Accolade Elm
Ulmus ‘Accolade’

The loss of the American elm to Dutch elm disease in our northern cities and farms was nothing short of heartbreaking to gardeners, homeowners and the communities as a whole. In this one tree we had it all; the wonderfully architectural vase-shaped form, incredible hardiness and a stalwart resiliency to the ravages of the urban environment. Unfortunately, this North American native proved to be no match for a fungus inadvertently introduced from Asia, which if nothing else has made keeping the elm canopies across the North a massive undertaking.

It has also triggered a decades-long search for what has surely become the ‘Holy Grail’ of tree development; the replacement for the American Elm. There are numerous elm species around the world, many of which are resistant or even immune to the Dutch elm fungus. While beautiful in their own right, it’s too bad that most of these can only lurk in the shadows of the impressive landscape credentials of our native elm.

Recent developments, however, have come closer and closer to mimicking the desired characteristics, particularly the graceful vase-shaped form. Of particular interest are selections and hybrids of the Japanese elm, a wonderfully artistic and hardy tree in its own right. Accolade is a recent introduction from the Morton Arboretum in Chicago. The jury is out as to its exact parentage - it’s either a cross between two subspecies of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, or a cross between the closely-related Ulmus davidiana var. japonica and Ulmus wilsoniana - but one thing is clear, this plant has a wonderfully arching form, as near to the cherished vase shape of the American elm as any have yet come.

Besides being a close double in appearance to American elm, Accolade is equally as adaptable to soil types and moisture conditions. It’s highly tolerant of urban conditions, and thus makes a great street tree. On the negative side, it is slightly less hardy (zone 4) than American elm, and won’t grow to be nearly as tall or intimidating, although this may actually be an advantage in terms of general home landscape use.

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