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Are the resistant Elms all grafted trees?

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I assume they must be. You would not want the variation of seedlings, would you?

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wisconsitom

7 years ago

Lone, a cultivar with resistance to DED could be produced either on its own roots or grafted onto a differing rootstock. That alone does not differentiate between grafted or own-root. So, someone could develop a resistant cultivar and either breed it on its own roots or chip graft onto some approved elm root stock. In either case, the genetics would be preserved.

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Comments (9)

spedigrees z4VT
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I don't think they are grafted. This is a news story about arborists trying to breed disease resistant elms in my state. They are working with pollen and seeds from existing disease resistant trees.

http://www.wcax.com/story/31448102/engineering-a-disease-resistant-american-elm-tree-for-vt
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Resistance is a relative term. Most of the hybrid/non-native elms (Accolade, Triumph, Commendation, New Horizon, Prospector, Pioneer, etc.....) possess NATURAL resistance where they do not typically contract DED. This is not a "catch-all" by any means as these non-natives can still contract DED, but they possess both resistance to becoming infected and resistance to significant decline once infected. Many of them can wall off the infection so that it does not spread. DED predominantly affects native elm species, particularly American Elm. The American Elms listed as resistant have a way to block off the pathogen even when infected with DED, allowing them to live a long time even if/when infected. If you look at the research articles online you'll see that no American Elm is 100% resistant but there are some that are close. Would I plant one next to another diseased, dying elm? Not a chance. The DED spreads through root grafts underground. I would think you are asking for trouble by doing so. There are other options for great trees out in open areas here in Iowa- Kentucky Coffeetree, Autumn Fantasy Maple, some of the better Honeylocusts, State Street Maple, Turkish Filbert, Amur Corktree (male cultivars only), Lindens (unless Japanese beetles are an issue), and about 20 different oak species and cultivars. Of those, only a few (Honeylocust, Autumn Fantasy Maple, and Lindens) will give a growth rate comparable to the Hybrid Elms (easily 3' a year). I think the elms are worth a try for a low-maintenance tree that can handle heat, wind, drought, and cold. In the next few years there will also be a smaller elm released with good fall color. It is called Northern Empress Elm (released by NDSU). I think that will be a good choice for homeowners out in rural settings looking for a heat/drought tolerant tree with good fall color as well.
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Logan L Johnson
7 years ago
I would think that they would be cutting-produced. If grafted, the rootstock could still be affected by DED causing the scion to die.
maackia
7 years ago
Are there any other baby boomers out there who look at Mr. Swan with just a bit of envy? Now that's interesting work!
hairmetal4ever
7 years ago
Generally, I think they are rooted cuttings. Elms typically root fairly easily as a whole.
longtee81 (Zone 5a)
7 years ago
https://youtu.be/DXNqfXH0pKc

If you have 10 minutes to spare this is an excellent link on the subject that shows how a huge nursery produces Princeton Elms. American Elms are propagated on their own root because they are so easy to clone from cuttings and if they were grafted it would be to American elm roots, which has no disease resistance. The hybrid Asian Elms are disease resistant and are cloned vs. grown from seed in order to capture other attributes (mainly we want those that resemble the American elm vase shape) so it doesn't matter if they are grafted since the root stock is also disease resistant

From the literature I have encountered Asian Elms tend to almost be grafted and American Elms are usually grown "from their own root" there was a nursery (Sharp Top Trees) that went out of business several years back that claimed growing from cuttings was key to disease resistance in their Princeton American Elms, but I have not seen this cited elsewhere. It makes sense to me though :)

Having attempted and succeeded in cloning from cuttings I can say that American Elms have a very high success rate and grow very fast. I haven't had much luck with the hybrids but it is possible.
Max G. (Zone 3 AB)
7 years ago
Most DED resistant elms are grown from older elm seeds that were resistant to the disease. May be grafted off those new trees
arbordave (SE MI)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
See page 10 of this 2009 publication listing the rootstocks used for some of the popular elm cultivars:

http://bspm.agsci.colostate.edu/files/2013/11/California-Elm-Cultivar-Performance.pdf

Many of the Asian hybrids were budded on Siberian elm rootstock, while the American elms (Valley Forge, Princeton, New Harmony) were grown on their own roots (from cuttings).
wisconsitom
7 years ago
.....and some of the gene lines used in modern elm breeding also comes from European elm gene lines. Not sure what roots were and are used on those hybrids.

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