconsin
Species	Ulmus pumila
Cultivar	'Dropmore'
Origin	US

The Siberian elm cultivar Ulmus pumila 'Dropmore' was grown from seed collected in Harbin, Manchuria, China, by F. L. Skinner, of Dropmore, Manitoba. ^[1] Green reported (1964) a suggestion to merge the Siberian elm cultivars 'Harbin' and 'Manchu' with 'Dropmore', as all came from the Harbin area. ^[2] In the event, 'Dropmore' appears to have superseded these earlier cultivars. ^[3]

The cultivar 'Chinkota' was raised in North Dakota from 'Dropmore' seed. ^[4]

Description

'Dropmore' is a fast-growing bushy form producing small leaves.

Pests and diseases

See under Ulmus pumila .

Cultivation

The tree remains in commercial cultivation in the United States. Considered cold-hardy far into Canada , it did not perform well in the hot, arid, climate of Arizona as part of the elm trials in conducted by the Northern Arizona University at Holbrook .

No specimens of 'Dropmore' are known to survive in the UK. In 2022 and 2025 Brighton and Hove Council listed by this name, without provenance or identification information, [5] ^[6] a vase-shaped elm in Tenantry Down Road, ^[7] with fewer leaf-vein pairs than 'Dropmore' and without the tiny marginal serrations and neat tapering leaf-tip of 'Dropmore'. ^[8]

• 
  Leaves of Tenantry Down Road elm
• 
  Tenantry Down Road elm

Accessions

North America

• Dominion Arboretum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. No acc. details.
• Morton Arboretum, US. Acc. no. 883–85; tree from Inter-State Nursery, Hamburg, Iowa. ^{[8] [9]}

Nurseries

North America

• Lee Nursery Inc. , Fertile, Minnesota, US.
• Lincoln Oakes , Bismarck, North Dakota, US.

References

1. 'Siberian Elm', South Dakota Dept. of Agriculture, Forestry Div., Pierre, S.D.; sdgs.usd.edu
2. Arnoldia : Bulletin of the Arnold Arboretum, 24 July 1964, Vol 24 Nos 6-8, pp.40-80
3. Santamour, Frank S.; Bentz, Susan E. (May 1995). 'Updated Checklist of Elm (Ulmus) Cultivars for use in North America', Journal of Arboriculture. 21 (3); pp.122–131.
4. Collins, P. E. (1955). Chinkota Elm. South Dakota Farm and Home Research. 7 (1), 14–16, 27. South Dakota State University, Brookings, USA.
5. Vivienne Barton, 'Great elms of Brighton and Hove', 2022, bhgreenspaceforum.org
6. 'Rare elms in the spotlight for Sussex Tree Festival', 11 June 2025
7. Elm in Tenantry Down Road, Brighton - Google Maps, April 2021, access date: 26 June 2025
8. Photographs of Morton Arboretum 'Dropmore', Acc. no. 883-55; cirrusimage.com
9. Morton Arboretum herbarium, U. pumila 'Dropmore' herbarium flowers specimen, 6326794