Species · Deciduous trees like maple and elm
Field elm
Ulmus minor
Field elm shares Chinese elm's vigour and tolerance for hard pruning but is naturally deciduous and slightly larger-leaved, with bark that furrows and corks with age in a way container-grown Chinese elm rarely matches. Fast growth makes it quick to develop, provided a wary eye is kept for Dutch elm disease susceptibility in the wider garden.
Care at a glance
- Watering
- Never let it dry out fully in leaf. Roughly every 2 days in spring, 1 in summer, 2 in autumn and 7 in winter.
- Light
- Full sun to light shade.
- Winter
- Hardy once established; loses its leaves and rests through winter. Protect it when the forecast drops below -5 °C.
- Feeding
- Every 14 days, Apr to Sep, paused in the hottest weeks.
- Repotting
- Every 2 to 3 years, as buds swell, in Feb or Mar.
- Growth
- Fast growing. Hardy in zones 5 to 8.
The work calendar
| Work | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prune | Mar | Apr | Nov | |||||||||
| Wire | Jan | Feb | Mar | Nov | Dec | |||||||
| Pinch | May | Jun | Jul | |||||||||
| Defoliate | Jun |