"Princeton" Elm is DED resistent and has near perfect form. They use this in front of the White house in D.C. Also there is a tree called Japanese Zelkova which is not an elm but has that vase shape.

Also Chel, elms are typically not especially handsome in youth and show little of what their ultimate potential will be. I'd think twice about your intent to cut those down. Some degree of patience is a good thing in working with trees!

+oM

I planted two Valley Forge elms in 2003. Both were floppy. After a couple years of struggling with them, one started acting like a tree and growing upwards. The other one always acted like a branch. Big thick branches coming off the trunk, but the "leader" wouldn't thicken much, and never wanted to go up. It eventually broke in a wind storm right where I cut off one of the thick side branches.

I replaced it with a Princeton elm, which grew upwards from the beginning. Princeton has a reputation for being much easier to manage in this regard.

How long have they been in the ground?

One trick that I figured out was to tie a garden pole to the leader, with the bottom of the pole tied to the highest portion of the trunk that was rigid. That way I could coax the leader upwards, but the trunk still swayed in the wind, and I didn't need a pole 15 feet long!

Alex

The west or slightly southwest is where you situate trees for summer shade. Sun is too high to provide shade on the south. The western sun, as it drops in the sky is the hottest of the summer, so that's where you want the shade.

Thanks for all these comments. Some responses...

greenthumbzdude: I am considering the Princeton elm, also sold by Botany Shop. I really like these people, and have bought about 300 trees from them (mostly Thuja 'Green Giant', as well as various other trees and shrubs.) Their site recently added a warning about "structural problems" with the Valley Forge - that's what got me thinking that it might not be just my faulty technique or something. I've also considered the zelkova; haven't seen one in person, but the description sounds reasonable. I do like the super-fast growth rate of elms; also, having successfully pruned one of my (deceased) native ones to a perfect flat-fan form, I'm more optimistic about succeeding with elms.

wisconsitom: I've had these for about five years (bought 'em at about 5' height), and they'd be at over 40 feet if I hadn't pruned them hard (to about 20') to control misdirected limbs. Now the tough decision is whether to down them now and start fresh while I'm young enough to enjoy the results, or follow this investment. I might split the difference and plant new near the current trees. If the older ones don't improve, I can cut them down. If they do, I'll have a couple more years before the new ones are too big to transplant.

alexander3: I did use poles until they were about ten feet high, which helped.

laceyvail: Thanks; I understand that. In fact, the long line I now have planted runs from a bit east of south all the way around the building to due west. The western ones will only need to hit about 25 feet to be useful (I planted them later, so they're still below that); the southern ones will shade the main windows when they hit 30-35', and give excellent shade at 40-45'. Won't take long, at 5-6' per year annual growth!

Thanks again for your thoughts.

As far as that goes, Chel, I've not seen "Valley Forge" in person. There could be a problem with that cultivar's form. I ain'teth know everything!

+oM

Have seen Bald Cypress do well when planted close to buildings.

Slippery Elm has basic shape of American Elm but is slightly smaller, and has better resistance to DED.

Hi.
I have a Zelkova serrata Village Green that is perfectly vase shaped. Not nearly as fast growing as the new disease resistant elms though. Mine is about 30 feet in 25 years in a difficult infertile site. Probably about 1.5 feet per year in a favorable site. Good luck

Chelydra - You said, "With a septic system close to the building, I need to be able to prune the trees into a flattish shape."

I don't understand this comment. Regardless of how you prune the trees, if they aren't planted far enough from your septic, the roots will grow into your septic system and it will fail, an expensive item to replace.