Ulmus × hollandica 'Jacqueline Hillier'
Common Name: Dutch elm 
Type: Tree
Family: Ulmaceae
Zone: 5 to 8
Height: 8.00 to 12.00 feet
Spread: 8.00 to 12.00 feet
Bloom Time: March to April
Bloom Description: Green
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Hedge
Flower: Insignificant
Leaf: Good Fall

Culture

Grow in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerant of light shade. Prefers rich, moist loams. Best with consistent and even moisture (avoid both wet and dry soils). Plants may survive short periods of drought, but leaves may burn or drop. This hybrid will not grow from seed. Best propagation is by rooted cuttings.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Ulmus × hollandica, commonly called Holland elm, is believed to be a hybrid of Ulmus glabra and Ulmus plottii or Ulmus minor. It is broadly columnar with a short trunk. Dark green leaves 3-5" long turn yellow in autumn. The tree can grow up to 120' tall and 80' wide.

Genus name comes from the Latin name.

Specific epithet means of Holland, Netherlands.

'Jacqueline Hillier' is a dwarf, slow-growing, densely-branched, cultivar that was discovered growing in a garden in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. If left unpruned, it will typically grow in a shrubby form to 6-8' tall by 6-8' wide over the first 10-15 years, with an ultimate height of 10-12' tall. It can be trained as a single stem small tree. Miniature, distichous, finely-toothed, typical elm-like, dark green leaves (each to only 1 1/3" long) grow in a distinctive herringbone pattern along the branched stems. Leaves turn attractive shades of orange in fall.

Problems

Reportedly has excellent resistance to Dutch elm disease. Various wilts, rots, cankers and leaf spots may appear. Insect visitors include aphids, borers, leaf hopper, beetles, mealybugs, caterpillars and scale.

Uses

Garden or landscape accent. Hedge. Border edging. Dwarf tree. Container plant. Bonsai.