We've been planting those in our community. First of all, there's a number of cultivars of those. Some with vase shape, some with rounded weepy shape and some with wide spreading live-oakish/ yoshino cherry shape. So shape does vary. Second, the bark doesn't get showy for a while and that tree is still very young. This varies based on the cultivar of course but I do see the beginnings of the orange bark in the photos. I still think it's chinese elm but the only other possibility I can think of is cedar elm which I am unfamiliar with. Have you ruled that out?

I will have mine pruned up to about 12 feet before I let them begin their typical arching vase shape. I may go even higher as I see them develop a little more. I have "Liberty Elms," which may be a little more erect growing and less spreading. I think 5 feet it is a little low for an elm to start its division into its large ascending limbs. Without seeing what you have it is hard to give good advice, but if the tree is young and vigorous, as it apparently is, you can do some really radical pruning that may seem extreme, but as the tree grows it will quickly overcome the loss and start growing in a better shape. Maybe you could select the best and strongest limb that is nearest the center of the others and cut off or radically shorten the others. It may look like a real "hack' job for a while, but in the long run it may make for a better tree. One of my trees has a tendency to fork with one side somewhat stronger but deflected in the opposite direction by the lesser side of the fork. I have been cutting off the lesser side, even though it seems extreme and leaves the trunk a bit crooked. But the tree is growing fast and so far it seems that the crook to the right, and then the one to the left will hardly be noticeable as the tree grows bigger and develops a balanced crown. At about 12 feet I see the tree beginning to divide into a beautiful set of ascending branches. For my tree that is probably the height it will have unless it develops in a way in the next couple of years that makes me thing differently. Many of the elms that once lined our town streets had divisions of their trunks 15 to 20 feet high. --Spruce

There was also some road work near the tree, although it is hard to believe the whole thing would go down that fast due to an existing informal parking area seeing increased activity. When I first discovered the appalling spectacle there was one small live branch coming out of the trunk, the rest of the 106' x 19'7" x 101' (1993) crown as bare as in winter. Maybe one day somebody with water mold infested mud on their tires drove beneath it, or some infested soil or aged manure was dumped near it. It was between the highway and a farm field. Whatever happened, the thing must have been there for quite awhile before being done in, and had a full canopy until it suddenly didn't. Van Pelt (1996) wrote in his sidebar on it In a species famous for rapid growth, Washington's two record trees have grown to over six feet in diameter in around 100 years

I have several wild American Elm growing on my property near Waco, Tx. I still have at least one of these potted (about 2' tall). IF someone wants it, I will send it to you bare-rooted free of charge up until end of April, except you must agree to post here annually its growth results and agree to at least weekly watering if no rainfall during spring -fall for first year. Our American Elm here appear to be DED- free, but the trees are much shorter than described back east. Our native Cedar Elm appear to be the better choice for here, but the few large American Elm growing only along river and creek beds do look nice. I am not an expert on American Elm, only an interested observer on the western fringes of their territory.