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Ulmaceae FAMILY

Ulmus parvifolia

Ulmus parvifolia

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitSemi-deciduous Tree
GrowthFast

Prefers a position in full sun, but tolerates light shade[1, 2]. Grows best in a moist, fertile, well-drained loamy soil, but can adapt to most soils and drier sites[2]. Plants are tolerant of urban pollution[2]. Fairly tolerant of maritime exposure, it succeeds outdoors in a very exposed position at Rosewarne in N. Cornwall[PFAF]. A fast-growing tree[2], though branches tend to break when stressed with snow, ice or wind[2]. The tree has a tendency to produce more than one leader when young and may need pruning if a single trunk is desired[3]. This species is fairly resistant to 'Dutch elm disease', a disease that has destroyed the greater part of all the native elm trees growing in countries such as Britain nd the USA. The disease is spread by a beetle. There is no effective cure (1992) for the problem, but most E. Asian, though not Himalayan, species are resistant (though not immune) to the disease so the potential exists to use these resistant species to develop new resistant hybrids with the native species[4]. The various species hybridize freely, the pollen stores well and can be kept for use with species that flower at different times[4]. Trees retain their leaves until early in the new year[5] and in areas with mild winters will often retain them until new leaves are formed in the spring[1]. A good companion for grapes[6]. There are some named forms, developed for their ornamental value. 'Frosty' and 'Geisha' are small bushes whilst 'Pumila' is a minute bush for the rock garden.

Propagation

Seed - if sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, it usually germinates within a few days[4]. Stored seed does not germinate so well and should be sown in early spring[4]. One to two months stratification can improve germination rates. The seed can also be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it dries on the tree) and sown immediately in a cold frame. It should germinate very quickly and will produce a larger plant by the end of the growing season[7]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants should not be allowed to grow for more than two years in a nursery bed since they form a tap root and will then move badly. Layering of suckers or coppiced shoots[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Ulmus+parvifolia>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  2. [2]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  3. [3]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  6. [6]Companion Plants. — Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. · Watkins · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
  7. [7]Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Grower Books · 1985 · ISBN 0-901361-21-6 ↩︎Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
  8. [8]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  9. [9]Plantae Wilsonae. Vol 1 - 3 — Wilson. E. H. · University Press; Cambridge. · 1911 - 1917 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Details of the palnts collected by the plant collector E. H. Wilson on his travels in China. Gives some habitats. Not for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  10. [10]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  12. [12]Fruits of the Earth. — Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. ↩︎Lovely pictures, a very readable book.
  13. [13]Chinese Economic Trees — Woon Young Chun · Commercial Press; Shanghai. · 1921 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Brief details of many of the Chinese trees with economic importance. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  14. [14]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  15. [15]Chinese Materia Medica. — Stuart. Rev. G. A. · Taipei. Southern Materials Centre · 1911 · ISBN - ↩︎A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
  16. [16]Ulmus davidiana var. japonica Nakai Upregulates Eosinophils and Suppresses Th1 and Th17 Cells in the Small Intestine — Lee H-S, Jang MS, Kim J-H, Hong C-P, Lee E-J, et al · 2013 ↩︎
  17. [17]A Manual of the Timbers of the World — Howard A.L. · MacMillan and Co.; London. · 1934 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎An excellent and comprehensive book on timbers. Rather dated, but still a main source of information for many of the less known woods. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  18. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎