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How can I save this Elm tree? (with pics)

7 years ago

First of all, I think this is an Elm tree.

This is my first year in this house and I notice the elm tree in my backyard has leaves+barks+branches falling in the middle of the summer. The leaves become yellowish as shown on the pictures below.

At first, I thought it caught the Dutch Elm Disease, but I didn't see any symptoms of 2mm diameter holes drilled through the bark. See close-up pictures below.

Then, I tried to dig up a tree ring and noticed there were 1 or 2 girdling roots around the bottom of the trunk. I removed them and put some mulch, but still it didn't help much.

What's wrong with it? Can I still save this tree?

Thanks,

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Comments (10)

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
7 years ago
Nice sized tree. Has there been any new construction near it? Any landscape changes?

I am not an elm expert. They suffer from elm yellows, and DED I know.

My concern is it is an old tree which has reached its time to decline if nothing has caused the decline.
Phil Edward
Original Author
7 years ago
No construction or landscape change at all. The tree is about 30 years old (same age as the house). But again, I didn't see any beetles holes on the bark, so it shouldn't be DED.
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kentrees12
7 years ago
Looks like text book DED. Nothing to do at that stage but have the tree removed.
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
7 years ago
Agreed on DED...obvious and current presence of the Elm Bark Beetle is not required.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
i wouldnt have that thing hanging over my house for much longer ... save the house.. get rid of the tree ...

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wisconsitom
7 years ago
Yes-DED, without a doubt. Sorry for the bad news-it is way beyond "saving".
longtee81 (Zone 5a)
7 years ago
I'm not sure if is the drought weather here in the Midwest or other factors, but I have seen so many Elm trees look this way this summer. I have never noticed it before to this extent.

Does the the Dutch Elm Disease fungus have a more significant presence in some years than others? It is definitely on the rise in mid-Michigan!
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
7 years ago
DED would tend to roughly follow cyclical population patterns of the Elm Bark Beetle which is a primary vector for DED. The DED effect is even more pronounced in single age stands of Elm with all the trees expiring withing 1-2 years of each other.
akamainegrower
7 years ago
smilies: In close growing stands of elms the beetle(s) are no longer even needed for infection. Spontaneous grafting of the elm roots allows the infection to spread rapidly from tree to tree. This is exactly what happened to the large plantings of elms as street trees in much of New England. First gradual decline from infection via beetle, then sudden and steep collapse from root to root infection.
wisconsitom
7 years ago
Yes, yes, and yes^....plus, very young Am. elms don't tend to get DED. But give them another ten years or so of growth and whammo, the fungus gets them. So if you're seeing lots of DED in your area, it is likely that a bunch of them have reached the age of infection. Happens all the time.

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